Billing Grace Period Ends in All But Three Miss. Counties

Some south Mississippians are returning to regular payment schedules to companies that offered billing grace periods to allow for hurricane recovery, according to officials from banks, insurance companies and utilities.

In response to a request from Insurance Commissioner George Dale, insurers like State Farm suspended bank drafts, automatic electronic deductions from checking accounts, to give customers in affected counties time to assess their financial situations after Hurricane Katrina, Susan Lamey, a DOI spokesperson told the Hattiesburg American.

Bank drafts were reinstated and policyholders became responsible for back payments Nov. 1 in all but three devastated counties: Jackson, Harrison and Hancock.

“Premiums, compounded for two prior months and for some folks that did create a hardship,” Lamey said, adding that agents are working with individual clients to find solutions. “We’re trying to get everyone comfortable.”

State Farm notified policyholders via mail that back premiums would be coming due, and at the insurance commissioner’s request extended the grace period for coastal counties an additional 30 days, Lamey said.

Other agencies took different approaches to easing the pain of bills after the hurricane. Mississippi Power waived a number of normal service fees after the hurricane, including deposits, connection and disconnection fees and late charges, but resumed normal charges on Nov. 1, spokesman Pat Wylie told the American. But customers had to contact the utility to cancel bank drafts if they had enrolled in the company’s electronic billing program.

Banks suspended mortgage payments in affected communities through Dec. 1, and are working with individual clients on payment schedules, several local bankers said.

“Overall, we’re very pleased with how our customers have weathered the storm financially,” said David McCullen, executive vice president of Community Bank.

But some customers have reported confusion about why insurance payments were not drafted, McCullen said. “They say, ‘My insurance didn’t draft and now I’ve got to pay three months of insurance. Why didn’t they just draft it when I had the money?'” he said.

Even McCullen found himself in the same predicament, but advised insurance policyholders to follow his example if financially able. “I just had to write them a check to catch up on those couple months of payments, and get back on draft so I wouldn’t have to think about it again,” he said.

Topics Mississippi Hurricane