Posted On: March 27, 2006, 3:37 am CST

Posted By: Mrs. L. B.

When insurance companies post profits in the BILLIONS year after year (my "good hands" people regularly do), one has to assume they have the cash in reserve somewhere...And if not, how dare you all say we have our nerve asking for what we paid for. What are they doing with this money? Where is it?
I, for one, happen to know what "re-assurance" is. Most people are not aware that insurance companies actually have insurance on themselves to cover such castrophies!!!! Go figure. I bet they get all their money back, don't they?
Another point I find extremely ironic (and off on another tangent):
So many say they don't want God in their business, on their money, in their schools or courts, yet insurance companies are so quick to use "Act of God" to get out of paying. Oh, my, this tidal wave, hurricane, tornado, windstorm, whatever, is not under anyone's control. It was an act of God. So we shouldn't have to pay. Well, technically, dying of natural causes is an "Act of God", so why do you pay on life insurance policies?
Yes, as a Christian, I believe this storm was an act of God, but as a taxpaying, law abiding, bills-paid-on-time type of person, I gotta ask again, what the heck is it exactly I am paying for?
And here's yet another twist: My brother had a good job and health insurance for himself and his family (for which he paid a huge premium out of pocket) pre-Katrina. Lost job due to business being wiped out, lost insurance, no money to pay the exhorborant COBRA premiums.
His wife got so sick last week from the staph infection she got from exposure to all this muck and filth, she is now in ICU fighting for her life. And he is worried sick not only over if she will survive, but that he will probably lose the home he rebuilt with is own hands to pay for the medical bills. Oh, yes, he had full HO insurance, too, and lived 43 FEET above sea level, 1 mile from the Gulf.
Again, I IMPLORE you that judge us to come see for yourselves. Did you see Extreme Home Special Edition last Thursday, or Trading Spaces the weekend before? That was but a smidgen of what is going on here and under what conditions we are living.
Another question-when we rented about 1/4 mile off the beach while building here, we were required to carry a special windstorm rider due to proximity to the water. Once we moved here, that was dropped from our policy as, again, we were told we were too far from the water and it was not a requirement. The insurance company automatically dropped it, not us or the agent. And wouldn't let us add it in due to location. hmmmm, still haven't figured that one out.
I'm telling ya'll, you can shout till the cows come home, but us folks down here in Coastal Mississippi are in dire straits and need not only help from all the wonderful volunteers, but what is due to us by our insurance companies.
And by not paying NOW for the repairs, your actual assets are going down, too. These homes are being rebuilt by the owners and volunteers. A lot of them are experts at what they are doing, but a lot are just wonderful folks eager to help. So, sometimes the quality of work is not exactly professional. Which means the value of the homes are going to go down, which means premiums are going down based on replacement and tax value. Pay now or pay later, I guess.
Facts are facts.
Mississippi=Hurricane with unbelievable Tidal Wave. (Water in and out in about an hour.)
New Orleans=long-standing flood water due to weak and improperly maintained levees breaking. The majority of the city didn't get water until the day after the storm!
Peace out, ya'll. I am on my way to the hospital to see my deathly ill sister-in-law and pray she'll survive.