The majority of complaint Louisiana insurance regulators have received in relation to the historic 2020 hurricane season concern homeowners insurance.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) reports that nearly 80 percent of the 873 complaints it has received about hurricane claims are about homeowners insurance.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is encouraging any policyholder in a dispute with their insurance company to call the department.
Hurricane grievances have included complaints about various types of residential, auto and commercial property insurance, as well as complaints about insurance adjusters and agents, but the vast majority of complaints from the 2020 storm season concerned homeowners insurance. The most common grievance was claim delay.
As of January 11, policyholders had filed 691 homeowners insurance complaints about claims from hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta. The LDI investigated and closed 597 of the complaints by that date.
The 15 insurers with the highest numbers of complaints are listed in the chart below.
Many of these companies are small insurers with a high number of complaints relative to their size, while others have a large number of complaints and a large market share.
The chart includes a complaint index that allows consumers to compare companies without regard to size. A company with a complaint index of 1 has an average number of complaints. A company with a complaint index higher than 1 has more complaints than average.
| Company/Group | Market Share | Number of Complaints | Complaint Index |
| State Farm Group | 26% | 163 | 0.90856 |
| FedNat Holding Company Group[1] | 3.9% | 93 | 3.48228 |
| GeoVera Specialty Insurance Company | 1.8% | 66 | 5.25358 |
| United Insurance Holdings Group[2] | 4% | 52 | 1.87236 |
| Allstate Insurance Group | 10.8% | 51 | 0.68065 |
| Allied Trust Insurance Company | 0.9% | 40 | 6.32678 |
| TWIMG Group[3] | 3.1% | 23 | 1.08225 |
| USAA Group[4] | 6.2% | 23 | 0.53878 |
| Liberty Mutual Group[5] | 5.6% | 18 | 0.46819 |
| Progressive Group[6] | 3.9% | 18 | 0.67448 |
| Centauri National Insurance Company | 1.6% | 15 | 1.389 |
| American Bankers Insurance Company of FL | 1.4% | 14 | 1.43079 |
| IAT Reins Co Grp[7] | 0.9% | 13 | 2.17708 |
| Aegis Security Insurance Company | 0.4% | 10 | 3.77807 |
| Munich Re Grp[8] | 0.1% | 10 | 1.09704 |
| Total for 15 Insurers with the most hurricane complaints | 609 | ||
| Total Hurricane Homeowners Complaints | 691 | ||
| Total Hurricane Complaints as of Jan. 11 | 873 |
[1] FedNat Ins Co [52] – Maison Ins Co [41]
[2] United Prop & Cas Ins Co [41] – Family Security Ins Co Inc [11]
[3] Lighthouse Excalibur Ins Co [12] – Lighthouse Prop Ins Corp [11]
[4] USAA Cas Ins Co [16] – USAA Gen Ind Co [5] – Garrison Prop & Cas Ins Co [2]
[5] Liberty Personal Ins Co [13] – Safeco Ins Co of OR [5]
[6] Progressive Prop Ins Co [11] – ASI Lloyds [7]
[7] Occidental Fire & Cas Co of NC [12] – Wilshire Ins Co [1]
[8] American Modern home Ins Co [4] – American Modern Prop & Cas Ins Co [2] – American Western Home Ins Co [2] – American Family Home Ins Co [1] – American Southern Home Ins Co [1]
In 2015, the Louisiana Department of Insurance re-organized its complaint function so that a new division handled all complaints, whether about life insurance, health insurance, property insurance or any other insurance issue. Trained complaint specialists listen to a consumer’s account of a problem, contact the company on their behalf, investigate the situation, and determine whether the company has complied with Louisiana law and the provisions of the consumer’s contract. Most complaints are resolved within 30 days. If a larger pattern of complaints is observed, it can trigger a broader investigation of a company known as a market conduct exam.
The LDI has an online tool where consumers can view the total number of complaints filed against companies who write insurance in Louisiana. Consumers can visit www.ldi.la.gov/complaintdata to see complaints sorted by company name, premium written and the complaint index, which measures complaints for a company relative to the amount of premium written.
As of Nov. 20, 2020, Louisiana insurers had received 236,928 claims for all lines of insurance from hurricanes Laura and Delta. Half of those claims, or 119,127, were closed by insurers with payment.
Policyholders can file supplemental claims if they incur additional expenses in repairing their properties or if they discover previously unknown storm damage.
Source: LDI
Topics Claims Windstorm Louisiana Homeowners
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