Citizens Claims Dramatic Customer Service Improvements

More than 90 percent of all claims related to Hurricane Wilma in Florida have been closed according to Bob Ricker, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. executive director. He also reported that more than 91 percent of all hurricane claims, including thousands from hurricanes Dennis and Katrina have also been closed.

“The numbers tell the tale,” Ricker explained. “Not only have we closed almost 100 percent of our 2005 hurricane claims, our consumer complaints as a percentage of claims are 1.3 percent. This is a phenomenal improvement.”

According to Ricker, 2005’s complaints compare well with the 2004 storm response, with complaint ratios of 6 to 11 percent.

Ricker released storm statistics indicating Citizens had 5,812 claims involving Hurricane Dennis, with 5,484 closed claims, for a closure rate of 94.4 percent. Citizens had 23,444 claims involving Hurricane Katrina and 22,413 closed claims for a closure rate of 95.6 percent. The company had 140,841 claims from Hurricane Wilma, with 127,326 closed, for a rate of 90.4 percent.

At the same time Ricker reported complaint statistics indicating a 1 percent complaint ratio for Hurricane Dennis; a .60 percent complaint ratio for Hurricane Katrina and a 1.3 percent complaint ratio for Hurricane Wilma.