Insurers have paid out over $2 billion in claims from the storms that hit Joplin, Missouri as local regulators warn that the one year anniversary also brings the deadline for filing a claim.
Insured property claims paid — including home, business and vehicle — were $2.2 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). The III said the sum included claims paid to 61,000 Missouri residents.
III based its numbers on data provided by ISO’s PCS Unit.
Homeowners claims represented 31 percent policies paid, according to the III. Commercial claims accounted for “an unusually high share of losses: 64 percent of dollars paid by insurers were to businesses even though commercial claims accounted for just 11 percent of the total number of claims filed,” the III statement said.
The claims were the result of tornadoes, hail and high winds that hit the U.S. Midwest between May 20 and May 27, 2011. The III noted, however, most of the claims were the result of the May 22 tornado that struck Joplin.
The Missouri Department of Insurance has also warned residents that the one year anniversary also brings a deadline for filing a claim.
According to an article on the Joplin Observer that many homeowners’ insurance policies contain 12 month deadline to file a claim. Some policies included a six-month deadlines, but the insurance told carriers to extend the claims reporting period to at least one year, the article stares.
