Florida Has Most Lightning Claims but Texas Has Highest Cost Per Claim

July 6, 2015     (Insurance Journal)

The number of insurance claims from lightning strikes in the United States continued its steady decline, as severe thunderstorm activity eased from near-record levels and dry weather prevailed throughout much of the western half of the country. Despite fewer storms, insurers still paid $739 million in lightning claims to nearly 100,000 policyholders in 2014, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Florida led the way with the number of lighting claims in 2014, followed by Georgia, Texas and Louisiana. The Lone Star State had the highest average cost per lightning damage claim: $10,671.

Across the United States, total insured losses from lightning were up 9.7 percent from 2013, though overall incurred losses between 2010 and 2014 are still down 28.5 percent.

An analysis of homeowners insurance data by the INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE and State Farm found there were 99,871 insurer-paid lightning claims in 2014, down 13 percent from 2013. Yet the average lightning paid-claim amount was up 26 percent, from $5,869 in 2013 to $7,400 in 2014.

The drop in the number of claims is consistent with data from the National Weather Service, which recorded 127 days in 2014 in which lightning caused property damage, while 137 such days were recorded in 2013.

“The incidence of lightning claims last year is a continuation of a downward trend,” said James Lynch, director of Information Services and chief actuary at the INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE “Since 2010, the number of paid lightning claims is down more than 53 percent. The sustained decline in the number of claims may be attributed to an increased use of lightning protection systems, technological advances, better lightning protection and awareness of lightning safety — as well as to fewer storms.”

That may be good news for homeowners, but “lightning is still an extremely costly weather-related event,” Lynch said.

Despite the drop in the number of paid claims in 2014, the average cost per claim rose nearly 53 percent from 2010 to 2014. By comparison, the consumer price index rose by 8.6 percent in the same period.

The average cost per claim is volatile from year to year, Lynch noted, but it has generally continued to rise, in part because of the huge increase in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes. In addition, better protection systems may have eliminated some smaller claims, while larger claims remain that drive the average higher.

Contact Roofing Professionals of Texas for more information about this or any other post on this blog.  

Freddie Reinwald / Roofing Professionalfreddie@roofingprotx.com / 214-293-0944

Roofing Professionals of Texas
Office: 469-906-2600 Ext. 101/ Fax: 469-906-2601
9500 Ray White Dr. Ste. 200, Fort Worth, TX 76244ww.roofingprotx. com

If I file a claim will it raise my premium???? The truth behind the lies...

Often I get asked if filing a claim will raise my premium or annual amount.  I like to be as frank and truthful with clients as possible. Most adjusters would just say, “That’s not my area of expertise.” The answer is that filing a claim will NOT cause your homeowner’s premium to increase. Contrary to what many people believe, they associate having one claim filed with their rates going up. The fact is that claims don’t dictate the premium with regards to homeowner’s insurance. Homeowner’s insurance does not perform like auto insurance. Auto insurance has dozens, sometimes hundreds of tiers for premium rates. Your claim history, citation record, points on your license, and various other things contribute to the tier that you are placed in and the premium you pay.

Homeowner’s insurance focuses more on the region that you live in. The number of catastrophes your area has suffered in the past few years, the potential risk in your area, the type of residential home, and the amount of coverage you buy, and other factors dictate the bulk of your premium. Filing one claim will not spike your premium. Now, your premium may go up in the subsequent year, but do not put two and two together. Insurance companies are more concerned with the amount of claims you have filed in a given period. If you make three claims in one year, they will most likely drop your policy altogether, not raise your individual premium. The premiums are usually raised in bulk for a given region, not individually, and insurance companies can only submit rate increases once per year.  The insurance industry will have you believe different.

So, if you have a loss with damage, the right thing to do is allow Roofing Professionals of Texas to file the claim on your behalf and navigate it from there in an attempt to get you the optimum dollar value for your loss, using superior products, professional craftsmen, and an incredibly talented company. After all, you’re paying a premium every year, why not use your insurance for what it’s designed to do?

DISCLAIMER:  As I always say, I am not an insurance agent, a tax professional or an attorney, but I am a roofer in the DFW area in the insurance restoration industry and have been filing claims on behalf of property owners for over a quarter of a century, I am a graduate of Law School and minored in contract law, and have helped thousands of clients save money every year in taxes as a result of roofing.  Don’t take my advice directly.  Listen to the thousands of grateful clients in who have benefitted from our skillset.

Freddie Reinwald / Roofing Professional
freddie@roofingprotx.com / 214-293-0944

Roofing Professionals of Texas
Office: 469-906-2600 Ext. 101/ Fax: 469-906-2601
9500 Ray White Dr. Ste. 200, Fort Worth, TX 76244
ww.roofingprotx. com

When hail strikes, what do you do???

When hail strikes, it can be devastating for homeowners. Many homeowners call our office in a panic after a hailstorm because their roof systems are damaged and they wonder whether they have adequate insurance coverage. We understand this concern and consider it our mission to help homeowners through the insurance claim process.

Shortly after a hailstorm, many people claiming to be roofing contractors will swarm your neighborhood. These high-pressure salespeople will try to intimidate you into buying a roof system using fear tactics—your roof is going to leak, the ceiling could cave in, etc.

First, call Roofing Professionals of Texas and we will contact your insurance company. If your roof is leaking, Roofing Professionals of Texas will begin immediate protective measures for free. A professional roofing contractor should provide temporary repairs to your property until they are able to fully repair the damage. For the record, not all roofing companies are created equal, so be sure to do your homework. Family, friends, co-workers and neighbors also are good sources for contractor referrals. Never choose a contractor based solely on price or high-pressure sales tactics.

After your insurance company receives notice of your claim, it will assign an insurance adjuster to visit your home and inspect your roof system and other areas that may be damaged. After the adjuster's visit, you will receive a settlement sheet outlining your home's damage and what the insurance company will pay. These settlement sheets can be confusing! A Roofing Professionals of Texas representative will help you understand the settlement. Part of Elite Roofing Solutions’ role is to ensure your adjuster has included everything you will need to repair or replace your roof to meet building codes and homeowner association requirements and provide a roof system matching the value of the roof system you are replacing. You will be responsible for the additional cost of any upgrades to the roof system and for your deductible.

Insurance companies are committed to their policyholders' satisfaction. In short, don't panic! Roofing Professionals of Texas will deal with your insurance company, insurance adjuster and building departments, and soon you will have a beautiful new roof!

Texas homeowner hail lawsuit-restriction bill should worry collision repairers

May 1, 2015

A bill that would make it more difficult for property owners to sue insurers for unpaid claims and limit the amount they can collect has passed the Texas Senate, and collision repairers should be concerned with the implications should it pass and later be extended to auto insurance.

Senate Bill 1628 was inspired by a boom in property damage lawsuits over insurance claims following hailstorms in Texas, and collision repairers having their own battles with comprehensive insurers over hail might be able to relate to homeowner’s frustrations.

The rationale for supporters was similar to a Florida bill that would have blocked homeowners from assigning benefits— “ambulance-chasing” contractors and attorneys were swooping in after water damage incidents and inflating claims, according to media reports there.

Opponents agreed according to sources that litigation was getting a little out of hand in Texas, and the bill states that insurers have stopped offering coverage in some areas because of hail litigation. (Although you have to wonder if factors like not wanting to cover a place where hail is almost inevitable drove the exit more than litigation.)

But opponents said a bill that would also affect legitimately wronged policyholders wasn’t the answer, the newspaper said.

A companion version, House Bill 3646, was heard but left pending in the House Insurance committee April 22 and apparently not acted upon at the April 29 meeting.

What will happen next is unclear. A staffer for the committee said Friday that pending bills like that can be brought up at any committee meeting at the chairman’s discretion, without the public notice a bill needs the first time.

Typically, House bills less advanced in the legislative process will be altered to resemble the Senate’s version in situations like this where the other body has already debated and passed it, the staffer said.

Republican state Sens. Larry Taylor, who owns Truman Taylor Insurance Agency, co-wrote SB 1628 along with Van Taylor, director of Churchill Capital (it’s unclear if there’s any relation), and the bill has been attacked for being blatantly pro-insurer.

“Why are we looking at a bill that is pretty much strictly in favor of the insurance companies?” Roger Beasley Automotive Group owner David Stein said during a Senate committee hearing. “Where in this bill does it protect families? Where in this bill does it protect the small businesses, the medium or large businesses? Nowhere.”

But Larry Taylor has pointed out the interest of trial lawyers in attacking the bill, noting their connection to opposition group Texas Watch in a Wednesday op-ed that takes little responsibility for bad insurance practices. (Insurers and trial lawyers — there’s two well-regarded professions…)

Here’s some points in the bill, passed officially 21-10 on Friday that collision repairers should consider:

Dispute does not equal settlement

“A bona fide dispute as to whether an insurer is liable for a claim made under an insurance policy covering real property or improvements to real property does not constitute an unfair settlement practice under this section.”

We wonder if this could open the door to disputing virtually everything or stalling on claims as a matter of policy, knowing that doing so could be loopholed as a “bona fide dispute” instead of an “unfair settlement practice.”

You get less money

Only the unpaid amount of the claim collects 18 percent interest now, and you will now be taxed on it. Also, an attorney can’t share his or her attorney’s fees with you. (That practice, we’ll agree, does sound to court frivolous lawsuits.

Also, interest doesn’t start until 60 days after an insurer receives a supplemental claim, which means you won’t make as much in interest (and the insurer won’t pay as much) if your claim was justified.

You don’t have as much time

You can only bring “notice of a claim” for two years after the damage happened, and anything in an insurance policy restricting the “prompt notice” time further can also apply. So if you found damage down the road, you might be out of luck. Two years might be a stretch to discover damage that you can say for sure was tied to a specific event, but one wonders how low a time limit for notice could be inserted into a policy under this.

You need to submit a lot of paperwork

To even sue an insurer, your notice of action must be in compliance with a lot of paperwork before you can bring action. You’ll need to state specific damages and amounts, attorney’s fees, amount for which you’d settle the case, everyone connected with the claim, why the supplemental claim wasn’t mentioned earlier and anything else backing your case up. That’s different than the notice required in other insurance lawsuits.

EXPENSIVE HAIL DAMAGE MAY NOT BE OBVIOUS

Monday, April 20, 2015 -- The hail pounded a wide swath of our area. Now homeowners are cleaning up what's left.

Kathy, a homeowner, only has a few more scoops of debris to collect from her yard, but she's worried enough about her roof to get an inspector out to look for damage.

"I think we will call them and have them come out and it would ease my mind just to have it looked at," Kathy said.

Insurance agents say it's wise to have your roof checked even if you do not see any obvious damage from hail.

We're looking for damage to the shingles, the vents, (and) the matting of the shingles.

Agents say if there is damage, homeowners may only have a few months to file a claim depending on their insurance company, but it could be a year or more before a problem develops.

Another tip is be sure to research any company offering to do the work. 

One of the Presidents at Better Business Bureau, says homeowners should see someone who has been around and has a decent history.

"Even if they're not accredited with us but they've got a decent history, they resolve complaints (and) they take care of things. Also talk to your insurance company...they may have a vetted list that they've done on their own too," BBB explained.

In some cases, the damage caused by the storm will not be greater than a homeowner's deductible. In that case, do not be surprised if you have to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket.

DFW Metroplex 469-906-2600

Nationwide 855-631-ROOF

Texas bills target crooked roofers after Dallas area's hail horror stories

AUSTIN — Several weeks after signing a contract to get her roof replaced for $25,000 last summer, Mary Jane Pierson of Fort Worth started to worry she was getting scammed.

Her repeated phone calls to the roofing contractor weren’t returned or she was offered a litany of excuses about why the job wasn’t getting done: the company’s office flooded, the owner’s wife was in the hospital, shipment of the shingles had been delayed.

“I knew there was a serious problem,” she said, recalling the change in behavior of the roofer, whose initial friendly demeanor before he secured the contract — and a check for $14,000 — was gone.

Pierson, whose $200,000 brick home is still waiting for a new roof, said the contractor originally came knocking on her door — as did several others — last spring after a massive hailstorm in North Texas. He was very helpful and offered to get her insurance claim moving — so she agreed to sign a contract.

“Everything looked on the up and up. So I gave him the first check from the insurance company for $14,000. I now know I shouldn’t have done that,” she said.

Pierson plans to tell her story later this month in Austin when lawmakers consider bills that would impose new state requirements on roofing contractors for the first time. Currently, roofers are not required to be licensed or registered by the state.

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, is sponsoring one measure aimed at protecting homeowners from dishonest roofers and roofing companies through state licensing of those businesses. A backup proposal by Carona calls for registration and oversight of roofers by the Texas Department of Insurance.

“I’m generally not in favor of a large amount of licensing of any of the occupations, but where roofing is concerned there is such a long history of abuse of consumers, particularly during periods after storms or natural disasters,” he said.

“Texas needs to put some safeguards in place to ensure that the people who provide new roofs are financially sound, meet the appropriate building codes and honor their warranties.”

Some in the roofing industry, especially smaller outfits, have complained that the proposals might prevent contractors from starting their businesses and increase costs to consumers. Others have praised legislators for trying to help to weed out abusers who’ve preyed on homeowners.

Roofers after a storm

Carona said his office regularly hears from constituents who have lost several thousands of dollars in scams by unregulated roofers.

Karen Fox, executive director of the North Texas Roofing Contractors Association, said the pattern of fraud is similar in a majority of cases.

“Within 12 hours of a storm, an area can be blanketed with roofers, many from other states. After making contact with the homeowner and offering a lower price, they ask for a down payment and say they will come back after buying the shingles. Then, they never come back,” she said.

“Homeowners get taken advantage of all the time. It’s a big problem in North Texas.”

Mike Crosby of Crosby Roofing in Dallas agreed the problem is widespread.

“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into who had to pay for a new roof out of their pocket after a roofer took their money and disappeared,” he said.

A major reason homeowners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are targeted is that they live in what many consider to be the hail capital of the nation.

Just last year, more than 40,000 homes and businesses were damaged by two massive storm systems that struck the area, requiring roof replacements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Unlike plumbers, electricians or even barbers, anyone can place a sign on their truck calling themselves a roofing contractor,” said Mark Hanna of the Insurance Council of Texas. “The result can be shoddy work, no work or outright insurance fraud.”

Those practices, which have become more commonplace, have made many homeowners leery of dealing with roofing companies — a situation that Hanna says points to the need for regulation of roofers.

He cited a council survey of registered voters last November, which indicated that more than four out of five Texans want roofing contractors to be licensed by the state.

Contractor went to Hawaii

Darrin Tatum, who lives on Lake Texoma near Pottsboro, is among those who strongly support new regulation of roofers, particularly after his own experience getting the roof on his home replaced after a hailstorm in 2011.

His roofer, who had placed yard signs in the neighborhood after the hailstorm, agreed to start work as soon as a contract was signed.

Tatum went on vacation for two weeks and returned to find nothing had been done. He couldn’t reach the roofer’s company and eventually learned he was vacationing in Hawaii with his wife.

“He was a shyster, big time,” said Tatum, who finally got his roof replaced months later and then learned the roofing contractor never paid for the $4,000 worth of roofing shingles that were used on his home.

Tatum said some of his neighbors had similar experiences with the roofer, who is no longer working in the area.

Fox said many of the problems could be prevented if roofing contractors were regulated by the state, which could then take action against those who defraud homeowners or perform shoddy work.

“We want our industry to be as professional as any other industry,” she said, noting that leading roofing companies and contractors are backing the legislation by Carona and Rep. Kenneth Sheets, R-Dallas. “It’s hard to compete against companies that cut corners and don’t have to meet building standards.”

She also pointed out that the state is losing sales tax revenue from the large number of roofers who don’t collect it.

Pierson, meanwhile, is looking forward to finally getting her roof replaced later this month. “I realize I am just one of many that this has happened to. But it will continue to happen to many more unless the state steps in and protects homeowners,” she said.

Possible changes at a glance

Bills have been filed in the House (HB 888) and Senate (SB 311) that would provide for state regulation of roofing contractors for the first time in Texas. The proposals are in response to widespread problems — including fraud and shoddy workmanship — mainly caused by smaller and out-of-state roofers. Among the possible changes:

Requiring state licensing of roofing businesses or registration and oversight of those businesses by Texas Department of Insurance.

Requiring standard form contracts for roofers and homeowners drafted by insurance department.

Requiring disclosure of roofer insurance coverage to consumers before contract is signed.

Prohibiting roofers from offering to cover an insured’s deductible as part of transaction.

Prohibiting roofers from adjusting insurance claims.

Creating a license holder database on Department of Insurance website for consumers to compare and examine roofing businesses.

Conducting background checks for roofers.

Exempting new homes and new commercial construction.

2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Issued By The Weather Channel

A new hurricane season forecast issued by The Weather Channel on Tuesday says we can expect the number of named storms and hurricanes in the 2015 Atlantic season to stay below historical averages.

Numbers of Atlantic Basin named storms, those that attain at least tropical storm strength, hurricanes, and hurricanes of Category 3 intensity forecast by The Weather Channel (right column) and Colorado State University (center column) compared to the 30-year average (left column).

A total of nine named storms, five hurricanes and one major hurricane are expected this season, according to the forecast prepared by The Weather Channel Professional Division. This is below the 30-year average of 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. A major hurricane is one that is Category 3 or stronger on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Meteorologist Dr. Todd Crawford of The Weather Channel Professional Division says, “Both the dynamical models and our proprietary statistical models suggest a relatively quiet tropical season this year."

The Weather Channel forecast for below-average activity during the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season is consistent with what Colorado State University (CSU) said in its forecast issued on April 9. CSU's forecast called for seven named storms, including three hurricanes, one of which is predicted to attain major hurricane status.

The CSU outlook, headed by Dr. Phil Klotzbach in consultation with long-time hurricane expert Dr. William Gray, is based on a combination of 29 years of statistical predictors, combined with analog seasons exhibiting similar features of sea-level pressure and sea-surface temperatures in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans.

2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Tracks

Tracks of all Atlantic tropical cyclones attaining at least tropical storm strength in the 2014 hurricane season.  

Here are four questions about this outlook and what it means for you.

2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Tracks

Tracks of all Atlantic tropical cyclones attaining at least tropical storm strength in the 2014 hurricane season. 

Q: Does this mean a less destructive season?

There is no strong correlation between the number of storms or hurricanes and U.S. landfalls in any given season.

"It is important to note that our - The Weather Channel - forecasts are for the total number of storms that may occur anywhere within the Atlantic Ocean, and do not attempt to predict the number of storms that will make landfall in the U.S.," said Dr. Peter Neilley, vice president of Global Forecasting Services at WSI.

The 2014 season featured the fewest number of named storms in 17 years (eight storms), but also featured the strongest landfalling hurricane in the mainland U.S. in six years (Hurricane Arthur on the Outer Banks), and featured two back-to-back hurricane hits on the tiny archipelago of Bermuda (Fay, then Gonzalo).

Furthermore, six of those eight storms became hurricanes, and Gonzalo was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Igor in 2010.

Sea-surface temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Basin in late March 2015 compared to 1980-2010 average. Blue/purple colors denote cooler than average SSTs. Yellow/orange/red colors denote warmer than average SSTs.

(RECAP: 2014 Hurricane Season)

In 1983, there were only four named storms, but one of them was Alicia, a Category 3 hurricane which clobbered the Houston-Galveston area.

The 2010 season featured 12 hurricanes and 19 named storms, which tied 1995 for the third most named storms in any Atlantic season, at the time. But not a single hurricane, and only one tropical storm, made landfall in the U.S during that active season.

In other words, a season can deliver many storms, but have little impact, or deliver few storms and have one or more hitting the U.S. coast with major impact.

Therefore, it's important to be prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms every year, regardless of seasonal forecasts.

2013 Atlantic hurricane season storm tracks. 

Potential impact of El Nino on 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.

Q: Will El Niño play a role?

El Nino was first officially declared by NOAA as winter wound down. As of this early April forecast, El Niño, a periodic warming of the equatorial Pacific waters, has been given a 60 percent chance of persisting into the fall, according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

Dr. Crawford says, "A new El Niño event is emerging that will likely be stronger than last year’s weaker event. The cooler ocean temperatures and subsidence/shear associated with the El Niño event will likely be a deterrent for widespread tropical cyclone development in the Atlantic."

There is a body of scientific evidence linking the occurrence of El Niño with increased wind shear in the tropical Atlantic Basin, which is one factor, along with dry air, that limits the development and strengthening of tropical cyclones.

However, exactly where the warming of the equatorial Pacific waters takes place and the magnitude of that warming plays at least a partial role in the number of Atlantic named storms.

- Warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific: lower number of Atlantic tropical cyclones

- Warming in the central equatorial Pacific: higher number of Atlantic tropical cyclones

Klotzbach and Gray of CSU found five other hurricane seasons with comparable Atlantic and Pacific sea-surface temperatures both in February-March, as well as what is forecast for August-October: 1957, 1987, 1991, 1993 and 2014. Those years averaged eight named storms, four hurricanes, and 1-2 major hurricanes.

Despite the low numbers in those years, in addition to 2014's Hurricane Arthur, there were two other historic hurricanes during those seasons:

- Hurricane Bob (1991): One of the costliest and most intense New England hurricanes on record ($1.5 billion damage; 17 killed; 5-8 foot storm surge in Rhode Island; waves battered south coasts of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard)

- Hurricane Audrey (1957): Only Category 4 June Atlantic hurricane on record; Seventh deadliest Atlantic hurricane with at least 416 killed.

In short, the exact role El Niño may play in the 2015 season remains uncertain.

(MORE: El Niño Facts Behind the Impacts)

Sea-surface temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Basin in late March 2015 compared to 1980-2010 average. Blue/purple colors denote cooler than average SSTs. Yellow/orange/red colors denote warmer than average SSTs.  (Klotzbach and Gray April 2015 hurricane season forecast)

Q: Any other factors in play?

"Aggregate Atlantic basin sea surface temperatures are as cool as they’ve been since 2009, and are at the second coolest levels in 20 years," said Dr. Crawford.

Looking at the Atlantic Basin as a whole as of late March 2015, warmer sea-surface temperatures (hereafter, SSTs) were in place in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea but generally cooler-than-average SSTs dominated in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the western African coast to about halfway to the Windward Islands.

All other factors – such as the amount of wind shear and dry air aloft – being equal, warmer waters offer more heat to fuel the tropical cyclone.

It is important to note, however, that a large majority of the destructive hurricanes during the record-setting 2005 hurricane season developed in the western Atlantic Basin.

"The big question marks with this season's predictions are how strong El Niño is going to be, as well as if tropical and North Atlantic sea-surface temperature anomalies remain as cool as they are now," said Klotzbach and Gray.

2013 Atlantic hurricane season storm tracks.

Q: Why were the last two seasons relatively quiet?

We mentioned the somewhat paradoxical 2014 Atlantic hurricane season earlier. Fewest named storms since 1997, but back-to-back strikes on Bermuda, as well as Hurricane Arthur ruining the July 4th holiday on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

In 2014, Klotzbach and Gray noted July sea-surface temperatures in the main development region between the Lesser Antilles and Africa were the coolest since July 2002. Interestingly, sea-surface temperatures were actually warmer than average in a broad swath of the western Atlantic Ocean, western Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.

Vertical wind shear, namely the change in wind direction and/or speed with height, was found to be near the strongest on record in July 2014 over the Caribbean Sea, according to the CSU study. Wind shear disrupts tropical cyclones or inhibits them from developing by displacing thunderstorms from the center of circulation.

Following Arthur, five remaining named storms forming in the Atlantic Ocean all took north, then northeast turns away from the U.S. mainland, thanks to the orientation of winds aloft and the orientation of the Bermuda high. Tropical Storms Dolly and Hanna buried themselves in eastern Mexico and Central America, respectively.

In the 2013 season, for the first time since 1994, no hurricanes stronger than Category 2 developed. Since the satellite era began in 1960, only four other seasons failed to produce a single Category 3 or stronger hurricane (1994, 1986, 1972, 1968).

"By most measures, 2013 was one of the strangest years in the tropical Atlantic in many decades," said Dr. Crawford.

"The 'usual suspects' of pre-season indicators suggested a reasonably active season as relative warm Atlantic SSTs and an expected lack of El Niño resulted in fairly bullish seasonal forecasts."

While the number of storms predicted (14) in 2013 was above the long-term average, the dominance of dry air and wind shear limited the intensity of existing storms or squelched the development of others.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood sues State Farm since they enriched itself through Katrina homeowner program

From ROGELIO V. SOLIS — AP SunHerald.com 

Attorney General Jim Hood is suing State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. over millions of dollars he claims the state lost because the insurance company "maliciously" denied Hurricane Katrina claims for wind losses while the federally funded Homeowners Assistance Program picked up the tab.

The lawsuit says: "State Farm benefited substantially and illicitly from HAP, because HAP grants ameliorated the financial pain to State Farm policyholders caused by State Farm's wrongful denial or underpayment of claims for wind damage under its homeowner policies.

"State Farm in effect converted a program designed to help Mississippians who were devastated financially by Katrina into a subsidy for itself."

State Farm had no immediate response to allegations outlined in the 50-page lawsuit, but in past cases brought by policyholders has denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed in Hinds County Circuit Court, accuses State Farm of fraud, negligence and breach of contract. Hood is asking for a jury trial. The state is seeking unspecified compensation for its losses, plus punitive damages, court costs, interest and attorneys' fees. Although the lawsuit comes almost 10 years after Hurricane Katrina, no statute of limitations applies to the state under its constitution and state law.

Comparing payments

The HAP program was designed to compensate qualified homeowners for losses insurance did not cover. In some cases, the lawsuit says, State Farm delayed payments to policyholders so HAP grants would cover their losses.

The lawsuit says Mississippi paid 6,810 policyholders five times more than State Farm did for Katrina damage.

The state paid a total of $522 million to State Farm policyholders, the lawsuit says, or an average of $76,673.59 per policyholder. State Farm paid the same policyholders $98.7 million, or an average of $14,494.62 per policyholder.

The lawsuit details State Farm's efforts to minimize wind losses, first by characterizing Katrina as a "water" event. Tidal surge, excluded from coverage under private insurance policies, is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program. NFIP relied on State Farm and other insurers to adjust its claims.

State Farm coerced engineering firms to alter reports, then ceased ordering damage reports altogether, when engineers found wind covered under its policies caused homeowner losses, the lawsuit says. Those allegations are familiar to Coast residents, hundreds of whom sued State Farm and other insurers after Katrina over wind claims that were allegedly underpaid or denied.

AG investigates others

"We are aggressively investigating other insurance companies that may have unjustly enriched themselves at the expense of the HAP program," Jan Schaefer, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, wrote in an email in response to questions from the Sun Herald. "We haven't ruled out future lawsuits against those other insurers.

"We are filing this suit against State Farm because we now have proven evidence of its fraud and because, as the nation's largest property insurance company, its activities harmed Mississippi more than any other insurer."

The proven evidence to which Schaefer referred came in a whistle-blower lawsuit that two sisters, insurance adjusters Cori and Kerri Rigsby, filed against State Farm. In the federal lawsuit, a jury in April 2013 found State Farm defrauded NFIP by attributing wind damage to tidal surge. State Farm was ordered to pay $750,000 in damages -- triple the amount of the false flood claim payment -- to NFIP, with 15 percent going to the Rigsbys for pursuing the claim. The case is on appeal.

"In the wake of that verdict," Schaefer said, "we spent considerable time closely evaluating the impact of this activity on the state through the HAP program."

Attorneys representing the state include the Rigsbys' lawyers, August Matteis of Washington, D.C., and Maison Heidelberg of Jackson, along with former assistant attorney general Ben Bryant of Balch & Bingham in Jackson. Mary Jo Woods, an assistant attorney general involved in litigation against State Farm after the hurricane, signed the complaint for the state.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2015/04/21/6187338_mississippi-ag-files-suit-against.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Roofing Professionals of Texas