Dear Editor,
Exactly 5 months after our homes, our businesses, our economy, our country and our lives were battered by the passing of Hurricane Irma, so many of us now are suffering from an entirely man-made disaster, the one being foisted on us by the insurance industry. The pressure to settle, the low-ball amounts, the incomprehensible manner at how these sums are reached, the slow payment of the funds, the rumours of insolvency or sale of certain companies...all have been used against us; we who diligently insured our properties and made our timely payments.
All of this is being played at the expense of those who often can least afford it. Without roofs over their heads, it is impossible to wait out a better settlement and many are accepting the first offer, not knowing their rights or seeing the protection of their government.
Insurance industry adjusters have acted with impunity and without oversight, paying out what they want, rather than what was covered and paid for. Terms such as “underinsurance and re-insurance,”...none of which are stated in the policies that you and I bought, are suddenly are being used against us.
In fairness, some insurance companies have acted honourably, but others, and one in particular, has not. Ask your neighbours, your friends, and it becomes readily apparent.
It is time for our elected officials to step in today, and put their credibility on the line...towards the needs of their people. Elections are around the corner and a great deal of good can be done.
The pace of recovery is directly tied to the settlement and payment of claims. The people are suffering, jobs are being lost, revenue to the private sector from taxi drivers, tourism workers, building contractors and trades, and the subsequent flow through to the Government’s treasury, all suffer.
Name withheld at author's request
