By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) has assured that it is committed to working with those impacted by Hurricane Dorian and settling claims “fairly and in the most expeditious manner’.
The BIA in a statement said: “In the wake of Hurricane Dorian, The Bahamas Insurance Association extends thoughts and prayers to all those impacted during this extremely difficult time. We extend condolences to the family and friends of those who have lost loved ones.
“We embrace our role as an industry with a critical role to play in the recovery and restoration of the affected islands and wish to assure the public that the insurance sector is ready and positioned to meet our contractual obligations to our clients.”
The BIA noted that its industry partners, including insurance adjusters and catastrophe response experts, have been engaged and are on standby in Nassau, in Florida and in the region. “Following the ‘all clear’ and with the coordination of the relevant authorities on the ground, teams will be deployed as soon as possible to begin assessments,” the BIA said.
It added: “The days and months ahead will be difficult for all. The BIA remains committed to working through this crisis with our clients and to doing all that we can to settle claims fairly and in the most expeditious manner possible, given these dire circumstances.”
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 7 months ago
What part of the well publicized and documented fact that all of Central and Northern Abaco has been completely decimated do they not get? The same goes for much of Grand Bahama. These insurance vultures should simply be cutting cheques to the insured individuals and businesses for the maximum amount of losses covered by their insurance policies, save for third party liability coverages. Instead these insurance vultures want to delay the claims settlement process in the hope of being able to persuade traumatized and desperate survivors, who have lost everything, to sign a piece of paper evidencing their agreement to accept claim settlement amounts that are much lower than they are truly entitled to receive.
The extensive aerial video coverage that has been made public of the complete and utter destruction caused by this cataclysmic event is plently evidence enough that the insurance adjusters and catastrophe experts really have nothing at all to do in the case of the vast majority of the insurance policies. The last thing insured traumatized survivors who have lost everything need right now is stress and pressure tactics from greedy insurers seeking to minimize their insurance claim settlements.
The Insurance Commissioner of The Bahamas needs to get off of her well endowed derrière and immediately make certain expected and warranted public announcements aimed at protecting insured individuals and businesses from the well known predatory practices of property and casualty insurers. These announcements should include full page notices in The Tribune, The Nassau Guardian and The Punch, as well as public announcements on the two main local TV stations (JCN not being one of them). The announcements should also appear on the Insurance Commission's official website.
The Insurance Commission must set up a special 'Dorian' unit within her official Office to handle inquiries and complaints of aggrieved policyholders who have good reason to believe they may be victims of predatory insurance practices aimed at depriving them of the claim settlement proceeds to which they are entitled to receive at the earliest possible time. Insurers found to be engaged in predatory practices should face appropriate penalties including the possibility of their insurance license being suspended pending the outcome of an investigation of their conduct by the Commissioner's Office.
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