Posted On: September 16, 2005, 2:20 pm CDT

Posted By: Sam

Mr. Marino, you and the State of Mississippi are very arrogant to believe that this will create a fix for all of the damaged homes, businesses and buildings within the Gulf Coast. Insurance Coverage litigation can go on for several years (note, the World Trade Center coverage litigation took over 4 years for some issues to be resolved). Do you propose that the citizens that do not have flood insurance wait that long for a court to decide that the NFIP is the source for flood insurance? Carriers will pay for the damages they owe under the contract. The litigation seeks to undermine long-standing principles of contract law. If the State of Mississippi is successful in re-writing insurance contracts to include a peril for which there was no premium collected, what will be next?

Further, forcing insurers to pay for damages not covered and for which no premium was charged will cause further economic issues. Have you considered the far-reaching impact of such a decision? How many carriers will choose to withdraw from writing any insurance in MS because of this issue? How many carriers may go into receivership or bankruptcy if the court's agree with the State of Mississippi.

Your assumptions that insurance companies owe the damages is incorrect.