Brown’s Office Takes Action, Urges Montanans to Prepare with Adequate Flood Coverage 

A month removed from the historic wind and water events in Northwest Montana, the State Insurance Commissioner’s team held a community forum and listening session in Libby.

Commissioner Brown encourages all Montanans to take steps now to minimize the risk of future floods and other peril losses.

Insurance Commissioner James Brown announced that his insurance team at the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI) has been on the ground this week in Northwest Montana to both help impacted families work through their insurance coverage questions and to educate consumers on flood insurance following the devastating December flooding and windstorms. The December events caused significant damage in Libby, Troy, and surrounding communities in Lincoln, Sanders, and Flathead Counties, as well as on the Blackfeet Reservation. As part of the outreach, Lincoln County Commissioner Brent Teske graciously provided CSI staff with a tour of site locations, and DNRC staffer Traci Sears gave an overview of that agency’s extensive mitigation efforts.

Meeting with Montanans across these communities, the agency is directly hearing about the true extent of the damage and devastation families have experienced. Stories from these Montana communities paint a heartbreaking picture of loss. Agency staff heard from small business owners and residents that, following the storms, they returned to homes and properties that had been inundated by floodwater, surrounded by debris, and cut off by damaged roads and infrastructure. Property owners are still trying to understand what, if anything, their insurance policies will cover.

Commissioner Brown said that the stories of loss shared by Lincoln County residents at the Libby open house, hosted by the agency and Senator Mike Cuffe of Eureka, are shared by hundreds of other Montanans who were harmed by the December storms. “Unfortunately, many folks who sustained property damage have scant options available to help them rebuild. Standard homeowners insurance policies typically do not cover flood damage, meaning many Montanans discover that some of the most serious losses they’ve suffered may not be covered by their existing policies.”

Brown stated that “this agency has experienced this outcome before. In prior flood events, only a small fraction of affected homeowners carried separate flood insurance policies, leaving many families with only one option: pay out of pocket to rebuild. This serves as an important reminder that the best way to protect your home and belongings is to purchase adequate insurance coverage.”

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840 Helena Avenue, Helena, Montana 59601
(main fax) 406.444.3413  I  (securities fax) 406.444.5558
(insurance consumer services fax) 406.444.1980  I  (legal fax) 406.444.3499
(phone) 800.332.6148 or 406.444.2040  I  (email) csi@mt.gov  I  (web) www.csimt.gov

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