Insurers Take Hurricane Beating
Chicago Tribune
January 13, 2006

Many insurance companies' reaction to Hurricane Katrina revealed "a significant pattern of callousness, unfairness and generally inept performance," charges a study issued by a consortium of more than 100 U.S. public interest groups.

The report by Americans for Insurance Reform cites numerous problems that consumers had dealing with such insurers as Northbrook-based Allstate Corp. and Bloomington-based State Farm Insurance Cos.

The report's case studies, some of which alleged foot-dragging by insurance carriers to pay claims, were culled from hundreds of calls made to a toll-free hotline that the group established Sept. 12.

In one phone call, a New Orleans woman claimed Allstate repeatedly told her that the checks were in the mail, but she didn't receive any. When she asked Allstate representatives what dates the checks were sent, she said she was given a different date every time, leading her to suspect that Allstate was stalling. "This went on for at least two months," said the report, released Wednesday.

Allstate spokesman Michael Trevino pointed out Thursday that his company had about 300,000 claims from damage related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while the company deployed, at its peak, about 4,000 claims professionals in the areas.

"It has taken a little longer to get to some of our policyholders than it normally does, but that's the nature of what happens during these catastrophic events," Trevino said. "Rest assured, we have been moving as fast as we can."

For a copy of the complete article, contact AIR.