FARRAGUT (WATE) - For months,
insurance companies have been forking over millions of dollars to
storm victims.
Now those companies are looking to recoup some of those losses and
build up their reserves, as required by state law.
Greene County saw some of the worst storms this spring with seven
people dying in the Camp Creek community alone due to tornadoes.
Many more East Tennesseans who
weren't hurt still had thousands of dollars in damage to their
homes, cars and other property.
Linda Nybo says her Farragut home is almost fully restored after
suffering damage during the April hail storm.
She say's she filed insurance claims for more than $12,000 worth of
damage. "We got hit. I remember the date. It was bad," she said.
Nybo says her homeowners insurance rate is expected to increase $300
starting next year. "About $300 a year it went up, which isn't a
tremendous amount I guess, but to me it is," she said.
April's hail storm and
tornadoes caused more than $7 billion of insured losses throughout
the Southeast.
In the state of Tennessee, across the industry, there's been an
increase in claim activity in the past three, four, five years and
construction costs have seen increases as well," said Monsour Hasan,
a Knoxville State Farm agent.
Hasan says his company's rate changes won't take place immediately.
He says State Farm keeps up with claims it has paid out over the
last 20 years. When a state appears to have a pattern of severe
weather, homeowners pay more.
"A lot of the rate increases that we've seen within the industry
aren't related to this specific storm. It's due to due an increase
in activity within the past several years," Hasan said.
He also says Tennessee may become a more risky state for insurance
adjusters, meaning higher rates in the years to come.
Hasan says higher construction costs, the age of your home, the
number of claims you've had and what your home is made of all affect
your rates.
Plus, for flooding coverage, a separate policy must be purchased.