Lloyd’s and lava
Regarding “Lloyd’s has done nothing” (Tribune-Herald, July 26): I am an independent insurance agent offering Lloyd’s of London policies, and 20 or so of my customers had their homes destroyed by lava, and most were insured with Lloyd’s.
I have personally seen Lloyd’s paying out millions of dollars in lava claims.
There are some Lloyd’s policies with “fine print” caveats. However, the lava exclusion that I have seen is not in fine print.
The LAVA EXCLUSION WAS CLEARLY PRINTED ON THE DECLARATIONS PAGE in all capital letters right under the heading “Coverage.”
Even though it cost me customers who demanded a lower premium in exchange for a lava exclusion, I did not offer the Lloyd’s lava exclusion policy and have no experience with that type of claim. During this lava crisis, I have only seen Lloyd’s respond as expected with satisfactory claims results. They have paid out millions of dollars in claims to my customers.
For homeowners in lava zones 1 and 2: Hawaii Property Insurance Association might still be an option, but premiums are still often much higher than Lloyd’s. My advice is to check on availability and get a quote for an HPIA policy.
Lloyd’s and other insurers may change their terms on the renewal date of your policy. I have seen some renewal offers unchanged; others are adding very high lava deductibles, and some others are nonrenewed. Rate increases also are likely.
Visit www.hpiainfo.com for more information.
Daniel De Soto
Hilo