Policyholder-owned State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., which had the largest share in the market for home and auto coverage in Texas last year, said it had about 5,000 claims tied to those policies through Sunday because of the hurricane. Allstate Corp., the second-largest auto and home insurer in that region, dropped 1.5 percent in New York trading Monday as the storm hit. The company was little changed Tuesday.
Insurance companies profit, in part, by taking in more in premiums and paying out less in claims. By creating delays, they can cut their payouts, according to Duffy.
“What they’ve done is created a further disincentive to treat policy owners reasonably and fairly,” he said Tuesday in a phone interview. “There is nothing good for the homeowner at all.”
Pate and Hunter agree on one thing: It’s probably impossible to assess the full damage of Hurricane Harvey before the law takes effect on Sept. 1.
“It’s not safe to go back to my house,” said Pate, who works in Houston and evacuated Friday. “It’s not safe for millions and millions of people to go back to their property.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.