The memories of those early days after Katrina’s landfall will stay with me until I meet my maker and I well remember the seemingly ardous task of itemizing our possessions for the insurance claim. In an earlier post on my flood adjustment experience I said you have to be here to fully understand the context of the events. The expedited claims procedures are such a case in point of important nuance that is easy to miss. Let’s start by revisiting The Scheme Chapter 5:
The expedited flood procedures approved by the flood program after consultation with insurers also allowed companies to settle flood claims without a site visit if satellite and aerial images showed that the home disappeared in the storm in areas that suffered storm surge or if the home sat in flood waters for an extended period of time and the damage likely exceeded the policy limits.
In addition, FEMA waived the line-by-line adjusting that was of concern to participants in the Wooley meeting after the storm. Rather than require room-by-room, item-by-item calculation of insured losses, FEMA allowed flood adjusters with two large but unnamed insurance companies to calculate damages by measuring the square footage of each room and characterizing the building materials as high, medium, or low grade, according to the GAO report.
On the surface the waiver of the line by line adjusting requirement would be a God send to both adjuster and policyholder alike. The reality is a bit different and coping with that reality after Katrina meant literally buring the candle for hours at night documenting line by line our loss. One such memorable September 2005 evening included a big ass bottle of Grey Goose Vodka my best friend and (fellow slabber) found in the mud while he was recovering personal effects.
The logical question is why go through the trouble when NFIP waived the requirement? Continue reading “A Personal Perspective on the Power Game and the NFIP’s Katrina Expedited Claims Procedures”