More Than $8M Recovered for Georgia Insurance Consumers in 2017

More than $8 million was secured for thousands of individuals, families, and businesses who filed complaints against insurance companies in 2017 through help from the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Office, according to a statement from Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.

Complaint examiners from Hudgens’ Consumer Services Division assisted 11,194 Georgians in receiving approximately $8,029,206 in disputed monies or underpaid claims, Hudgens said.

“Many of the policyholders who called my office had claim payout disagreements with insurance companies, and my staff was able to mediate the complaint in their favor,” he added.

Some notable property & casualty consumer complaint recoveries in 2017 included:

Following a not-at-fault car accident, a consumer in a dispute with an insurance company contacted the Georgia Department of Insurance over the amount he was being offered for diminished value to his vehicle. The insurance company wanted to pay $1,200 for the diminished value, but he felt it should be more. The department contacted the insurance company and helped to mediate the claim in favor of the consumer for $5,507.

A homeowner wrote the department following a significant fire loss, complaining that her insurance company was not handling her claim in a timely matter. It had been several weeks since the fire occurred, and the insurer and her contractor could not reach common ground on the repair estimate. The department contacted the insurer to help resolve the claim and obtained a settlement of $77,120 that satisfied the consumer.