“The last hurricane that hit Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki in 1992, and Kauai took the brunt of the damage,” said Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito. “Hurricane Iniki caused almost $2 billion in damages, which is about $3 billion in today’s dollars. It can take just one major storm to cause severe property damage, and we urge you to be prepared.”
Article from Live Science
The mellow 2014 Atlantic hurricane season ends Sunday (Nov. 30), marking another year without major hurricanes hitting the Eastern United States.
Source: IBT Media Inc
"The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing a new lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization that wants a look at FEMA’s inner workings, especially the way its officials decide the fate of insurance appeals made by flood victims.
United Policyholders, a San Francisco-based group that advocates for consumers of insurance products, sued FEMA in federal court in Washington this week. Brought under the Freedom of Information Act, the suit claims the agency has improperly withheld records related to its National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, the main source of flood coverage for U.S. homeowners."
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-sandy-60-minutes-fraud-investigation/
When Hurricane Sandy made its way towards the East Coast in the fall of 2012, residents knew it could be devastating. What they didn't expect was just how bad Sandy turned out to be: 117 deaths, and damage estimated at more than $60 billion, second only to Katrina.
Now two and a half years later, Sandy victims have been hit by something else they didn't expect, the storm after the storm. Many of them say they have been cheated out of their insurance claims. Thousands of claims have still not been resolved and there is evidence that many homeowners were victims of what appears to be wide-scale fraud where original damage reports were later changed to make it look like the damage wasn't as bad. Making matters worse, appeals to the federal agency in charge of all of this, FEMA, went nowhere.
Phil Klotzbach's presentation from the National Hurricane Conference has been posted.
Phil Klotzbach
Department of Atmospheric Science
Colorado State University
The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) provides Canadians with meteorological information on hurricanes, tropical storms and post-tropical storms to help them make informed decisions to protect their safety and secure their property.
Source: Jeff Masters , 11:58 AM GMT on May 17, 2015
Super Typhoon Dolphin intensified into a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds and a central pressure of 925 mb at 2 pm EDT Saturday May 16, becoming Earth's fifth Category 5 storm of the year. Dolphin hung on to Category 5 strength for twelve hours before increasing wind shear helped knock the storm down to a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds by Sunday morning.
"The Citizens Property Insurance Company is regrouping after two hurricanes hit the state. The state-backed insurer is disappointed with the response of independent contractors handling claims adjustment."
"WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a jury verdict that State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. committed fraud against the federal government after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
The justices on Tuesday rejected claims by State Farm that the whistleblower case against the insurer should have been dismissed because its existence was leaked while it was supposed to be secret.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court in upholding an appellate ruling that there is no requirement in federal law that the lawsuit be dismissed.
Sisters Cori and Kerry Rigsby filed the fraud lawsuit on behalf of the government after they said they witnessed State Farm shifting Mississippi claims to federal flood insurance that should have been paid by private wind insurance."
(the above is from the article on http://www.pbs.org/)
Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map last updated Sun, 27 Aug 2017 09:31:40 GMT
Source: sun-sentinel.com
Expecting Hurricane Irma to generate 100,000 claims, Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s governing board on Wednesday suspended normal contracting procedures so the company can pay more to hire additional claims adjusters.
With Irma projected to make landfall in South Florida sometime Sunday, Citizens is concerned about its ability to compete with private insurers here and in Texas for independent adjusters.
The company expects to begin deploying adjusters to evaluate Irma claims in Florida beginning Wednesday.
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - Insurers are scrambling to find inspectors in Texas and Florida after fierce hurricanes battered the states one after the other, causing tens of billions of dollars' worth of property damage in less than two weeks.
Although insurers maintain some number of inspectors, known as claims adjusters, across the U.S. year-round, they must redeploy staff from other areas or hire contract workers to fill gaps when catastrophes like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma strike. The speed with which they can do so is critical to residents and business owners awaiting insurance payments.
Insurers are vying for adjusters after many of them headed to Texas after Hurricane Harvey
After Irma, Florida residents are lacking in many necessities. One of the more frustrating is the paucity of insurance adjusters, which is threatening to anger policyholders and potentially delay the state’s rebuilding efforts.
Many of the state’s adjusters are 1,000 miles away, working on claims made after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas.
Insurers are scrambling to get more adjusters to Florida, creating a bidding war for those who are available. Some Florida home insurers have increased fees paid to adjusters by about 30%, insurers and adjusters say.
source: Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Source: Bulletin W-17045
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused widespread flooding in Texas, Louisiana, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, and the southeast United States. Due to the catastrophic impacts of these hurricanes and the increased demand for flood insurance adjusters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is increasing the amount it will pay to adjust flood insurance claims.
The entire insurance industry is searching for qualified individuals to join the ranks of claims adjusters to handle losses from Harvey, Irma, and future events. FEMA recognizes the specialized knowledge required to properly adjust NFIP losses. Adjusters must know the differences between the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) and private industry property insurance forms. They must know interpretations of coverage made by FEMA and the unique reporting requirements of the NFIP. Accordingly, FEMA maintains a list of adjusters authorized to handle NFIP losses.