Louisiana Road Map to Recovery
Louisiana Claim Help Guide (pdf)
Back to State Road Maps to Recovery
For more state specific information go to our Louisiana State Help page.
For the past fourteen years, United Policyholders has been giving reliable information free of charge to insured home and business owners recovering from disasters. We are a not-for-profit educational organization based in California with volunteers all over the United States.
A policyholder is any person or business that buys an insurance policy for protection. Our work helps policyholders and communities recover. Our goal is to help solve common problems with insurance adjusters and insurance companies so policyholders can get fair and prompt claim settlements.
UP is:
- Individuals and business owners who've experienced having to file large insurance claims and want to help others avoid the recovery obstacles they encountered, and;
- Professionals who want to offer their insurance expertise to help policyholders get a fair shake.
Our approach is outlined in this document and other documents on our website in the Claim Tips and Newsletters sections. Please visit our "Recommended Reading" section to find books that supplement our information.
We are proud to offer Louisiana residents the benefit of our fourteen years of experience throughout the United States, and you will use our tips and information to get the fair treatment and claim service you paid for and are entitled to from your insurance company.
We thank and welcome Louisiana resident and UP volunteer Christine McPherson ChristineUP@direcway.com.
Sincerely,
Amy Bach, Executive Director
United Policyholders
We welcome feedback and e-mail atinfo@unitedpolicyholders.org.
The Basics
- Read and re-read UP's General Claim Tips
- Set up a Three Ring Binder so you're organized
- Start keeping a daily Recovery Diary
- Document and fully calculate your losses
- Communicate with others insured with your same company
- Read and follow UP's Contents and Dwelling Tips
- Be an effective advocate for yourself
- Get the right professional help when you need it
Claim Tips
Organizing Carrier-Specific Groups
Sample Forms Documenting Your Loss
Resources for Overcoming Obstacles
General Information and Links
Tax Information
You will need the free Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view most of these documents.
Claim Tips
Your first step should be to visit our Katrina/Rita Claim Help Library by clicking on the first item under "What's New" at our home page. The library contains claim tips and information you can use to educate yourself, get leverage to negotiate successfully with your adjusters and insurance company, and resources to resolve disputes you can't resolve on your own.
Organizing Carrier-Specific Groups
This document outlines UP's time-tested program for communities hit by disaster. The concept is simple, but it works!Sample Forms Documenting Your Loss
- Personal Property Inventory Form (pdf)
- Sample Scope of Loss/Rebuilding Estimate (pdf)
- Trade Summary Breakdown (pdf)
Resources for Overcoming Obstacles
- Effective Claims Complaints (pdf)
- Public Adjusters--The Inside Scoop (pdf)
- Hiring an Attorney: When and How
- Xactimate Demystified (pdf)
General Information and Links
Public Agency Help:
-
Louisiana Dept. of Insurance 1-800-259-5300
This is the official site of the agency in Louisiana that oversees insurance companies. The head of the agency is Commissioner J. Robert Wooley. He has two primary jobs — to protect insurance consumers and to maintain a stable and healthy insurance marketplace in the state of Louisiana. While the Louisiana Commissioner does not have a reputation as being a strong consumer advocate, he is under pressure to help policyholders in Katrina's aftermath.
UP and volunteers have worked with state Commissioners over the years to solve insurance problems after disasters. Insurance Commissioners can make a big difference in how insurance companies treat claimants.
A pro-consumer Commissioner can get insurers to extend deadlines, waive red tape, soften unfair positions and correct unfair claim practices. A pro-insurer Commissioner can make bad claim situations worse by looking the other way or taking the side of an insurer in a claim dispute. Insurance Commissioners are public officials. They will respond to the public if they hear from the public.
Complain to the Commissioner: Visit the LDI site and file a complaint if you're getting treated badly by your insurance company. For instructions and an explanation of the Dept's complaint-handling program click here. The Dept. will not help you with a coverage, legal or factual dispute. Insurance department complaint handlers often take the easy way out by siding with the insurance company, (if they take a position at all!), so keep in mind that your goal is to go on record and show your insurance company that you are a squeaky wheel.
Consider the LDI's new insurance claim dispute mediation program: Mediation is a process of resolving disputes that is intended to be inexpensive, informal and fast. Mediation is a good way of resolving insurance claim disputes, but only when the process and the mediator are fair and unbiased, and where the insurance company representative attending the mediation is truly authorized to pay sufficient funds to settle the claim in full at the mediation session.
Because insurance companies have armies of lawyers at their disposal and are very experienced in using the legal system and the mediation process, inexperienced policyholder/claimants are at a disadvantage if the scales aren't balanced. Both sides in a mediation must be able to present and explain their position clearly. A policyholder who goes into a mediation without an attorney or unprepared against an experienced insurance professional is unlikely to present their position clearly, and will walk away with less than they're entitled to. A mediator that makes their living working for insurance companies is very unlikely to help reach a truly fair settlement. That said, if the process if fair, mediation is a very good way of resolving insurance claim disputes quickly so both sides can move on.
The LDI Insurance Claim Mediation program was just established to help resolve hurricane claim disputes, so it has no track record. The program is being run by the American Arbitration Association, (AAA) in coordination with the LDI. To learn more about the program click here. If you want to try the program, call the AAA's toll free number or click here to download the form, complete and return it to the address listed. If you try the program, please email UP at info@unitedpolicyholders.org and let us know how it went, good or bad. Participants in a mediation are free to walk away without resolving their dispute, but if a settlement is reached in a mediation, it generally is put into writing and becomes a signed, enforceable contract.
Check for updates from the LDI:
Check this link from time to time to find out whether the Department has issued any new bulletins that may impact your claim negotiations. Mostly the bulletins are helpful to insurance companies, but if citizens put enough pressure on the Commissioner that will change. Unfortunately, Commissioner Wooley issued a bulletin in 2002 allowing insurers to sell policies with broad exclusions for mold clean up. This is sure to be a big problem for many Katrina/Rita victims. - Louisiana State Contractors Licensing Board 1-866-310-7879
This is the agency that oversees building construction and repair professionals. Visit this site before you hire a contractor. Contractor scams and problems are very common after disasters. Reputable professionals are in high demand and short supply. Unlicensed, inexperienced and unscrupulous people often prey on vulnerable disaster survivors. Don't hire a contractor recommended by an insurance adjuster or anyone else without checking them out thoroughly yourself.The site offers useful information on finding and checking out a qualified contractor and avoiding and solving common problems. You can check on the license status of a professional you're considering hiring by calling the Dept.'s toll-free number, 1-866-310-7879, or via email or U.S. mail.
-
State Bar of Louisiana 1-800-421-5722
The Louisiana State Bar is a resource for finding and hiring legal help or resolving problems with a lawyer. (See also "Louisiana Trial Lawyer Association" in section 3, below)Read UP's tips and the State Bar's information on fees before you sign a contract to hire a lawyer. UP's tips on hiring the right lawyer can be found here.
Read the State Bar's free brochure: "Understanding How Lawyer's Charge"
Special post-Katrina rules make it easier for volunteer lawyers to offer free ("pro bono") legal services to Louisiana residents which is a good thing. However, it is very important to make sure that any lawyer representing you in communicating with your insurance company has experience reading insurance policies and practicing insurance-related law. The Louisiana State Bar does not have a specific referral category for policyholder attorneys, but that is what you need if you have a problem with an insurance claim. (See link to the Louisiana Trial Attorneys for referrals to insurance and bad faith specialists.) The flyer posted at their site for hurricane victims has info about important FEMA and other aid program deadlines (download pdf now).
Information on Flood Insurance Claims:
-
Official:
- FEMA/National Flood Insurance Program
- Start by reading UP's FAQs (pdf), and the documents in the "flood" sections of our Katrina/Rita Claim Help Library. Our library has many NFIP-related documents that will help you argue against unfair treatment.
Then visit www.femainfo.us. The site was created by a policyholder advocate. It is not affiliated in any way with FEMA or any government agency. It is intended to help victims receive the compensation they are entitled to and justice in the event they are mistreated. Read the "Frequently Asked Questions" and "Common Problems" sections for useful information about what flood insurance policies cover, how the NFIP works, and what insurance claim problems survivors may face.
Louisiana Office of Homeland Security
This is the official site of The Louisiana Office of Homeland Security And Emergency Preparedness. Its mission is to: lead, coordinate, and support the emergency management system, in order to protect lives and prevent the loss of property from all hazards. The site has very good links to aid and info resources for hurricane survivors including charities and disaster centers.- Louisiana Attorney General's Office Consumer Hotline 1-800-351-4889
The Louisiana Attorney General ("A.G.") office will refer you to the Insurance Commissioner's office if you contact them with a complaint about an insurance company, but they will help with a complaint about a mortgage company, credit problem or construction/building problem.The Louisiana A.G. is already investigating complaints about mortgage companies being too slow in releasing insurance payments to Katrina victims. Read more here.
Floodsmart.gov is the official website for FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program. If you have flood insurance and are working on getting a fair claim adjustment/settlement, visit the site, but make sure you read other perspectives to get the full picture. Property owners have been having problems with NFIP claims for years and the whole system needs to be reformed. For now, the best thing you can do is educate yourself on the common problems, (untrained adjusters, lowball estimates, inadequate policy limits, misinformation, delays, etc.) and fight for your rights. Fighting for your rights means not taking "no" for an answer, being polite but assertive, presenting your demands reasonably and clearly to your adjuster/insurer, writing letters and making phone calls and not stopping until you get what you're entitled to — even if you have to become a plaintiff and/or join a group lawsuit.
Unofficial:
Links to Other Help Resources:
-
The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters 1-703-433-9217
NAPIA is the national trade association for public adjusters. Most reputable public adjusters are members of NAPIA. The NAPIA website is a good starting place to learn about this profession and locate one in your area.Public adjusters are different from the adjusters who work for insurance companies. Louisiana residents can now hire a public adjuster, (a "P.A.") to help prepare, file, adjust, and negotiate the settlement of an insurance claim. Before Katrina, Public Adjusters could not be licensed in Louisiana. Because of the pressing need and high demand for their services, the State Department of Insurance is allowing them in with certain restrictions. As with any professional, use caution when hiring a public adjuster. Read UP's tips here.
A public adjuster's fee is a generally a percentage that gets deducted from the insurance company's claim payments to you. A P.A. is supposed to add value to and expedite your claim, not slow it down or cost you money. To find an experienced and reliable public adjuster in your area you can start here. As with any professional you hire, make sure to check references and license status. Talk to at least one satisfied customer before hiring a public adjuster, and note that Florida law restricts public adjusters from charging more than a 10% fee. If you're dissatisfied with your P.A. and can't resolve the problems directly with them, contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance, (see above).
Louisiana Trial Lawyer's Association 1-225-383-5554
Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association is a voluntary bar association whose statewide membership is composed mostly of lawyers who have a trial practice. That means they are a resource for finding a lawyer who has experience representing policyholders (consumers) and litigating insurance disputes against insurance companies.Call them for help finding names of their members who meet your qualifications. LTLA attorney-members are small business owners, maintaining a practice and supporting an office staff of fewer than 20 persons.
LTLA and its members pledge to promote justice for the workplace, a clean environment and quality and affordable health care for all Americans. LTLA members and trial lawyers in general seek fairness in the courts for the aggrieved and injured. LTLA members and trial lawyers in general seek to uphold the honor and dignity of the civil justice system and the legal profession.
The Hurricane Insurance Information Center
This website was created and sponsored by the insurance industry, so view their coverage and claim advice with caution, but take advantage of their useful links to all the major disaster relief public and private agencies.
News sources:
Help for the Uninsured:
Tax Information
United Policyholders is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 and dedicated to educating the public on insurance issues and consumer rights. UP publishes educational materials and serves as a resource for individual and business policyholders and residents of communities with insurance problems. UP’s Amicus Project provides information to courts of law to support policyholders’ legal rights. UP unites policyholders and their advocates by sharing information. Write to UP at 110 Pacific Ave., PMB 262, San Francisco, CA. 94111, call us at (510) 763-9740, or visit our website at www.unitedpolicyholders.org.
•••••••••••••••••••••