Posted on 12/16/2005 4:33:38 AM PST by WKB
GULFPORT - U.S. Sen. Trent Lott and wife Tricia are suing State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. over its refusal to cover the loss of their Pascagoula home to Hurricane Katrina.
The Lotts' suit, filed today in U.S. District Court, accuses the insurance company of fraud for denying coverage based on a "flood" exemption and asks that the court order the claim paid. It further asks that the insurance company be prohibited from using the flood exemption to deny coverage.
Attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs is representing his sister and brother-in-law in the lawsuit.
The Lotts paid insurance premiums for more than 40 years, according to the lawsuit, believing they would be covered for all losses caused by a hurricane. Katrina left a slab where their waterfront home once stood.
Homeowner's insurance policies in Mississippi and other states cover wind damage but typically include language to exclude flood damage, whether or not it is caused by wind-driven water.
The lawsuit argues that the storm surge was part of the hurricane and can't be considered flooding. It also points out that, under established law in Mississippi, when wind is considered to the "proximate" cause of damage, a claim should be paid even if other factors contributed to the loss.
I'm just gonna have to call Bull$hit on you. That is the argument they are going to make, and with that argument they will win in a Mississippi courtroom. But don't insult your intelligence and my intelligence by pretending to believe that any of that BS is actually true.
Facts are not going to matter in this case. The folks in MS are going to feather their own nests and the rest of us are going to pay for it. Satisfy yourself with that, without also having to pretend that you are right.
The only problem is many people were flooded who weren't in a flood zone.
Any fool in hurricane country knows that homeowners or windstorm insurance doesn’t cover flood. It’s plastered across my statements, and every insurance agent with an IQ above 70 presses their clients to take it. I pay out the butt for it here in the Florida Keys.
Lott’s the weasel here, cutting corners, and now trying to bully his insurance into paying for something he didn’t purchase.
"..Does my NFIP policy cover all the buildings on my property? The Standard Flood Insurance Policy provides coverage for one building per policy. The only exception is 10 percent coverage for a detached garage. However, the total payment for flood damage to the detached garage and the house together cannot exceed the building policy limit. For coverage to apply, the garage can only be used for parking and storage. Any other use would void this coverage, i.e., if the garage has a workshop, the coverage would not apply. All other buildings on the premises need separate coverage. The maximum allowable limits are $250,000 for residential properties and $500,000 for commercial properties.
Are the contents of my home covered under my NFIP policy? Contents are not automatically included. If contents coverage is desired, a specific amount must be named and a separate premium charged, but it doesn’t need to be a separate policy. Contents coverage limits are $100,000 for residential policies and $500,000 for commercial policies..."
I am guessing Lott didn't buy flood insurance because the limits of coverage are too low to indemnify his potential loss anyway.
I am not pretending. I do think I'm right and you are wrong.
I feel sorry for everyone whose home's were totally eradicated. Heck, I feel sorry for Trent. But he knew the score, he bet the house, he knew the rules,the house always wins and he lost his house. I suspect the suit is just laying the predicate for congressional action. "Big Insurance" will be the next target.
Had a dental appt. recently, and the 'assistant' was a recent transplant from the Mississippi coast. She had exactly the same horror story. She and her husband lost literally everything........and yep, the damned insurance company is weaseling exactly the same way. She said that they literally had to just start over since they knew full well the insurance company (and their brethren in the industry) was NOT going to pay off.
Sad and sick.
Yes it is flooding. All banks don’t require mortgages in hurricane areas to purchase expensive flood insurance because of rainfall. Lott took a risk, and is now reneging. That’s the weasel behavior that I expected of him.
OK I'll give up my house insurance for wind damage from a hurricane if you will give up your fire insurance against that forest fire that takes yours out. Deal?
It's not a trick and Lott doesn't deserve a penny of insurance money. Insurance policies clearly exclude flood damage and storm surge is flood damage. The premiums collected are lower as a result. Moreover, only the federal government provides flood insurance. If Lott didn't have it, it's tough luck. If he wins the case, there won't be any insurance company that will offer coverage because his precedent would bankrupt all of them when everyone else makes the same claim. It sounds like he is lining up with the democrat attorney general that's trying to get flood coverage from the insurance companies in Mississippi.
..."the lobbyists could afford it."
Correct! What's good for the goose...
"Excludes Flood!" is the largest print on my Windstorm insurance.
The policy giveth, and the policy taketh away.
Mortgage comapnies mandate insurance coverage. If you have a mortgage, you have to have property insurnce and a separate flood policy if you live in a FEMA designated flood zone. Also, the premiums are regional, not national. Your premium in Montana isn't goin up because of hurricanes in FL. I live in FL and our premiums are going up 50% per year!
It is a trick, a swindle and a scam which has been pulled by insurance companies for years.
Well, no doubt your position will prevail. But reality does not matter as far as that is concerned.
I'm sorry, I seldom post. But I think you 'spoke' hastily. We are active duty, and moved to NOLA in July.
Thank God we did have insurance, but it only adds to our pain to read sentiments such as yours. We are still living in a temporary, rented furniture situation. It's a bare bones sort of thing right now. Our lives have definitely had a surreal quality since Aug. 29th. There's life across the USA....football games, music lessons, etc...and then there's us...the Gulf Coast, where the climbing out from the devastation just doesn't seem to end...parallel lives...ones WE are living so that you have the freedom of speech...to bash us.
Folks with waterside homes along the Gulf and the various rivers and streams that empty into it should learn to go without insurance. Otherwise they should live somewhere else.
Talk with your insurance agent. If only land is in the 100 year flood plane, but the structure isn't, then flood insurance is optional. I'm in the same situation and I was very fortunate to have an agent in the same situation, too, and who knows the regulations inside and out. I still buy flood insurance, but it is about 1/6th the premium than if my house was 20 feet further west.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.