Posted On: March 8, 2007, 11:00 pm CST

Posted By: A

Listen folks,

My name is Andrea and I lived with Michael and Lucille Catchot during the time of the hurricane. I am their niece. These people have been insured by Nationwide for over 40 years, and have NEVER missed a payment, and even their cars and a boat have been insured with Nationwide. They have homeowner's and flood. They pay their bills like the rest of us, don't have car accidents, and they meet their deductible. They put the money in the mail slot. I recall Aunt Lucy mentioning that she was going to drop off a payment. Do I recall what day? No, of course not. But I do remember that we weren't that concerned about Katrina hitting us at the time. The agent did not even know what God had planned with that hurricane...Ivan had been a breeze when it was supposed to be a monster in our area. But the bill WAS paid on time.

Now, that said, Nationwide did not inform anyone about the lapse until all the insurance companies were running around trying to say it was "surge" and not a flood, rewriting policies left and right. The first letter claimed it was a surge. When my aunt and uncle balked at that, then all of a sudden comes the "apology," aka the second excuse, 'sorry, you're coverage lapsed.' But the check had already been cashed, and the new policy had been rewritten previous to the apology. Then when we called foul, the nationwide agents tried to point fingers at one another. Guilty conscience, anyone?

I lost my things too. But I didn't care as much for myself as I did for them. My aunt has debilitating ailments and she is the most honest person I have ever known. She has worked hard all her life, as a nurse, even through her own pain. Even when she cried about the damage, she was certain that Nationwide would fix it, because that's what you pay them for...right? We spent hours bleaching all the black mold growing inside, tearing up boards and trudging through stinking mud to try and save what we could. I will never forget swimming up the hill, standing there, drenched with muck, staring out at the house on 17 ft stilts beneath the water lapping gently at my feet. We were blessed that it was still standing at all!

What they're asking for is not a big chunk, and they are not greedy or trying to make a quick buck! My aunt and uncle are decent, quiet, Christian people who would rather let something go than fight about it, but this was a huge last straw for them! My uncle repaired what he could himself, and that is hard for a man his age! The one time that Nationwide should've pulled through for them, they did not! I'm sorry, but you folks that have been saying these people have been irresponsible (amongst other horrible, heartless comments) have no right whatsoever to judge what you don't understand, especially when you don't have all your facts.

I am more willing to strike back than my aunt and uncle, as you can tell. They say "God bless you" and move on, even when it hurts. To you that have been just plain cruel, you are ignorant and have lost heart in humanity. I feel sorry for you.But to you folks that are giving my family the benefit of the doubt, I give you our thanks and never ending gratitude. God bless you.