$41M Recovered for Louisiana Consumers After Hurricane Claims Complaints

Complaints over insurance claims arising out of the three hurricanes that struck Louisiana last year have resulted in a recovery of $41 million for consumers as of the end of April, Louisiana insurance regulators say.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) so far has received 1,497 complaints arising from hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta. Grievances have included complaints about various types of residential, auto and commercial property insurance, as well as complaints about insurance adjusters and agents, among other issues.

The most common topic of concern has shifted as hurricane claims have progressed. In January the most common grievance was claim delay. By May the most common complaint topic was inadequate and delayed payment of claims, LDI says.

Of the $41,065,540 recovered so far through the complaint process from last year’s storms, Hurricane Laura accounted for the vast majority of those recoveries at $37.8 million. Recoveries from Hurricane Delta stand at $2.5 million and recoveries from Hurricane Zeta are $760,318.

As of March 31, 2021, Louisiana insurers had received 311,266 claims for all lines of insurance from hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta. Although insurers label 85% of those claims as closed, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon encourages policyholders to file supplemental claims for payment if they are dissatisfied with the amount of money they have received. Consumers can file as many supplemental claims as needed until their properties are rebuilt, subject to any time limits contained in their policies or Louisiana law.

As of April 30, policyholders had filed 1,145 complaints about Hurricane Laura, 206 complaints related to Hurricane Delta, and 146 complaints concerning Hurricane Zeta. About 77% of these complaints are in regard to homeowners policies.

LDI in April reported that insurance companies expect to pay $9.6 billion on claims of all types from hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta in Louisiana, up from $7.7 billion at the end 2020, according to the latest round of information from insurers quantifying paid and reserved losses through March 31. Policyholders had filed 311,266 claims of all types from the three storms through the first quarter of 2021.

The 15 insurers with the highest number of homeowners complaints are listed below:

The company trade names associated with each insurance group and the number of complaints against each in brackets are as follows:

• FedNat Ins Co [97] – Maison Ins Co [60]
• United Prop & Cas Ins Co [76] – Family Security Ins Co Inc [19]
• Lighthouse Excalibur Ins Co [27] – Lighthouse Prop Ins Corp [18]
• USAA Cas Ins Co [24] – USAA Gen Ind Co [9] – United Services Automobile Association [4] – Garrison Prop & Cas Ins Co [3]
• Liberty Personal Ins Co [17] – Liberty Mutual Fire Ins Co [7] – Safeco Ins Co of OR [5] – Safeco Ins Co of Amer [1]
• Progressive Prop Ins Co [19] – ASI Lloyds [7]
• Occidental Fire & Cas Co of NC [15] – Wilshire Ins Co [1] – Service Ins Co [1]

The table also includes a complaint index, which represents one company’s share of complaints divided by its share of the market and allows consumers to compare companies without regard to size. A company with a complaint index of one has an average number of complaints. A company with a complaint index above one has more complaints than average. A company with a complaint index below one has fewer complaints than average.

The 15 insurers with the highest complaint index scores are listed below:

The company trade names associated with each insurance group and the number of complaints against each in brackets are as follows:

• FedNat Ins Co [97] – Maison Ins Co [60]
• United Prop & Cas Ins Co [76] – Family Security Ins Co Inc [19]
• Occidental Fire & Cas Co of NC [15] – Wilshire Ins Co [1] – Service Ins Co [1]
• Lighthouse Excalibur Ins Co [27] – Lighthouse Prop Ins Corp [18]
• American Modern Prop & Cas Ins Co [5] – American Modern Home Ins Co [4] – American Western Home Ins Co [3] – American Southern Home Ins Co [1] – American Family Home Ins Co [1]

Source: LDI