美国国家公共电台 NPR Insurers Gear Up For Deluge Of Claims, Hope To Avoid Sandy Repeat

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Texas officials estimate that Harvey flooded nearly 50,000 homes in the state. That number could grow, and most of those homeowners don't have flood insurance. Those who do will soon be filing claims. The insurance industry is getting ready to send in hundreds of so-called catastrophe¹ teams to assess the damage. As Charles Lane of member station WSHU reports, some of those adjusters could cause new problems.

CHARLES LANE, BYLINE²: Even before the rain stopped, property owners we're calling Joel Moore.

JOEL MOORE: They filed claims before they evacuated³. So they actually have no idea if there's damage or not. They just wanted to be at the front end of the curve.

LANE: Moore is an independent adjuster for Gulf⁴ Coast Claims in Houston. Insurance companies hire him to estimate damage costs. To work this many insurance claims, the industry will rely on hundreds of small processing companies who then hire independent contractors⁵.

MOORE: Catastrophe adjusters are a unique breed. They work real hard for a - you know, an extended period of time. They're well compensated⁶ for their expertise⁷. And then they may sit for years.

LANE: Their work is grueling, going house to house in the mud and sun and emotional wake.

MOORE: The guy that was my mentor⁸ told me - he said, look; your job is to pay claims, granted. But how would you feel if you were in the same situation? You need to slow down. Shut up. Let them vent⁹. Let them cry. Tell them you're sorry. And if you're not sorry, you need to get out of business.

LANE: But at the end of the day, it is still a business. Moore says to process all the claims, cat teams will develop shortcuts¹⁰, and some will hire inexperienced adjusters who just got their license¹¹.

How quickly does it take to get a license?

MOORE: I hate to tell you this but about two hours

LANE: Moore is referring to clinics set up by FEMA, the administrator¹² of the National Flood Insurance Program. Anyone can register for the course online and be a certified¹³ a flood adjuster by the end of the day.

JEFF MAJOR: Not being experienced is really bad.

LANE: Jeff Major is a public adjuster in New York. He says during Superstorm Sandy, green adjusters overlooked all sorts of technical details.

MAJOR: These people don't know if there is conduit running on the outside of the wall, that they have a line item for that to put in the estimate. So it's not going to be in the estimate.

LANE: And if it's not in the estimate, homeowners don't get paid. Thousands of Sandy victims complained, and FEMA eventually reopened 20,000 claims that missed more than $390 million. Don Griffin is with PCIA, a trade group that represents flood insurance companies who work with FEMA. He says FEMA and insurance companies learned a lesson after Superstorm Sandy.

DON GRIFFIN: There is much - a much stronger awareness¹⁴ that FEMA has made and much stronger points that FEMA's made with the companies to try to ensure that the consumer is treated appropriately and fairly.

LANE: He says FEMA is exerting more oversight¹⁵ and holding daily calls with private insurance companies to remind them about new rules. But again, this is only for the people with flood coverage¹⁶. Those without will have to rely on government aid. Following both Katrina and Sandy, Congress authorized¹⁷ FEMA to spend about $60 billion per storm to help those who didn't have flood insurance. For NPR News, I'm Charles Lane.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO'S "KERALA")

1 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

7 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

8 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

9 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

10 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

13 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。