Allstate lawyers rest in insurance suit |
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Thu, 15 Feb 2007 01:03
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The unprecedented scope of Hurricane Katrina's destruction made it difficult for Allstate Indemnity Co. to quickly process insurance claims after the storm, a company manager said Wednesday as the company defended itself in a lawsuit filed by a Louisiana couple.Paul Tracey was testifying Wednesday in the first federal trial arising from several thousand lawsuits that Louisiana home owners have filed against insurance companies in connection with Katrina.Defense lawyers rested their case Wednesday afternoon in the suit, which was filed by Lawrence and Elizabeth Tomlinson.Paul Tracey, field operations manager for Allstate's catastrophe team, said a lack of housing for employees and post-disaster travel restrictions slowed the pace of adjusting and paying claims after the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.Tracey said the company, which had 450 full-time catastrophe workers, brought in hundreds of contractors and also trained people to handle the large volume of claims.'I don't think there were enough adjusters in the industry to respond to this event,' said Tracey, who noted that he had no involvement in adjusting or paying the Tomlinsons' claim.Tracey was addressing a key issue in the Tomlinsons' suit -- an allegation that Allstate didn't start adjusting their claim after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm until Nov. 28, 2005 -- more than the 30 days allowed by law.They also accuse the Northbrook, Ill.-based company of bad faith and say the company underpaid them for wind damage that tore holes in their roof and let water rain into their home in the New Orleans suburb of Marrero.Allstate disputes the extent of the wind damage to the Tomlinsons' home and accuses the couple of misrepresenting parts of their claim.Closing arguments in the trial were expected Thursday. A seven-member jury, which was chosen Monday, will decide the case.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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