Wapa

On Two-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Irma, WAPA Board Rejects Call To Hire Insurance Experts To Help Recover As Much As $50 Million In Covered Storm Losses

As the V.I. Water and Power Authority aggressively campaigns for consumer rate increases, WAPA’s governing board was busy on Thursday turning down an opportunity to recoup millions of dollars in hurricane losses by re-filing and settling claims with its insurer. Board members declined to act on a measure that would have brought expert lawyers and public adjusters on board to re-calculate WAPA’s rock-bottom estimate of insured losses from the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria.  “These guys are professionals who are able to look at a loss and find stuff that perhaps we didn’t see,” said board member Gerald T. Groner, a Christiansted attorney. “I think about my house: I know a public adjuster could have probably gotten me more for my roof, perhaps three times more, than I have… That’s a big difference.” The quote sounds as if Mr. Groner was supportive of the move to hire expert lawyers and public adjusters to help WAPA recoup funds, but Mr. Groner was actually against it, contending that ins...