New numbers and answers from regulators
Rebuilding continues in Bay County from Hurricane Michael damage, September 2019
Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier shared some new numbers from Hurricane Michael with returning legislators last week. He addressed lingering questions on the number of closed claims and why the number isn’t higher 11 months after the Cat-5 storm struck the Panhandle.
Commissioner Altmaier told the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee that total estimated insured losses from Michael now stand at $6.9 billion on 148,978 claims. As of August 30, 87.8% of those claims were closed, leaving 18,175 claims open. Assignment of Benefits (AOB) claims in litigation represented 1 in 5 open claims.
While acknowledging hearing frustration about those open claims, Altmaier said that he couldn’t think of any instance of companies not paying claims on time within the 90 days of final settlement as required by Florida law. Further, he said the state’s Division of Consumer Services has seen an “extraordinarily low” number of post-storm complaints. He said he’s watchful but that the only action he’s had to take against companies is sending letters to two carriers reminding them to send claims payments to the correct addresses.
The Committee asked why these claims are open. The Commissioner explained that open claims can result from litigation or cases where a claim was just filed or was re-opened after an initial payment had been made. Some claims he said are closed without payment because the claim didn’t meet the deductible or it was determined that the loss was from flooding and not from a covered peril.
Re-landscaping after Hurricane Michael, September 2019
Commissioner Altmaier addressed the Committee with a half dozen slides that gave insurance market statistics. The most startling was the nearly half billion dollar underwriting loss. When asked why the Commissioner chose to highlight this particular statistic, he replied that reporting on underwriting gains and losses is the best barometer of what’s happening in the claims arena.
It’s no secret that South Florida firms are filing North Florida insurance claims lawsuits. It’s very strange for there are plenty of lawyers in the Panhandle. And I would think that business is brisk in South Florida for lawyers in that region. So why on earth would there be a handful of South Florida lawyers working on North Florida claims?
I would like to hear from you about this and your thoughts as to why we still have about 18,000 claims open in the Panhandle. I spend time in these 12 impacted counties so I see firsthand what is happening. If you have a case or two you want to share with us, we are all ears. We have several we are working on, trying to help consumers unwind the AOB contract they were duped to sign. And one last point: anyone noticing roofers canvassing neighborhoods? There are roofing company signs all over Leon County posted on the side of the road that are shaped like real estate signs. Code enforcement has been out removing them as fast as they can. Look forward to hearing from you!
LMA Newsletter of 9-23-19
