Miss. Commissioner Dale Reports Katrina Claims Approach 500,000

Almost half a million insurance claims have been submitted by policy-holders whose property was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, according to George Dale, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner.

“The insurance industry has just been overwhelmed by this storm,” Dale told the Jackson, Miss. Clarion-Ledger, adding the number of claims will keep rising. “There are thousands of policy-owners who had losses. But there are only hundreds of adjusters. And you have to adjust every claim.”

Of the more than 400,000 claims filed, more than 80 percent, 328,001 were filed with State Farm, Susan Lamey, a spokeswoman for the company said.

Larney said In Mississippi, State Farm has received 113,763 claims. Of those, 88,029 were for home damage and 25,734 for automobiles.

In Louisiana 163,595 homeowner claims were filed and 50,643 automobile claims submitted, she said.

The company has more than 3,000 adjusters inspecting property. Allstate has 2,800 adjusters working in Louisiana and Mississippi.

“We are doing the best we can, seeing the folks with the most severely damaged property,” Lamey said.