In brief: October's snowstorm and Tropical Storm Irene in Connecticut have hit $160 million in claims so far, but the number will continue to rise say experts.
The full story
Insurance claims for Irene and for October's early onrush snowstorm, which hit Connecticut back-to-back, have surpassed the $160 million mark and continue to rise. Claims paid so far have matched that number with thousands more still being processed and with new claims from October's onslaught of snow adding to the pile.
The state's insurance commissioner told a legislative committee that the claims are growing and insurance companies are struggling to keep up with them. Processing, he says, is happening as fast as can be expected given the heavy losses and piles of claims made.
In addition, the commissioner says that a new guidelines is being put in place before the end of the year changing how insurance companies are allowed to handle storm downgrades. Irene showed regulators that the current system of allowing 24 hours to change how deductibles are assessed according to storm status was causing confusion and had many homeowners in an uproar when their deductibles for the storm went from standard rates to percentages of home value, which could be tens of thousands in costs.
Summing up
New changes will be in place by the end of the year, though most insurers changed how they dealt with the hurricane-cum-tropical storm to the satisfaction of clients without the change.
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