Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi said Friday the majority of insurers that write homeowners policies in Connecticut will be waiving higher cost deductibles in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
In some cases insurers have outright waived the deductible even though their policy language permitted it; others did not invoke it because their policy triggers were not met.
Leonardi said talks are ongoing with other insurance carriers to resolve the issue. The Commissioner said the Attorney General and Department of Consumer Protection are also looking into the matter. Currently, 17 companies that have nearly 70 percent of the homeowners market throughout Connecticut are not invoking the hurricane deductible on coastal policies.
Going forward, Commissioner Leonardi said the underwriting guidelines that permitted these deductibles will be changed and tightened.
“I am asking all other carriers to follow the lead of those in the industry, who I believe in this instance, have done the right thing and waived the hurricane deductible,” Leonardi said. “There is no question that Connecticut was hit by a damaging storm, but it wasn’t a hurricane when it reached us.”
Companies that have waived the hurricane deductible:
- ACE
- Fireman’s Fund
- Hartford
- Liberty Mutual
- MiddleOak
- Nationwide
- New London County Mutual (NLC)
- Safeco
- Tower
- Travelers
- Utica National
- Utica First
- Vermont Mutual
Companies not applying the hurricane deductibles because triggers were not met:
- Chubb
- Hanover
- Kemper
- Peerless
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