![]() ![]() FEMA may also review settlements with homeowners with disputed payments who didn’t sue, Kieserman said. About 1,500 cases over flood claims from the devastating 2012 hurricane are pending in New York and New Jersey courts. Insurers that consistently underpay or overpay claims can be removed from the program by the NFIP/FEMA.Private insurers working in partnership with FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program have come under scrutiny over allegations they denied or rejected damage claims based on falsified reports. Moreover, he added, insurers and the engineering firms hired are not financially motivated “to pay claimants anything other than a fair and accurate assessment of the losses compensable under the NFIP policy purchased. Using medicine as an example, test results are routinely reviewed by more than one medical professional before a diagnosis and course of treatments are rendered.” Hartwig said that this process is “no different than peer review in other technical and scientific disciplines. This is part of a routine and necessary quality-control process.” Occasionally, that process leads to additional opinions being reflected in an engineering report, which can thus impact the dollar amount received by claimants. Engineering firms routinely and appropriately use a peer review process to review work performed. He explained that the lawsuits lodged against insurers alleging that certain insurers and firms hired to perform engineering analyses on flood-damaged properties were acting together to reduce or deny claims, “reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of how the NFIP WYO program works. Regarding the lawsuits that have been filed, Hartwig said, “I am equally confident that the evidence will indicate once again that insurers were operating in a manner consistent with NFIP guidelines.” Insurers point out that the property disputes involve only about 1% of all flood claims and that the peer-review process is common practice-a quality control measure to make sure the federal government doesn’t overpay on flood claims. Attorneys said insurers accepted altered engineering reports in a “peer review” process. According to The Hartford Courant, more than 1,000 lawsuits are involved, alleging that homeowners were underpaid by insurance companies. Schneiderman is investigating whether any crimes were committed. Lawsuits in federal court accuse the insurers of colluding with engineering firms and others to deny or reduce damage payouts based on fraudulent reports. Hartwig, Ph.D., president of the Insurance Information Institute. “I am confident that the attorney general will be satisfied that insurers involved with the Write Your Own program were operating in a manner consistent with NFIP guidelines,” said Robert P. The WYO Program operates as part of the NFIP, and is subject to its rules and regulations, according to FEMA, which oversees the flood insurance program. ![]() Under the WYO program, insurers receive an expense allowance for policies written and claims processed while the federal government retains responsibility for underwriting losses. and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., which contract with the government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), of rejecting property flood damage claims of Sandy victims based on falsified engineering reports, Bloomberg reported this week.Ĭalled a Write Your Own program (WYO), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allows participating property and casualty insurers to write and service the Standard Flood Insurance Policy in their own names. New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened an investigation into accusations against insurers Wright National Flood Insurance Co., units of Travelers Cos. Insurers will be vindicated of accusations of fraud for rejecting flood damage claims made by Superstorm Sandy victims, an insurance industry expert predicts. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |