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

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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.

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