Jeanne Loss $3.3 Billion, Fla. Sets Insurer Deadlines

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, Oct. 26, 4:23 p.m. EDT?Florida put insurers under deadlines to settle up hurricane claims yesterday as an insurance group put the total insured loss from Hurricane Jeanne at nearly $3.3 billion.[@@]

State officials were also taking steps to provide aid to homeowners who could be hit with double deductibles for damage from some of the four storms that battered Florida in August and September.

The Property Claims Services unit of the Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office, which produced a $2.785 billion loss estimate for Florida alone, said Hurricane Jeanne, which hit Florida on Sept. 26, produced nearly 385,000 claims for destroyed or damaged insured homes, cars, boats and businesses.

At the state capitol in Tallahassee, Gov. Jeb Bush and his cabinet approved an emergency rule setting deadlines for insurance companies to assess, process and settle hurricane claims.

For claims filed by Oct. 21, the deadline is Nov. 22, and for claims filed by Nov. 8 it is Dec. 8. By those dates, companies must make initial damage assessments, process and settle claims, including payment of additional living expenses where damage is extensive.

Florida's insurance regulator, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, said he asked for the rule in reaction to storm victims calling his department hotline complaining they had yet to see an adjuster or were still waiting for one to return and do a damage assessment.

Mr. Gallagher announced he could assess penalties for lateness of $2,500 per claim, per day.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said yesterday that to deal with homeowners who suffered damage from two or more storms and who might have to pay multiple insurance deductibles, he would be making recommendations to the legislature.

Sam Miller, executive vice president for the Florida Insurance Council, said he understood the governor will be asking the legislature in special session to reimburse double deductible homeowners with funds from Florida's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, and that Gov. Bush has asked the CAT fund to look into how it can refund premiums to insurers that cover deductibles.

Many insurers, he said, are waiving the deductibles. "I believe most companies on a case-by-case basis are doing it," Mr. Miller said. "If you can't tell when [Hurricane] Charley ended and Frances began, there's no way you can impose the double deductible."

He noted that the number of insureds paying a double deductible is some 20,000 out of 2.2 million claims. "It's a very small percentage that are having to pay the double deductible twice," he said.

According to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, 66 percent of Florida homeowners pay a 2 percent deductible for damages resulting from a hurricane, which is about a $4,000 deductible on a $200,000 home.

The homeowner may have to pay two or more deductibles, delaying repairs and rebuilding or precluding them altogether for those with fixed incomes, according to Gov. Bush. The total impact of second and subsequent deductibles could range from $150 million to $300 million.

"Neither insurers nor policyholders foresaw the implications of multiple hurricanes," said Gov. Bush. "We must take action to make certain multiple deductibles do not preclude Florida homeowners from rebuilding quickly."

ISO's Property Claims Services unit said that for Hurricane Jeanne, Florida sustained the highest insured losses, followed by Pennsylvania ($145 million), Georgia ($105 million), South Carolina ($45 million) and New York ($35 million).

Taken together, the four hurricanes ? Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne ? have caused an estimated $20.485 billion in insured losses with an anticipated total of 2.1 million claims.

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Jeanne Loss $3.3 Billion, Fla. Sets Insurer Deadlines

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