Texas Homeowners Complain Of Low Insurance Payouts For Hurricane Ike Repairs

December 4, 2008 8:51 a.m. EST

Houston, TX (AHN) - There is a growing number of Texas homeowners who are complaining against insurance companies over their Hurricane Ike claims. So far over 1,700 state residents have filed complaints, which range from delay in payments to insufficient payouts to cover their repair bills.

While the 1,700 is just a fraction of the 530,000 Hurricane Ike-related claims filed with insurers, Texas judges are anticipating it to rise after 12 months. In anticipation of this scenario, the judges plan to appoint one pretrial judge who will handle all residential insurance lawsuits. The appointment is expected to hasten initial court procedures and ensure pretrial rulings would be consistent, said Judge David Garner of the 10th Judicial District Court.

Insurers defended their payouts, claiming experts are the ones who make the assessment. But they said in cases of disputes, the insurance companies are willing to sit down with the disgruntled policy holder to thresh out their differences.

Even the payments of the National Flood Insurance Program has not been spared of complaints. Michael Amoroso of Dickinson said the $33,100 the NFIP offered was not enough to pay for the cracks on his house's foundations and other repairs. A public adjuster estimates the cost of fixing his home at $160,000.

When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered Texas in 2005, over 1,000 lawsuits were filed by residents against insurance firms. Until now some of the cases remain unresolved while the homes are still in shabby conditions.