Sep 25
The State Farm Versus Katrina Saga Ends
State Farm has finally agreed to settle the lawsuits brought by a number of its insurance holders in Mississippi whose homes and properties did not fare so well in the storm.
The big debate: was the damage done to the homes of insurance holders by the wind or by flooding? Essentially, home insurance covers perils like windstorm damage but never flooding. State Farm held that it was flooding that damaged Mississippians’ homes and not the winds of Katrina. Mississippians, of course, disagreed.
This week the longstanding and much publicized debate came to a close. State Farm agreed that the damage was indeed done by windstorms and therefore a covered peril under their home insurance policies.
Over 600 State Farm policyholders stand to be paid more than $80 million in insurance claims. According to Mike Barry from the Insurance Information Institute, State Farm won’t stop there: ” What State Farm is saying is that also in these three particular counties, families who believe that their damage claims were not adequately resolved, State Farm has said they’re willing to revisit them.”
Settling these lawsuits also brings an end to the investigation begun by the Mississippi attorney general determining whether or not State Farm had fraudulently denied claims after Hurricane Katrina.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 10:21 pm
How can anyone state, with a straight face, that the damages incurred were NOT due to hurricane-force winds? Certainly, flooding was disastrous — and people who live in flood area should have insurance for it — but the bulk of those homes were not blown to bits by floodwaters!
I am glad to see that this decision will lead to re-evaluations of these cases. A buddy of mine lost his New Orleans home, and even with flood insurance his settlement didn\’t cover 25% of his losses.
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com