BATON ROUGE – For the third time, Louisiana’s insurance commissioner has reminded insurers of their good-faith obligations to policyholders in the wake of the 2020 hurricanes and recent extreme winter weather.
To resolve these continuing difficulties, insurers should provide copies of insurance policies when property owners ask for them and continue to work with policyholders on claim issues even if they have hired public adjusters, Commissioner Jim Donelon said in a directive issued this month. Such efforts will reduce incidents of civil lawsuits, he said.
In addition, Donelon encouraged policyholders to provide whatever documentation is available to their insurers to show proof of their property losses so that claims can be processed.
“We’ve heard from policyholders in the Lake Charles area that many people are still having trouble engaging contractors, crews and materials to make repairs on homes, businesses and places of worship damaged by hurricanes Laura and Delta,” he said in a prepared statement. “I am committed to making insurers understand the extraordinary nature of the 2020 hurricane season and that working with policyholders is the only way forward for a strong recovery.”
Jeff Albright, the CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana, acknowledged that the process has been going slower than all the parties had hoped. Losses resulting from Hurricane Laura alone will be second only to Hurricane Katrina, Albright said, with an estimated 300,000 claims being filed over about $8 billion in property losses.
“Any time you have a major catastrophe, you have a lot of problems,” he told the Louisiana Record. “... It just takes some time and effort to work through it.”
The vast majority of claims should be resolved in the next several months, according to Albright. That’s in spite of challenging logistics, such as the difficulties encountered in getting adjusters into the field, he said.
Some lawsuits will inevitably be filed by policyholders due to frustrations or difficulties, according to Albright.
“I’m sure there will be some of that,” he said. “When you have 300,000 claims, there are going to be some that are not resolved to the policyholders’ satisfaction. But by and large, insurers are trying to provide reasonable settlements.”
Donelon’s office is also encouraging policyholders to make an effort to meet deadlines for filing forms related to specific hurricanes. But the insurance commissioner said insurance companies should grant leniency to policyholders even as deadlines come and go.