No consumer complaints have been received by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in response to the insurance industry’s handling of the estimated 5,000 auto, homeowner and commercial claims that resulted from Hurricane Humberto, which struck High Island, Texas on Sept. 13, 2007.
The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported that approximately 97 percent of the windstorm claims from Humberto have been settled with insured losses estimated near $30 million. Ninety percent of the claims were residential, while the remaining 10 percent were commercial claims. Some claims are still coming in.
TDI Public Information Officer Jerry Hagins said that while no complaints were filed with the department regarding claims from Humberto, it is possible that some policyholders took complaints to their insurers that were subsequently resolved.
“It appears that the insurance companies took care of their policyholders with this storm,” Hagins added.
He said the storm was a relatively small one by Texas standards. Still, Humberto intensified faster than any other tropical storm on record and it was the only hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland in the last two years. The storm, with 85 mph winds, struck just miles away from where Hurricane Rita made landfall two years earlier.
Mark Hanna, a spokesman for ICT, said the insurance industry can be proud of how well it responded to both hurricanes. “Hurricane Rita resulted in nearly 200,000 claims, more than $2 billion in losses in Texas and the complaints were less than one percent,” Hanna said. “With no complaints coming out of Hurricane Humberto, the industry is justifiably proud. Every person and every agency can share in this unique accomplishment.”
Humberto struck close to where Rita hit in Jefferson County creating overlapping claims that caused problems for adjusters. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) handled about half of Humberto’s claims and its director, Jim Oliver, said sending in additional adjusters may have helped solve a lot of potential problems.
“We responded very quickly and may have over responded with more personnel than needed,” Oliver said. “But, I am very proud of the fact that not one complaint has been filed.”
In Texas, policyholders can file complaints against agents or insurance companies with TDI by mail, e-mail or through TDI’s Consumer Protection Hotline, 800-252-3439. Consumers have the option of filing complaints anonymously.
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