The New York Department of Financial Services says the actionsof three insurers following Superstorm Sandy are "totallyunacceptable," and warrant an investigation.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo says the state DFS is investigating thealleged failure of Narragansett Bay Insurance Co., KingstoneInsurance Co., and Tower Insurance Co. to send adjusters andprocess claims in a timely manner after the Oct. 29, 2012 stormstruck the Northeast.

The DFS has issued a demand for information to each of thecompanies. The insurers are required to respond.

Tower Group Refutes Allegations of Poor Sandy-RelatedClaims Practices

According to the state, which has been tracking complaintsagainst insurers since Sandy, policyholders of Kingstone filedcomplaints for the insurer's alleged failure tosend, or timely send, an adjuster. Policyholders also allegepartial inspections, the denial of wind-damage claims, as well asdisputed and/or delayed settlements

Policyholders of Tower have complained of the insurer'salleged failure to send adjusters. Some say claims were denied overthe phone, with no adjuster visit, says the DFS. Additionalcomplaints against Tower include wrongful denial of claims underthe sewer backup exclusion, difficulty reaching the company, and ofdelays in the claims process.

Narragansett policyholders have complained they have been unableto reach adjusters, or the adjusters have missedappointments. 

Narragansett, Kingstone and Tower were not immediately availableto comment.

"These practices and the volume of complaints on outstandingclaims are totally unacceptable," says Benjamin M. Lawsky,superintendent of the DFS, in a statement. "We know that the stormproduced extraordinary circumstances, but we still expect insurersto live up to the highest standards."

New York law requires insurers inspect damaged property with 15business days of a filed claim. On Nov. 29 that timeline wasshortened to six business days for some properties, say stateofficials.

Insurers must send a letter to policyholders explaining thedelay if they are not able to settle a claim with 15 business daysof a claims investigation.

According to a website set up to track complaints, Tower has had249 complaints out of 16,777 total claims filed from Sandy.

Policyholders of Narragansett have logged 147 complaints. Theinsurer has taken 11,029 total claims.

There is no data available for Kingstone.

By no means do these companies lead all insurers in complaints,but their ratio of complaints compared to total claims is among thehighest.

For instance, complaints against Allstate stand at 528, but theinsurer has logged more than 81,507 claims.