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Hurricane Lala’s overlapping perils could complicate insurance claims
With more than 100 homes reported damaged or swept away and over 111,000 utility customers without power as of Monday, brokers may need to sort which policies and endorsements apply to wind, flood, water intrusion, and ground movement.
Hurricane Lala’s storm impacts in Hawaii are raising potential claims complexity for brokers because multiple perils may affect the same property and different parts of an insurance program could be triggered at once. Insurance Business reports that wind, flood, water intrusion, and ground movement can combine within a single loss, requiring early policy identification, insurer notification, and careful claims documentation as Hawaii moves deeper into damage assessment and recovery.
The hurricane strengthened into a Category 1 system on Saturday before passing just south of the Big Island without making landfall, then weakening to a tropical storm on Sunday. By Monday, more than 100 homes had been reported damaged or swept away, and severe flooding damaged roads and bridges while isolating some communities on the southern Big Island, according to Insurance Business, which cited Reuters for the utility impact.
Insurance Business also noted that more than 111,000 utility customers remained without power on Monday, and Hawaiian Electric reported major infrastructure damage in remote parts of Hawaii Island and Maui. It added that helicopters and drones were being used to assess areas that crews could not easily reach.
According to Richard Folkman, vice president of CAT operations and flood and carrier practice leader at Crawford & Company, the biggest challenge in a multi-peril event is separating different causes of damage so adjusters can determine which parts of coverage respond. Insurance Business said adjusters may need to examine water lines, debris patterns, roof and exterior damage, structural movement, and surrounding terrain, and that access problems such as flooded roads, damaged bridges, landslides, fallen trees, and power outages can slow claims handling.