AAA Texas: City of Hedwig Village and Mayor Sue Speck Trying to Prevent AAA Texas Customers From Filing Insurance Claims


IRVING, TX--(Marketwire - September 19, 2008) - This week as the people of southeast Texas struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Ike, the City of Hedwig Village and Mayor Sue Speck took extraordinary steps to prevent AAA Texas from doing its duty as mandated by the Texas Department of Insurance, assisting customers who have been impacted by the storm.

AAA Texas set up an Emergency Response RV so our customers could drive up to our Memorial District Office, 9311 Katy Fwy, Ste E, Houston and work with adjusters and other members of the disaster relief team. The RV was marked with a magnetic sign so customers could see it was a AAA Texas vehicle and employees were working outside on computers to process claims. This is a time-honored procedure that AAA Texas and other insurance companies have used for years to expedite the claims and assist our customers. Shortly after the RV was up and running, AAA Texas was informed by the Mayor Speck it was violating the Municipal Sign Ordinance and the landlord was called by the City. Later Thursday, AAA Texas was ordered to move the vehicle off the property and discontinue assisting the victims at this location.

AAA Texas has reached out to Mayor Speck on several occasions and she continues to hold firm on this issue.

"AAA Texas is mandated by the Texas Department of Insurance to do all it can for those who we have insured and we take this responsibility very seriously. The City of Hedwig Village and in particular Mayor Speck seem to be more concerned about whether a sign on a mobile vehicle is in violation of their sign ordinance, rather than taking into consideration the well-being of potentially thousands of victims impacted by this devastating storm. AAA Texas has been a good neighbor and friend to people at this location for more than 30 years and we're very concerned about their well-being. This district office is one of the busiest in the state and more than 68,000 members are from this district store," said AAA Texas Insurance and Public and Government Affairs Group Manager Linda von Quintus.

AAA Texas as well as all other insurance companies were told by the Texas Department of Insurance to report to them about insurance companies' specific outreach efforts to expedite the claims handling process and help get those citizens of Texas with insurance back on their feet. We continue to want to sit down with the Mayor to listen to her concerns, and find an equitable resolution without adversely impacting those citizens who have already suffered so much due to Hurricane Ike.

MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AAA-TEXAS PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM WILL BE AT THE MEMORIAL DRIVE DISTRICT OFFICE FRIDAY TO TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS. PLEASE CALL DAN RONAN IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

Contact Information: CONTACT: Linda von Quintus Group Manager, Insurance and Public Affairs AAA Texas 512-899 8046 vonquintus.Linda@aaa-texas.com Dan Ronan Corporate Communications and Community Relations Manager AAA Texas 469-583-7070 work 469-221-8217 cell ronan.dan@aaa-texas.com danronan@sprint.blackberry.net Jeff Spring Corporate Communications Manager AAA California Spring.Jeffrey@aaa-calif.com 714-885-2321