Hurricane Ike News & Helpful Info
State may have $2.1 billion storm burder
The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – The state could be on the hook for as much as $2.1 billion because of the massive property damage inflicted on the Texas coast by Hurricane Ike.
Officials with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association said Wednesday that claims paid by the so-called wind pool – the insurer of last resort that covers most of the coast – could reach as high as $4 billion in residential and commercial property losses.
Although insurance companies will initially have to pay most of the claims through mandatory assessments by the state, they will be able to recover those payments through deductions in their state premium taxes. Insurers can generally deduct about 20 % of their assessments each year.
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Texas Department of Insurance
Agent & Adjuster Licensing
The Licensing Division is responsible for the licensing and regulation of persons who wish to sell insurance or adjust property-casualty claims in the state of Texas. At the end of August, 2007, there were 370,000 agents, agencies, and adjusters licensed. The Division processes license applications, renews licenses, registers appointments of agents by insurers, and regulates continuing education for licensees. The licensing of third party administrators and premium finance companies is also handled by the Division.
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Hurricane Ike Information and Resources
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating the joint efforts of federal, tribal, state and local partners as immediate response activities begin to reach completion and recovery efforts begin across the Gulf Coast. For More information go to http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/2008/ike/index.shtm
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a government agency charged with emergency management of any disaster that occurs in the United States, and is declared a federal disaster area by the President of the US. FEMA is responsible for mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Hurricane Ike Information and Resources
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating the joint efforts of federal, tribal, state and local partners as immediate response activities begin to reach completion and recovery efforts begin across the Gulf Coast. For More information go to http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/2008/ike/index.shtm
Claimants
The FEMA process is very complex. It involves strict guidelines for eligibility, lengthy procedures and many regulations. In order to benefit from FEMA’s help, applicants must follow them and adhere to deadlines.
You are responsible for documenting and providing all the information pertaining to your claim. You may want to enlist the help of a Public Adjuster in addressing the complicated FEMA requirements successfully.
Formal complaints should be filed with the Texas Department of Insurance. We encourage all of our clients to a file a format complaint so that it is on record with the TDI. Complaints can be filed at https://wwwapps.tdi.state.tx.us/inter/perlroot/consumer/complform/complform.html
Residents from the declared disaster areas in Texas and Louisiana should register for federal assistance - including disaster housing assistance - by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or logging on to www.fema.gov. Registrations will remain open in the weeks to come to allow all those who need to register the time they need to apply for help. Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers are opening across the region and additional offices will soon open to provide expanded service. To date, 317,791 households have applied for assistance.
Federal agencies are working together with state and local partners to provide eligible disaster-affected individuals and families with a safe, secure and sanitary place to live until it is safe for them to go home. FEMA, at the request of the State of Texas, has activated its transitional sheltering initiative to allow eligible Ike evacuees from Texas, who cannot return to their homes, to stay for a time in hotels or motels. FEMA will pay for the lodging directly.
Immediate recovery efforts do remain underway in coastal communities where debris removal and search and rescue operations continue. Shelters across the region are providing for the immediate needs of evacuees from these communities. Residents will be anxious to return home, but should be patient and wait for local officials to indicate it is safe to do so. Everyone is reminded that power, water, food, sewage and medical assistance may be limited in the aftermath of a storm; evacuees should wait to return until essential services are restored.
Anyone can help with the relief and recovery efforts. Companies and individuals can offer their support through the Aidmatrix Foundation's online portal, which is designed to make it as easy as possible to offer financial support or product donations, or to donate skills and time to nonprofit organizations active in disaster relief. To make a contribution or to volunteer, visit www.aidmatrixnetwork.org. You can also support the efforts through other charities, such as the American Red Cross at www.RedCross.org.
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The Dallas Morning News on more FEMA woes:
Nov. 21
Gov. Rick Perry is right to be fed up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's unfulfilled promises to help clean up the Texas Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
Trailers didn't arrive in the numbers promised. Some that did were padlocked and unusable. But if that's not enough of slap in the face to hurricane victims, FEMA now is trying to dump cleanup costs it should pay onto Texas counties.
This is reprehensible behavior, and to Mr. Perry's credit, he's not standing idle. Last week, he announced a new commission to oversee rebuilding costs and ordered state transportation officials to haul away debris. It's the right thing for the state government to do because residents are suffering and FEMA seems to be running in the opposite direction.
The federal agency should demonstrate a similar sense of responsibility. If FEMA wins this battle to skirt its obligations, Texas counties would be on the financial hook for about $500 million, or 25 percent of the $2 billion cleanup cost an amount they can't afford. In Chambers County, for example, the cleanup tab would exceed $10 million, nearly half the county's annual budget. Tapping the state budget surplus and rainy day fund, as the feds want Texas to do, isn't an option either. Although the rainy day fund contains about $6.9 billion, a large portion is committed to state programs.
FEMA seems to be singling out Texas unfairly. The federal agency paid all debris removal costs after Hurricane Katrina swept across Louisiana, and it should do the same for Texas.
The mess is compounded by the lack of straight answers. Gov. Perry's office tells us that President George W. Bush didn't even know of the Texas request for aid when the governor spoke with the president by phone last week.
Meanwhile, Texas coastal communities are waiting for help. Hundreds of residents still live in tents, disabled cars and condemned homes as they await FEMA inspectors, insurance adjusters, mobile homes and utilities. If this is emergency management, we'd hate to see emergency mismanagement.
TDI Texas Department of Insurance approved Texas Insurance Claims Adjuster Training Online - Hurricane Ike - Houston Galveston
Texas
Insurance
Adjuster
Training
Online
TDI Texas Department of Insurance approved Texas Insurance Claims Adjuster Training Online - Hurricane Ike - Houston Galveston
