III: Hurricane Insurance Fact Sheet

Feb 26, 2007

Facts about recent hurricane damage and claims.

HURRICANE INSURANCE FACT SHEET

• Insurance companies have paid an estimated $40.6 billion on 1.7 million claims for damage to homes, businesses and vehicles in six states from Hurricane Katrina, the largest loss in the history of insurance. By contrast, Hurricane Andrew resulted in $15.5 billion in losses in 1992 ($20.9 billion in today's dollars) and 790,000 claims.
  
  
• The four hurricanes in 2005-Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Dennis-generated more than $57 billion in insured losses and 3.3 million claims. Some 15,000 adjusters from across the United States were involved in helping policyholders recover from these storms.
  
  
• More than 95 percent of the 1.1 million homeowners insurance claims from Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi, totaling more than $15.5 billion, were settled within one year of the storm.
  
  
• In Mississippi, more than 334,800 homeowners claims, totaling $5.2 billion, have been settled. In Louisiana, more than 658,700 homeowners claims, totaling $10.3 billion, have been settled. 
  
  
• Nearly all of the 305,000 claims from damaged vehicles, totaling $2 billion, have been settled in both states.
  
  
• Despite the attention focused on lawsuits filed following this catastrophic storm, the number of claims in litigation accounts for a very small percentage of the total number of claims filed. Estimates show that fewer than 2 percent of homeowners claims in Mississippi and Louisiana were disputed either through mediation or litigation.
  
  
• Insurers remain committed to ensuring that all claims resulting from Hurricane Katrina are settled fairly and completely. 
  
  
• A poll conducted by IPSOS Public Affairs in 2006 found that 89 percent of homeowners in Louisiana and 93 percent in Mississippi are satisfied with their insurance company. The survey reported that four in five people (82 percent in Louisiana and 80 percent in Mississippi) who filed a hurricane-related claim are satisfied with the way it was managed by their insurer. While satisfaction numbers are slightly higher inland, most residents in the hardest-hit coastal areas describe themselves as satisfied with the way their claim was handled. 
  
  
• While significant problems with rebuilding persist along the Gulf Coast-including severe damage to public infrastructure, a shortage of contractors and reduced population-the billions of dollars in claims paid to date are helping fuel an increase in residential building. Building permits have risen by 4 percent in Louisiana and 32 percent in Mississippi, compared with a 4 percent decline nationally during the same period. 
  
  
• Insurance company claims payments equal 11 percent of state income in Louisiana and 10 percent in Mississippi.