Remebering the Storms of April 2011
Remembering the Storms of April 2011
Art Glasgow, Peck-Glasgow Insurance
April 27 will long be remembered by Alabamians and residents of surrounding states. With so much property damage and loss of life, memories were made that will be slow to fade. According to the Insurance Journal, insurers have paid at least $2.2 billion in Alabama arising from the April 2011 tornado outbreak.
The figure above from the Alabama Department of Insurance, include amounts that insurance firms regulated by the state have paid for homes, cars, businesses and other property damaged on April 27, 2011. They do not include claims by surplus lines companies such as Lloyd’s of London that insure some Alabama property but are not regulated by the state. According to the Alabama insurance department, if all those claims were included the total would probably approach $3 billion paid in Alabama.
For the most part the record of the insurance companies during this catastrophe has been excellent. As always there are some claims that are slow to be resolved for various reasons. The claims settlement process illustrates vividly how important the insurance industry is to the state’s economy and the valuable role insurance plays in helping to put back the residents lives and businesses of Alabama.
The companies did what they were supposed to do during this crisis. They paid the legitimate claims they owed to the many effected! As a result of the losses incurred not only in the southeast that day, but in following days in the midwest many companies had claims reserves decreased by 20-50%. In the aftermath, many companies are having to make difficult decisions concerning the business they write and the locations in which they do business. These decisions are causing a significant disruption in what is normally a steady property insurance market.
Peck-Glasgow Insurance, as well as many agencies are seeing many consumers being left with non-renewals, cancelations and significant rate changes. Many companies are restricting the type of property they write as well as the requirements to write that coverage. Peck-Glasgow Insurance has options for consumers dealing with the insurance placement of coverage. Peck-Glasgow Insurance is an Alabama Insurance Agency, writing Alabama Homeowners Insurance, Alabama Auto Insurance, Alabama Business Insurance, Alabama Workers Compensation Insurance and Alabama Life Insurance policies. As Independent Insurance Agents we offer optional coverage and premium from many of the leading insurance companies.