Katrina at Two Years: $40.6 Billion Paid on 1.7 Million Insurance Claims
National News • August 7, 2007
Two years later, the "overwhelming majority of claims" in Gulf Coast states from Hurricane Katrina have been settled in what has been the single largest loss — $40.6 billion — in the history of ...
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Subject: I care, but I am tired!
Posted On: August 7, 2007, 6:40 pm CDT
Posted By: Tired like everyone else
Comment:
I am tired like everyone else. Tired of the whining, tired of the insurance rates, tired of hearing the SF vs. Ins'd #4055. To me, here's the bottom line.
People make choices in life, but unfortunately people are not trained to deal with the consequences when their choice turns out poorly. Case in point, underinsurance in the Gulf states and EVERYWHERE else!
I live in New Orleans and I ride around appalled at what I see. Here's the catch. A lot of what is still bad was bad before, it's just that people lived there then. A lot of people didn't have insurance or not enough not because they did not have the money, but because they made a conscious decision NOT to buy it. And with the programs that have come about from the chaos caused by Katrina, WHY SHOULD THEY BUY IT FOR NEXT TIME? The system here is set up to protect those who make a choice to be irresponsible. Some people get up and go to work every day to earn a living to support their family with a decent lifestyle. We don't all ask anyone for anything. We pay our bills and we have the best insurance we can buy. It is our choice to be responsible and there are a lot of our type out here.
Do you think that someone actually made up these New Orleans t-shirts that say things like, "I stayed for Katrina and all I got was FEMA money, a New Cadillac, and a plasma TV"? That really happened! The money is here. There is more money now than there ever has been before. FREE money to those who can prove that they did not have enough insurance money to pay for their damages. First of all, there are ridiculous numbers of people taking advantage of this program. For instance, I know someone who had plenty of money to rebuild bigger and better from insurance money, but somehow managed to get Road Home money that he just used to pay for his daughter's wedding. What? How does that happen? And then consider that there are so many people who cannot be responsible for thousands of dollars in their pockets dedicated to go toward reconstruction of their homes. Another brilliant decision by our government--"Let's just give everyone their Road Home money and too few stipulations." Give a drunken homeless man $10 and watch him go buy his next drink. Irresponsibility is just that, and unfortunately it breeds more of the same.
Will Katrina happen again? Probably so. And by the way, the outcome will be the more of the same. People don't change. You have those you are responsible and those who are not. Those who work hard and earn their lifestyles and those who take from everyone else. It's just the way that it is.
So those of you who worked here, thank you for your tireless dedication. Insurance companies who didn't pay what they should, well, that's nothing new it happens in every catastrophe, but shame on you. Those insurance companies who did pay what you owed, well, that's what you're supposed to do. Those of you feeling sorry for the people who haven't picked up the pieces, look harder--there are a lot of poor souls here, but there are many "Poor pitiful me" souls pulling the wool over a lot of people's eyes. Katrina was a horrible thing, but this city will never die. People look at the destruction and filth appalled. This was a dirty city before and even with all of the newness that has come from the storm; just give it time--we'll make it ugly too. Welcome to New Orleans.
Subject: I care, but I am tired!
People make choices in life, but unfortunately people are not trained to deal with the consequences when their choice turns out poorly. Case in point, underinsurance in the Gulf states and EVERYWHERE else!
I live in New Orleans and I ride around appalled at what I see. Here's the catch. A lot of what is still bad was bad before, it's just that people lived there then. A lot of people didn't have insurance or not enough not because they did not have the money, but because they made a conscious decision NOT to buy it. And with the programs that have come about from the chaos caused by Katrina, WHY SHOULD THEY BUY IT FOR NEXT TIME? The system here is set up to protect those who make a choice to be irresponsible. Some people get up and go to work every day to earn a living to support their family with a decent lifestyle. We don't all ask anyone for anything. We pay our bills and we have the best insurance we can buy. It is our choice to be responsible and there are a lot of our type out here.
Do you think that someone actually made up these New Orleans t-shirts that say things like, "I stayed for Katrina and all I got was FEMA money, a New Cadillac, and a plasma TV"? That really happened! The money is here. There is more money now than there ever has been before. FREE money to those who can prove that they did not have enough insurance money to pay for their damages. First of all, there are ridiculous numbers of people taking advantage of this program. For instance, I know someone who had plenty of money to rebuild bigger and better from insurance money, but somehow managed to get Road Home money that he just used to pay for his daughter's wedding. What? How does that happen? And then consider that there are so many people who cannot be responsible for thousands of dollars in their pockets dedicated to go toward reconstruction of their homes. Another brilliant decision by our government--"Let's just give everyone their Road Home money and too few stipulations." Give a drunken homeless man $10 and watch him go buy his next drink. Irresponsibility is just that, and unfortunately it breeds more of the same.
Will Katrina happen again? Probably so. And by the way, the outcome will be the more of the same. People don't change. You have those you are responsible and those who are not. Those who work hard and earn their lifestyles and those who take from everyone else. It's just the way that it is.
So those of you who worked here, thank you for your tireless dedication. Insurance companies who didn't pay what they should, well, that's nothing new it happens in every catastrophe, but shame on you. Those insurance companies who did pay what you owed, well, that's what you're supposed to do. Those of you feeling sorry for the people who haven't picked up the pieces, look harder--there are a lot of poor souls here, but there are many "Poor pitiful me" souls pulling the wool over a lot of people's eyes. Katrina was a horrible thing, but this city will never die. People look at the destruction and filth appalled. This was a dirty city before and even with all of the newness that has come from the storm; just give it time--we'll make it ugly too. Welcome to New Orleans.