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Talk of the bay

Hurricane coverage inquiries overwhelm new insurer

By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published August 15, 2005

Independent insurance agent Chris Wandembergh merely wanted to drum up business for her fledgling First Heritage Insurance Services.

But her bay area TV ads offering a free quote for hurricane coverage tapped a bigger vein than she expected.

Wandembergh had to temporarily discontinue the TV spot at the beginning of this month after being swamped with more requests than she could handle - and from many people she couldn't help.

"It was a way for me to get my name out there," Wandembergh said, acknowledging that the pitch was also a way to bring in potential customers for auto insurance and other lines.

"It doesn't mean I can write everything" in homeowners, she added.

Indeed, for owners of homes more than 20 years old, the news was what they heard from other brokers: that only the state-run Citizens Property Insurance will write coverage for them.

Citizens has swelled by the thousands in the bay area in the past several years. By state law, the insurer's rates are set higher than the marketplace to assure that it's used only by homeowners who cannot find private companies to write their policies.

The situation is only getting more tense as big players such as Allstate and Nationwide recently decided to cut back on their policy count or not write any new policies. Some insurers have pulled out of Florida.

After their brief hiatus, First Heritage's ads are supposed to go back on the air as soon as today.

[Last modified August 12, 2005, 19:44:03]