New Missouri laws could help residents and insurers during natural disasters

New insurance laws have been enacted in the state of Missouri this week. The laws come as a result of several devastation storms that ravaged parts of the state earlier this year. State insurance regulators say that the laws will afford new protections to residents concerned with damages caused by storms. The laws will also protect residents against opportunistic contractors with less-than-altruistic motives. Insurers will also benefit from the laws as it will enable them to better assist in the recover process. The first law, Senate Bill 101, will bar…

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Missouri officials report recovery of $5 million from shady insurers, money to be returned to policyholders

The Insurance Department of Missouri has released their latest quarterly report regarding several issues with the state’s insurance industry. The state has been wracked with an onslaught of consumer complaints for the past three months, after devastating tornadoes tuck their toll in the towns of Joplin and St. Louis. These complaints spurred the Insurance Department to investigate several claims that were filed as well as the operations of some of the insurance companies operating in the state. While the report highlights a number of issues within the insurance industry, it…

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Missouri insurance rates expected to go up

The past month has been trying for residents of Missouri. Storms late in April sent the Mississippi River on a rampage. Miles of farmland were inundated with water, causing billions in damage and displacing the state’s farmers. Those same storms were accompanied by an outbreak of tornados that tore through much of the region. The now infamous Joplin tornado – the most deadly and destructive tornado in six decades – that sundered a town and left hundreds without homes was the last of the environmental onslaught. Together, these disasters will…

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Insurance agents and adjusters have their hands full in St. Louis storm ravished areas

Following Friday’s extraordinarily severe weather, teams of insurance and emergency personnel from all around Missouri have gathered in the St. Louis region to better coordinate their efforts there. While emergency response crews conducted house-to-house searches, insurance agents began fielding a sleuth of claims of damaged property. While there have been no casualties as yet, the experience has left many in a state of disbelief. The storms have wrought massive amounts of damage, says Pattonville Fire Protection District Battalion Chief K.J. Spurlock. “Cars upside down, large trees and power lines are…

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