Those of you who need to file claims from the damage caused by last week’s severe weather from the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur, the Department of Insurance has some very important information for you. Commissioner Tim Temple says different policies will respond to different types of claims.
“You have people that have experienced loss from flood; you’ve had people whose property was damaged from winds or tornadic activity; and then you’ve had people that have lost vehicles in some rising flood waters,” Temple noted.
Temple reminds you that if your home is damaged by flood waters, your standard homeowners insurance policy does not cover that – you need a separate flood insurance policy, and many people in Avoyelles Parish don’t carry flood insurance.
“After the last major flooding our state experienced in 2016, a lot of people went out, across the state, and bought flood policies. And then, over the years as they didn’t use their policy or finances dictated that they needed to try and save some money somewhere, people dropped those policies,” Temple explained.
For those without flood insurance, their only recourse other than paying for the damage out of their own pocket is money freed up by the state or federal government, depending on any declarations issued. Temple says regardless, it’s important to document all damage on damage.la.gov.
“Document your damage, so the State can submit to the Federal Government the most accurate amount of dollars for potential damage,” Temple said.
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