Texas Windpool Not Denying Claims on a Blanket Basis, Spokesman Says

A spokesman for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says rumors that the association will deny Hurricane Ike claims on a blanket basis are unfounded, untrue and completely misleading.

“TWIA’s guidelines are, and will continue to be, to look at each claim on an individual case by case basis and determine if the damage claim is covered under their policy,” according to Jerry Johns, a spokesman for the association.

“TWIA has no intention of denying claims because victims of Ike live in a particular Zip Code, community or outlying area. Over 1,400 TWIA adjusters have begun contacting customers and will continue to treat claims individually,” he said.

“The management of TWIA recognizes that the question of whether the damage was caused by flooding or wind will become an issue,” he said. “Each claim received by the association will be carefully inspected by an adjuster to determine what falls within the appropriate TWIA contract.”

“TWIA asks it customers who have experienced property losses to be patient,” Johns added.

“Over 50,000 claims have been filed with TWIA and the expectation is that number will increase significantly in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.

“Our priorities are to get to schools, businesses and permanent residents of Galveston first,” Johns noted. “We will get to those people who own seasonal homes as soon as possible.”

TWIA is making adjustments each day to further streamline the claim resolution process and get people back to normalcy as quickly as possible, he added.

“Anecdotal stories that TWIA will reject claims on a wholesale basis in parts of stricken areas only serves to delay the process and add confusion to an already life changing experience for many storm victims,” he said.

Source: Southwestern Insurance Information Service, www.siisinfo.org