Mo. Auto Insurance Regulators Offer Assistance in Remaining Joplin Claims

State regulators have announced they are hosting a “Recovery Roundup” on Saturday at Missouri Southern State University to help Joplin-area residents who are still struggling with coverage and financial problems after the tornado that swept through the region in May.

Officials from the state Department of Insurance will assist consumers with issues involving all types of coverage, including homeowner, car insurance with no down payment and health policies.

The event highlights the broad scope of services regulators in Missouri and other states provide on behalf of consumers. Regulatory agencies throughout the nation look out for the public by overseeing coverage providers and helping to resolve disputes between policyholders and companies, among other efforts.

Last week, Missouri Insurance Director John M. Huff announced that damage claims from the tornado had passed the $1 billion mark, including over 8,000 residential policy claims and more than 6,500 for personal automobiles.

"While a significant percentage of claims have been paid, claims that are outstanding at this point can be some of the more difficult ones to resolve," Huff said in a statement. "But they can be resolved, and the technical experts from our department can provide a great deal of help with that process."

Also last week, Huff heralded a new state law that should make it easier for insurers to respond to regions where natural disasters have struck in order to help residents file claims.

The law prohibits local governments from forcing insurers to get business licenses or other documentation before they can set up mobile claims centers.

Missouri law requires coverage providers to be both prompt and fair in processing claims filed by policyholders.

Source: http://insurance.mo.gov/Contribute%20Documents/UnderstandingAutoClaim.pdf

State officials said Allstate, Farmers and other companies sent mobile units to the Joplin area after the May 22 storm, but on several occasions, companies encountered local bureaucratic hassles.

Huff’s department said insurers will have representatives at Saturday’s event to help address consumers’ questions and concerns. Officials from the state finance and economic development departments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Joplin Public Works Department will also be at the event, which is free and open to the public.

To learn more about this and other auto insurance issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/pay-monthly/car-insurance-no-down-payment/ where they will find informative resource pages and a rate-comparison generator that can help quickly evaluate their coverage options.