State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says a voluntary mediation program to help settle residential damage claims stemming from Hurricane Ida is being set up through his office. He says two mediation firms will help resolve damage disputes of up to 50-thousand-dollars at a cost of 600-dollars to the insurer or the policyholder. “And for that $600 they will make available 90 minutes of time to the policyholders and their insurers,” says Donelon.
He says either the policyholder of the insurer can make a written request for mediation, and the other party is free to accept or reject the invitation, thus the branding of this as a voluntary program.
He says the Hurricane Ida Mediation Program will take place with either representatives from Mediation& Arbitration Professional Systems in Metairie or Perry Dampf Dispute Solutions in Baton Rouge. If only a partial settlement is reached after the 90-minutes, additional costs will apply for a more prolonged meeting. The program runs through June 30th of next year. He says damage from Ida is expected to range from 20 to 40 billion dollars.
In addition to policyholders, Donelon says insurers are likely to appreciate the ability to resolve disputes through this voluntary mediation effort. “I think that they will be happy to have this additional avenue made available to them on a reasonable basis for policy claims that are in dispute,” said Donelon
Donelon says the $50,000 cap on the dispute mediation was chosen because of the costs and complexity of trying to resolve claims above that amount. You can contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance for further information.
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