Louisiana’s insurance commissioner urged insurance officials in states affected by Hurricane Katrina to be quick to respond to people’s needs and discussed a proposed plan to help to the storm’s victims.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner J. Robert Wooley met with the group at a hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to discuss ways to speed up payments and make sure people affected get money quickly. He estimated the insurance loss in Louisiana alone at $19 billion.
He also sought comment from insurance and industry officials on a proposed plan.
Wooley handed out a draft order of the plan that must be approved by Louisiana’s governor before it goes into effect. The proposal would suspend insured people from having to make payments on their policy or take any action to keep the policy current from the time officials issued a state of emergency Aug. 26 until it runs out, now scheduled for Sept. 25.
The draft also said no policy will be canceled or not renewed solely because of a claim resulting from Katrina.
“You as an industry at this point in time, will need to be a leader, and you will be judged by how you respond,” Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell.
Bell told the group they should relax their regulations related to flood insurance. He noted that many residents in Mobile that were destroyed by flooding were not in the flood plain.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Louisiana
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