Senate subcommittee hears sworn accounts that insurers delayed, reduced payouts after disasters; insurers deny wrongdoing

A Senate subcommittee on disaster management opened a hearing on insurance industry claims practices following recent natural disasters, hearing sworn testimony from homeowners, field adjusters and a policyholder advocacy director who described repeated delays, reduced payouts and instructions to alter adjuster findings.

The hearing was led by Senator Hawley, chair of the subcommittee, and Ranking Member Senator Kim, who framed the session as an inquiry into where Americans can turn after catastrophe. "Where do Americans turn after catastrophes like the ones we've experienced just in the last calendar year? The answer is they turn to their insurance companies," Hawley said.

The first panel included Natalia Miguel, an Allstate policyholder from Sandy Springs, Georgia, who testified that a 70-foot oak tree fell on her home during Hurricane Helene and that Allstate’s initial written offer was about $46,000 while her sworn proof of loss was $497,000. Miguel said three different Allstate adjusters inspected the property at different times; she described the first adjuster as thorough and said subsequent inspections produced much lower estimates. "When we needed Allstate the most, they failed us," Miguel testified.

Two field adjusters who said they worked on Allstate claims through Pilot Catastrophe — Nick Schroeder and…