- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
NPR Podcast about Flood Insurance shorting homeowners following Hurricane Sandy
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:08 am
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:08 am
Fascinating listen if anyone has the NPR one app. All about how the flood insurance companies made upwards of $400 million in profit in 2013 alone after Hurricane Sandy by denying or shorting homeowner claims for those that had flood insurance.
NPR- Business of disaster: Insurance Firms Profited $400 Million After Sandy
NPR- Business of disaster: Insurance Firms Profited $400 Million After Sandy
quote:
Superstorm Sandy wasn't a disaster for everyone, though. For some, it was big money.
NPR and the PBS series Frontline have spent the past year investigating the business of disaster and have uncovered a complex system in which private companies profit and homeowners and clients suffer.
At the center of that system is the National Flood Insurance Program, which is designed to help in disasters like Sandy. Almost everyone with a mortgage who lives near water pays for flood insurance through the program, so more than three years later most residents expected to be home.
quote:
But in many cases that didn't happen. While thousands of homeowners like Quinn said they have not received the recovery help they need, our investigation found that their private insurance companies that administer the government's flood program made as much as an estimated $240 million to $406 million in profit annually over the past four years.
We reached out to flood insurers — including some of the nation's largest firms — that represent the majority of homeowners affected by the storm and all declined to comment on this story. Records show that nearly 80 firms participate in the government's flood program.
Robert Hartwig, head of an industry group funded by the insurance companies, said insurance companies price their services to make a reasonable profit, like any business
4
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:10 am to NYNolaguy1
So there are crooks in the insurance business? Never would have thought.
No offense, Chad
No offense, Chad
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:13 am to NYNolaguy1
These flood policies are written by FEMA and run by FEMA. What is covered and not covered is in the flood policy and there is very little gray area. Insurance companies only administer the policy for FEMA.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:14 am to NYNolaguy1
The Frontline has been shown several times and if anyone who flooded wants to know why insurance companies and the federal government are a pain in the arse I suggest watching it.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:15 am to wickowick
quote:
What is covered and not covered is in the flood policy and there is very little gray area.
But they lowball you on every damn thing. Worse than dealing with a used car salesman.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:20 am to Boudreaux35
quote:
But they lowball you on every damn thing. Worse than dealing with a used car salesman.
Can you give examples of low balling in flood?
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:21 am to wickowick
quote:
These flood policies are written by FEMA and run by FEMA. What is covered and not covered is in the flood policy and there is very little gray area. Insurance companies only administer the policy for FEMA.
According to the podcast NPR got a hold of multiple homeowners appealing to FEMA for reevaluation after getting denied, and emails between insurance companies and FEMA from their discovery after lawsuits showed that often FEMA would just defer to the insurance companies that made the initial eval without actually looking at it.
In other words FEMA was using the insurance companies as a cost cutting mechanism by denying valid claims.
Also there was evidence of insurance companies cooking the engineering reports (stamped by a PE mind you) after the fact to show "differential settlement" in all cases of foundation damage- in other words it happened before the storm according to them. This struck me as extremely similar to the "wind driven water" debacle following Katrina.
The best part? In the event one of the insurance companies got sued and lost, FEMA, not the insurance company, agreed to pay all damages. The insurance companies had literally nothing to lose by denying these claims.
This post was edited on 2/14/17 at 11:27 am
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:21 am to Boudreaux35
I had Liberty Mutual during the La flood. I can tell you, based on conversations I've had with people with other carriers, that LM is by far superior with NFIP policies.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:22 am to ForeverLSU02
What's even funnier is when it comes to funding the NFIP and NFIP reform, its the northern mother frickers that think the NFIP program is just a Southern redneck type problem and fight on funding the program or making necessary changes to fix the real issues at hand.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:22 am to wickowick
quote:
Can you give examples of low balling in flood?
Listen to the podcast. They interview several of the 19,000 homeowners that were low balled or denied after their house flooded.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:23 am to NYNolaguy1
quote:
The best part? In the event one of the insurance companies got sued and lost, FEMA, not the insurance company, agreed to pay all damages. The insurance companies had literally nothing to lose by denying these claims.
The insurance companies operate under FEMA guidelines and direction, they should be the ones responsible...
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:29 am to wickowick
quote:
The insurance companies operate under FEMA guidelines and direction, they should be the ones responsible...
I agree. It shouldn't take a lawsuit to get a fair claim processed.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:31 am to wickowick
quote:
What is covered and not covered is in the flood policy and there is very little gray area.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:35 am to NYNolaguy1
I mean, i don't know much but do you unequivocally know that Mr. Quinn was "shorted" in his claims payment? He got 90k for the flooding in that house. What did he do with 90k of repairs money and still not able to move back in?
This post was edited on 2/14/17 at 11:37 am
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:39 am to wickowick
quote:
Can you give examples of low balling in flood?
1 example: Adjuster claims they will only pay for removal and replacement of sheetrock 10-12" above flood line. Drying company detected moisture above minimum as far up as 20" above flood level. What I noticed was that the moisture traveled upward basically to the first joint between sheets. They are leaving me with about 30% of my sheetrock removal and replacement to be funded by my back pocket.
Tack on the fact that they want to only pay for repainting up to the removal line. That is bullshite! There is no way to economically match 8-10 year old wall paint with new.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:42 am to Chad504boy
quote:
The night of the storm, a wall of water surged across his lot, swamping Quinn's foundation and most of his first floor. State officials said his house had to come down, so he had it razed.
Quinn had the maximum flood insurance policy — $250,000 in coverage.
But when the letter arrived from the insurance company, he didn't get $250,000. He got $90,000.
It looks like he razed the house before even getting his flood estimate. Based on the reporting it does not appear that he gave the NFIP the ability to have an engineer inspect the property before tearing it down.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:42 am to NYNolaguy1
You do realize that the National Flood Insurance Program is a federal government program right?
FEMA sets all the rules and rates for the NFIP, and they allow private companies to write and service NFIP policies, and those companies are paid a commission by FEMA for providing that service....but FEMA is ultimately the one who pays all the flood claims. Its called the "Write Your Own Program".
FEMA authorizes certain companies to participate in the WYO program, and pays those companies a commission or fee for each policy they write and service on FEMA's behalf. But since FEMA is the one responsible for claim payments, the WYO companies have almost zero risk....their only costs are salaries and operating overhead. All the claim risk is on FEMA's shoulders.
WYO companies have no say in pricing and they all follow the rules/rates set by FEMA. FEMA sets the prices and you can get flood quotes from 15 different companies and the rates should all be exactly the same if you match the same coverage and deductible amounts.
So basically it sounds like this NPR report is saying that privately owned insurance companies who provide their employees and services to assist FEMA in administering the federal government's flood program should not be making a profit for their services....am I right?
FEMA sets all the rules and rates for the NFIP, and they allow private companies to write and service NFIP policies, and those companies are paid a commission by FEMA for providing that service....but FEMA is ultimately the one who pays all the flood claims. Its called the "Write Your Own Program".
FEMA authorizes certain companies to participate in the WYO program, and pays those companies a commission or fee for each policy they write and service on FEMA's behalf. But since FEMA is the one responsible for claim payments, the WYO companies have almost zero risk....their only costs are salaries and operating overhead. All the claim risk is on FEMA's shoulders.
WYO companies have no say in pricing and they all follow the rules/rates set by FEMA. FEMA sets the prices and you can get flood quotes from 15 different companies and the rates should all be exactly the same if you match the same coverage and deductible amounts.
quote:
But in many cases that didn't happen. While thousands of homeowners like Quinn said they have not received the recovery help they need, our investigation found that their private insurance companies that administer the government's flood program made as much as an estimated $240 million to $406 million in profit annually over the past four years.
We reached out to flood insurers — including some of the nation's largest firms — that represent the majority of homeowners affected by the storm and all declined to comment on this story. Records show that nearly 80 firms participate in the government's flood program.
So basically it sounds like this NPR report is saying that privately owned insurance companies who provide their employees and services to assist FEMA in administering the federal government's flood program should not be making a profit for their services....am I right?
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:43 am to Boudreaux35
quote:
1 example: Adjuster claims they will only pay for removal and replacement of sheetrock 10-12" above flood line. Drying company detected moisture above minimum as far up as 20" above flood level. What I noticed was that the moisture traveled upward basically to the first joint between sheets. They are leaving me with about 30% of my sheetrock removal and replacement to be funded by my back pocket.
Did you provide this information to the adjuster when it became known?
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:45 am to Tiger Prawn
quote:
So basically it sounds like this NPR report is saying that privately owned insurance companies who provide their employees and services to assist FEMA in administering the federal government's flood program should not be making a profit for their services....am I right?
Do me a favor. Rather than reading two paragraphs about this very long story, listen to the podcast and then come back and complain. There's a lot more to the story than what you lead on.
Posted on 2/14/17 at 11:46 am to wickowick
quote:
Did you provide this information to the adjuster when it became known?
Yes, he told me that in his opinion after comparing it to similar claims for this event, the amount I was getting should cover all damages.
The only reason I am anywhere NEAR being able to cover my repairs is that I've done nearly 30% of it myself.
Page 1 of 4
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News