Louisiana Reports $20B In Insurance Claims For 2020 Hurricane Season

By Staff Reports

The amount of money that insurers expect to pay for the 2020 hurricanes continues to grow, albeit more slowly, as Louisiana gets further away from last year’s historic storm season.

Insurance companies have now reported $10 billion for claims in Louisiana from hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta through June 30, according to the latest round of information from insurers quantifying paid and reserved-to-pay losses for those hurricanes.

Policyholders have filed 316,879 claims of all types from the three storms through the second quarter of this year. Of those, 205,554 claims, or 65%, were closed with payment as of June 30, garnering $7.8 billion in payments for damage caused by the three hurricanes. Insurers have reserved an additional $2.2 billion to pay on those claims.

“As the amounts being paid out due to the devastating 2020 storm season continue to grow, I encourage policyholders to still file supplemental claims if they find additional damage or increased costs after their original claim amount was paid,” Commissioner Donelon said.

Last fall, the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) issued a data call requiring all property and casualty insurers, including surplus lines insurers, to submit their claims data in Louisiana on hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta until October 2021. The figures represent insurance claims from both personal and commercial insurance.

These payments do not include claims or payments from the National Flood Insurance Program, which is not regulated by the Louisiana Department of Insurance. They also do not include uninsured losses and what people paid out of pocket to cover the deductibles on their insurance policies. As such, the true cost of the three storms is much higher.

The 2020 storm season was the most active ever in Louisiana, with three hurricanes plus tropical storms Cristobal and Marco striking the state. The 2020 storm season was also the second most expensive for Louisiana behind the 2005 storm season. Hurricane Laura has displaced Hurricane Rita in 2005 as the second most costly storm in Louisiana history.

Policyholders have filed 175,160 claims from Hurricane Laura, which struck Southwest Louisiana on August 27 with the strongest winds accompanying a hurricane in our state in over 150 years. As of June 30, insurers had closed 86% of the claims from Hurricane Laura, 68% of which were closed with payment. Total paid losses plus reserves on reported claims for Hurricane Laura as of the end of June were $8.6 billion, accounting for the vast majority of damage from the historic 2020 hurricane season in Louisiana.

Policyholders have filed 86,043 claims from Hurricane Delta, which made landfall in Southwest Louisiana on October 9 as a Category 2 storm. At the end of June, insurers had closed 91% of all Delta claims, and 62% of those claims were closed with payment. Insurers have paid or reserved $870 million to cover losses from reported claims for Hurricane Delta as of June 30.

Policyholders have filed 55,676 claims from Hurricane Zeta, which made landfall in Terrebonne Parish on October 28 and traveled through the New Orleans area as a Category 3 storm. As of June 30, insurers had closed 93% of reported Zeta claims, and 59% of those claims were closed with payment. Total paid losses plus reserves on reported claims were $600 million for Hurricane Zeta as of June 30.

Data for the 2020 hurricanes through June 30 can be found at www.ldi.la.gov/datacallresults.

Anyone who is having trouble with their insurance claim should file a complaint with the Louisiana Department of Insurance by going to www.ldi.la.gov/fileacomplaint or by calling the LDI at 1-800-259-5300.

The LDI will continue to collect data from property and casualty insurers to monitor the claims process through the third quarter of this year.