In accordance with Texas Gov. Dan Patrick’s disaster declaration in response to Hurricane Beryl, the Department of Insurance says in a bulletin issued Saturday that it expects insurers to work with their policyholders to help ensure fair treatment and provide for fair competition.

More than 140,000 Texans have been without electricity for nearly two weeks since Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on July 8; it had previously been a Category 5, according to Newsweek. Power was initially out for more than 2.2 million. The official death toll hasn’t been shared yet but at least 13 people have been reported dead as of Friday in the Houston area alone, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Beryl also spurred tornadoes and flooding from Louisiana up to the Great Lakes and Northeastern U.S.

“TDI expects insurers to work with their policyholders as they recover from the storm,” the bulletin states. “This bulletin doesn’t create specific requirements. Cooperation by every insurer will help ensure the fair treatment of consumers and provide for fair competition.

“Insurers can make decisions on deductibles on a case-by-case basis. For example, an insurer can waive applying a second deductible in situations where an insurer has not adjusted the first claim or where repairs have not yet been made. TDI encourages insurers to evaluate these situations using a common-sense standard that is fair to consumers.”

TDI said it has received questions about deductibles after back-to-back storms.

“The bulletin is generally addressed to all insurers,” TDI told Repairer Driven News. “We anticipate that the insurance company will communicate with the consumer about the decision on a deductible.”

P&C insurance premiums are currently the highest they’ve been in more than 20 years, according to U.S. government data from the producer price index shared by Insurance Journal.

“As a result, Wall Street expects Progressive’s earnings to nearly double in 2024 after jumping by 50% in 2023,” Insurance Journal reports. “Analysts expect Travelers to report a 36% jump in 2024 earnings per share following a modest gain in 2023. Allstate’s profit is expected to skyrocket compared to weak growth in 2023 as it moves past the big cost impact from Hurricane Ian.”

Insurance Journal has also reported that Moody’s Ratings predicts insurance losses from Hurricane Beryl will be “low and readily absorbed” with the storm not expected to change pricing conditions in the P&C reinsurance sectors but the “aggregation of all events in an active hurricane season could lead to significant losses for P/C insurers.”

According to Insurance Journal, CoreLogic estimates damage could be $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion and that a shift toward the purchase of a higher deductible policy could significantly reduce losses paid by insurers. Most Texas homeowners have deductibles of 1-5%, the article says.

For collision repairers affected by Hurricane Beryl, a request can be sent to the Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) which is a nonprofit resource for repairers following natural disasters and emergencies.

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Featured illustration credit: Rodrigo