Claims could total billions

• By TED GRIGGS
• Advocate business writer
• Published: Sep 10, 2008 - Page: 1D - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Property owners continued filing a steady stream of claims at insurance companies’ offices and catastrophe units, and some industry members expect the total insured losses from Hurricane Gustav may be close to the $10 billion mark.

A week ago, risk management and hurricane modeling firms had estimated losses in the $4 billion to $10 billion range.

Although some estimates were lowered immediately after the storm, Bill Bailey, special counsel for the Insurance Information Institute, said the total may approach the higher end of the scale.

“What’s raising the bar is the increased costs for materials,” Bailey said Tuesday.

The costs to repair homes, businesses and automobiles are escalating.

Meanwhile, it remains difficult to get a complete picture of the damages. The state Department of Insurance does not have a firm projection, yet, spokeswoman Amy David said.

As of Sunday, State Farm, Louisiana’s largest homeowners insurer, had received 32,700 homeowner and property claims and 4,100 auto claims, spokeswoman Brooke R. Cluse said.

The company expects the number of claims to increase significantly as electrical power is restored and residents inspect damage in the southern areas of the state.

Bailey said State Farm officials told him those numbers had climbed to 36,000 homeowner and property claims and 7,000 auto claims as of Monday.

Allstate spokesman Mike Siemienas said it’s far too early to provide any damage estimates.

Brian VanDreumel, vice president-actuarial/research and development for Louisiana Farm Bureau, said policyholders have filed 9,384 claims in the eight days since the hurricane.

Farm Bureau customers filed 11,000 claims in the first eight days after Hurricane Katrina, VanDreumel said. The total numbers for Rita eventually reached 17,899 claims for $221 million.

“Gustav ought to be less,” he said.