Hurricane Victims in Texas Can File Claims Before Seeing Damage

Texans who can’t return home because of the damage caused by Hurricane Rita can file a claim without seeing what has happened to their property, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.

By filing a claim now, the ICT reported, Texans can speed up the process of getting a claims adjuster to their home or business.

Insurance disaster hotlines have already begun fielding hundreds of calls from Texans who have been unable to return home. In many cases disaster hotline operators need only a first and last name to prepare a claim number and assign a claims adjuster. Policyholders will receive the adjuster’s name and phone number, so they can learn when the adjuster may be in their neighborhood.

“If homeowners have filed a claim, but find their home undamaged, they simply have to make one phone call and say everything is all right,” said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the ICT. “The repair process is going to take a long time in southeast Texas. Filing a claim now may shave off a few days or possibly weeks in getting homes and businesses back the way they were.”

Victims of Hurricane Katrina continue to call in claim reports having just viewed their damaged homes for the first time since the storm hit Aug. 29.

Homeowners wanting to contact their insurance company can locate each insurer’s disaster hotline number at www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/kcatphone.html.

Disaster response teams that have visited the area say it may be up to three weeks before some communities are able to provide basic services such as electricity.

Some of the hardest hit areas in the Beaumont/Port Arthur region remain without power, food supplies, water and gasoline.