Devoted to the Insurance industry and all thing related

Almost two years after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast and hit the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana, big insurers and lawyers are still going at it.  Now according to Pantagraph.com the Scruggs Katrina Group “which is involved in numerous lawsuits against insurers, purchased ad space along Veterans Parkway that reads ‘Katrina only destroyed homes.  Big insurance has destroyed hope.’”    

The insurer feeling the brunt of this ad is State Farm who “called the ad a public relations stunt from a law firm stinging from the loss of a multimillion-dollar settlement.”  One of the attorneys in the Scruggs Katrina Group Zach Scruggs commented, “State Farm has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising on TV and radio along the Gulf Coast saying they’re a good neighbor and they’re willing to rebuild. We’re trying to show State Farm what’s really going on. Thousands of policyholders are still living in trailers because State Farm refuses to pay.”

 

This situation really comes down to what was covered under people’s homeowners’ policies.  If damage was done by wind then it should be covered but if it was flooding or wind driven rain then its not.  The bottom line is that there are thousands of people out of a home because State Farm and other insurers are not going to pay for what they feel was not covered.  

Should insurers just pay up regardless of how the damage was caused because of the immensity of destruction caused by Katrina?  If they did then what would be the point of having policy guidelines and certain things covered within a homeowners’ policy?