N.Y. Insurers ‘Report Cards’ Show 70% of Sandy Claims Closed With Payment So Far

The New York regulators’ latest Sandy response report cards show 272,878 Sandy-related claims — representing 70 percent of some 389,801 Sandy claims filed in the state — have been closed with payment, as of Feb. 15.

Additionally, some 68,247 claims, or 17.5 percent of the claims filed, have been closed without payment so far.

These Sandy response report cards compiled data from 24 insurance companies that make up the most of the insurance market in New York regions that were impacted by Sandy. The information includes consumer policies such as homeowners’ and auto insurance, as well as business policies such as business interruption insurance.

Overall, some 2,478 complaints were filed with regulators, at a claims complaint rate of 0.636 percent. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the regulators will be examining the claims practices of three insurance companies that had what the regulators described as “much higher than average” complaint rates.

Here is a look at how the largest insurers fared in the latest report cards:

• Among the 24 insurers, Allstate Insurance had the highest number of Sandy-related claims in New York, with 81,507. As of Feb. 15, Allstate closed 77 percent of those claims with payment. (As of Feb. 15, Allstate had made payments on 70,936 claims — or 87 percent — only 62,786 of which were closed.) An additional 13.7 percent of the claims were closed without payment. The average time from the claims report to payment was 20.8 days. Allstate had 528 complaints in New York, or a claims complaint rate of 0.65 percent.

• State Farm had the second-highest number of Sandy claims in New York, at 55,592. State Farm closed 67.9 percent of those claims with payment as of Feb. 15. (State Farm had made payments on 44,605 claims — or 80.2 percent — only 37,753 of which were closed.) An additional 17.5 percent were closed without payment. The average time from the claims report to payment was 28.1 days. The insurer had 179 complaints, or a claims complaint rate of 0.32 percent.

• Travelers had the third-highest number of Sandy claims in New York, at 41,626. Travelers closed 73.7 percent of those claims with payment. An additional 18.9 percent were closed without payment. The average time from the claims report to payment was 26.5 days. Travelers had 371 complaints, or a claims complaint rate of 0.89 percent.

The latest report can be found at the New York government website’s disaster insurance assistance section, www.nyinsure.ny.gov.