Missouri Ins. Dept. Sides with Homeowners Over Storm Damage Dispute

The Missouri Department of Insurance is supporting angry homeowners over a dispute with a number of insurance companies regarding replacing home siding which was damaged by hail during the state’s most damaging storm to date.

According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, hail, at times larger than tennis balls, smashed cars and homes across northern St. Louis County two months ago.

An insurance association figured the payouts for homes and vehicles in Missouri was $700 million and rising. Those numbers make it the state’s most expensive, passing the $95 million in claims paid out following a hail storm in Kansas City in April of 1995.

In North County, hail separated vinyl and strongly dented aluminum siding on the west sides of a number of homes. The Missouri Department of Insurance put out a bulletin advising insurance companies, if necessary, to replace all of the siding on a home to see that it matches.

Twelve companies had representatives meet with the agency regarding the issue last week. To date, the agency indicated it had received more than 500 complaints from owners over settlements that would replace only those sides damaged, leaving mismatched siding on many homes.

Robert Lowery, mayor of Florissant, had praise for the bulletin, stating that it reinforced the position he had taken all along, and noted that while the bulletin is an advisory, it warns insurance companies they may be in violation of state law if they don’t abide by its terms.

State Farm Insurance Co. and American Family Insurance Co., which represent nearly 40 percent of all policies in the state, said they had approved or paid together $275 million on 36,000 buildings and $143 million on 41,000 vehicles in the St. Louis area.

An American Family Insurance spokesperson, speaking for the company who has received most of the complaints, said the company is abiding with the Missouri terms, and will search suppliers for matching siding, replacing in entirety the home siding if a match is not located.

Topics Windstorm Homeowners Missouri