Researchers at Colorado State University’s “Tropical Meteorology Project,” considered some of the top predictors of hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean, have predicted a robust hurricane season for America’s Gulf Coast. As usual, cities and towns throughout Louisiana’s 64 parishes will be facing pouring rains, flooding, high winds and more if storms make landfall as expected.
The CSU team predicts a record high number of named storms, named storm days, hurricanes, active hurricane days, and major hurricanes. Forecasts currently expect at least seven Atlantic hurricanes this season, and experts predict that there’s a 38 percent chance one of them will make landfall along the Gulf Coast between the Florida panhandle and Brownsville, Texas (which, of course, encompasses the entire coastline of our state).
With this record number of storms will come, of course, claims for flooding, wind damage, hail damage, water intrusion, mold and more across Louisiana. Some of these claims will be timely filed, covered by valid policies and payable. Others, however, could be subject to policy exclusions, including a lack of flood insurance or no riders for supplemental storm damage in flood-prone areas.
If you want, as an insurer, to avoid allegations of bad faith, every claim must be fully investigated, including a careful examination of policy documentation (inclusions and exclusions). Due diligence will hopefully prevent bad faith claims as well as the need to pay out for invalid damage requests. For questions about preventing bad faith claims and other insurance defense-related issues, speak with an experienced insurance law attorney in your area today.
