I was told by my State Farm Agent in 1980 that since my house was built above the huricane Camile flood plain that I was not elligible for federaly subsidized flood insurance.
My home is hanging 4 ft off of the pilings and is cracked into three sections – structurally demolished.
state Farm said that the damage was due to a flood and offered me $1500.00 My annual homeowners premium is $1300.00
Don’t you think you would sue.
Storm surge is not a flood, it is an integral part of a hurricane. If State Farm tried to exclude hurricanes they would not sell a lick of insurance.
They are trying to say that all of the damage is due to flood.
Please read NFIP’s definition of ‘flood’ before making ignorant comments. Storm surge is exactly what flood is. Who are you to redefine flood? Your State Farm agent was an idiot also if he in fact told you you could not get flood insurance.
Some where I recall that a “flood” is caused by rising water from a “river” that temporarily overflows the river into “adjacent” lands. Also a flood on the northern hemisphere would start by water at the northern end of the river not the southern end, if it’s a naturally occering event.
No one who went through Katrina experianced a flood in the general sense of the word as it’s understood by any regular person.
Storm surge is water that is pushed “towards” the shore by the force of “winds” swirling around in a storm. In katrinas case hurricane force winds.
I think they will pay. And moving so fast to have people sign some piece of paper only tips their hand exposing their true motives.
I say to you also: Who are you to redefine flood? By your definition, no coastal beach dweller should ever worry about being flooded or buy flood insurance.
I noted with great amusement that the federal government is responsible for flood. We know this! The problem is that a hurricane is not raising water but high velocity wind which drives water on shore. What takes these houses down is the hurricane. The insurance companies will loose this battle. This storm was too big and this time something will be done to force the insurance companies to pay what they have been collecting premiums for 30 years… Don’t fool yourself YOU WILL PAY…
Hmmm… Water Damage: Water damage means flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, tsunami, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether driven by wind or not.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is simply playing politics. I almost hope he is successful. Then all the major insurance companies will leave the state and your annual premiums will be $6,000 or more.
You better hope they don’t have to pay. Flood, which this clearly is, is excluded on all dwelling policies that I am aware of (and I am aware of many). If the insurance companies are forced to pay losses for which they have not collected the appropriate premium they will leave the state and those that do stay ( if any ) will have their premiums so high that you will not be able to afford it which means no new home loans, no coverage for existing homes, etc. In other words financial ruin for what ever state might do this injustice. Beware of what you ask for, you might get it.
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.
Insurance Adjusters have their hands full with Katrina. I am confident they will pay for the damages that are covered under their policies. However, not all of the damage was done by Katrina. Flooding was a major cause of damage to this area. While my heart goes out to everyone living in her path, anyone can purchase flood insurance and those that did not should not expect the insurance industry to pick up the tab. My rates are high enough thank you.
Had you really been quoted and paid a premium for flood insurance; and by that I mean a real premium, not a tax-payer subsidized premium on the limited coverage NFIP offers, you’d know it. You wouldn’t be making such assinine statements about insurers collecting premiums for thirty years.
Sounds like you are either one of, or represent, the three out of four people who decided to not buy flood insurance, despite the fact that every agent offers it, the news media and the insurance commissioner always talk about having it after each and every storm, and the NFIP runs commercials on TV and Radio all the time about the need for it.
In my mind, you, and/or your clients, chose to be self-insured. You got what you paid for: nada.
Jay,
I find it interesting that so many people feel like paying insurance premiums is the same as making deposits into a savings account. Let’s see… my home is worth approximately $185,000. My annual homeowner’s premium is $530. If I were to cancel my insurance, and save that money in a cookie jar, after 30 years I would only have $15,900! It would take 350 years for me to save up the $185,000 that my house is worth. What would I do if I had a total loss? That’s why I have insurance. If my house burns to the ground tomorrow (a covered loss), I am fully protected by the big, bad insurance company. Oh, and I’ve only been paying premiums for 2 1/2 years!
Now for another lesson… Say you hire a contractor to build a sunroom on the back of your house for $10,000. You sign a contract for this, and he gets started. About halfway through the job, you tell the contractor that you expect him to build you a pool at no extra charge. Do you really think he will do it for free? I don’t think so. Oh but wait, maybe you can get your neighbors to pay for the pool! After all, just like insurance, you haven’t paid the full amount for what you expect, a sunroom AND a pool/wind damage AND flood damage. And your neighbors, like the other policyholders, can pay the difference!
Enjoy your new pool, but your neighbors won’t be around to enjoy it with you. They all moved to a new state, where the cost of a sunroom is reasonable and their neighbors don’t mooch off of them.
They will pay! These guy’s will only pay those that stand and fight. My only question is this….Why do most insurance policy’s on the coast have a 2% hurricane deductable. When one looks back at the damage Katrina did to mississippi’s gulf coast, one will not remember the great flood of 2005.
chris…don’t sound so bitter. My agent sold me a golden umbrella policy , which included a 2% hurricane deductable. He also informed that my policy would cover everything. My premium was already at 6000.00 a year when Katrina hit my house and left nothing behind. I also have eye witnesses, and feel confident that in the end… THEY WILL PAY!!!!!!
I agreed, the Insurance Companies should not have to pay for flood or water damages
on Homeowner policies.. my home was located on Fowler Street in Biloxi, I have neighbors that stated that my home was off of its foundation before the water came on shore, the water line in my home is angled in the position that the house is now lying, My Insurance Company says that the water knock my home off of the foundation, I disagree.. If they were honest in my particular case they would have to pay for the home, not its contents, they have offered to pay for the cost of replacing the roof, the company\’s engineer, stated that the wind was not strong enough to move the home from its foundation.They have also informed me that a court battle could take ten years or better. So, you guys are right, I didn\’t have flood Insurance, when I purchased 12 years ago, that was a selling point, I even received a flood certificate stating that my home was not in a flood area, therefore I do not expect to be paid for flood damages, I do however, expect the Insurance company to be fair and honest.. call a spade a spade.
On the hurricane deductible policy it clearly states \”Please read the following
very carefully this changes your original policy.\” It says it twice. Then about 3/4s
down it says an insured loss is covered, or
any (object)s driven by a windstorm. The last I looked water is an object. A storm surge is wind pushing against the oceans surface is the primary cause of a storm surge. Ask your insurance agent or company about that and they will tell you your claim is due to flooding and is not covered. What this changes your original policy.
Flood is excluded in a regular homeowners policy, But not in the hurricane deductible policy. It state \”any insured loss is covered, or any (object)\’s driven
by a windstorm. I have some questions. Can you taste, smell, hear, and touch water, because if you can it is an object.
Is a hurricane a windstorm. 165 mile per hour winds. I would say yes. If anyone thinks insurance companies will get out of paying this you are definetly wrong!
My family has lived in Pensacola since 1973. We have experienced many hurricanes over the years and endured numerous negotiations with our insurance companies. On 9/16/04 hurricane Ivan made landfall with sustained winds of a 130 mph. The winds initially caused substantial roof damage, with many homes losing their roofs or being opened up by flying debris. The wind then drove ashore a 16 foot storm surge inflicting additional heavy damage to homes that where already opened up by the wind.
The roof on my home in Pensacola Beach stay on throughout the storm but a heavy cabinet from a home up wind of my property flew into my door which opened the house to flooding. Fortunately, this happened late in the storm resulting in a high water mark of only 31 inches. Other homes surrounding my property had more severe wind damage along with high water marks of over 60 inches.
The wind caused severe flooding damage to happen. It blew many homes apart and opened them up to water and flooding damage. My insurance company eventually agreed with me but it took persistent and sometime contentious negotiations. In the end the insurance company did the right and reasonable thing. Unfortunately, it will take a judge’s decisions to help the less fortunate people of Mississippi and Louisiana.
Dickie Scruggs is suing the insurance companies here Pascagoula had something like a 27 foot storm surge came in and I live 1.7 miles from the beach I received about 15 inches of water and I 16 foot above sea level. I noticed no comp person said anything about my last email because there is nothing tho argue with. Greg I agree, but the insurance companies will get out paying thousands of claims that are actually covered by there policy because many people are fixing their houses without pictures before and after the storm. Sad but true. This is just what the inurance companies want.
I was told by my State Farm Agent in 1980 that since my house was built above the huricane Camile flood plain that I was not elligible for federaly subsidized flood insurance.
My home is hanging 4 ft off of the pilings and is cracked into three sections – structurally demolished.
state Farm said that the damage was due to a flood and offered me $1500.00 My annual homeowners premium is $1300.00
Don’t you think you would sue.
Storm surge is not a flood, it is an integral part of a hurricane. If State Farm tried to exclude hurricanes they would not sell a lick of insurance.
They are trying to say that all of the damage is due to flood.
They will be sued to the end of the earth.
Please read NFIP’s definition of ‘flood’ before making ignorant comments. Storm surge is exactly what flood is. Who are you to redefine flood? Your State Farm agent was an idiot also if he in fact told you you could not get flood insurance.
Some where I recall that a “flood” is caused by rising water from a “river” that temporarily overflows the river into “adjacent” lands. Also a flood on the northern hemisphere would start by water at the northern end of the river not the southern end, if it’s a naturally occering event.
No one who went through Katrina experianced a flood in the general sense of the word as it’s understood by any regular person.
Storm surge is water that is pushed “towards” the shore by the force of “winds” swirling around in a storm. In katrinas case hurricane force winds.
I think they will pay. And moving so fast to have people sign some piece of paper only tips their hand exposing their true motives.
I say to you also: Who are you to redefine flood? By your definition, no coastal beach dweller should ever worry about being flooded or buy flood insurance.
I noted with great amusement that the federal government is responsible for flood. We know this! The problem is that a hurricane is not raising water but high velocity wind which drives water on shore. What takes these houses down is the hurricane. The insurance companies will loose this battle. This storm was too big and this time something will be done to force the insurance companies to pay what they have been collecting premiums for 30 years… Don’t fool yourself YOU WILL PAY…
Got my policy right here…
Hmmm… Water Damage: Water damage means flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, tsunami, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether driven by wind or not.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is simply playing politics. I almost hope he is successful. Then all the major insurance companies will leave the state and your annual premiums will be $6,000 or more.
You better hope they don’t have to pay. Flood, which this clearly is, is excluded on all dwelling policies that I am aware of (and I am aware of many). If the insurance companies are forced to pay losses for which they have not collected the appropriate premium they will leave the state and those that do stay ( if any ) will have their premiums so high that you will not be able to afford it which means no new home loans, no coverage for existing homes, etc. In other words financial ruin for what ever state might do this injustice. Beware of what you ask for, you might get it.
“The problem is that a hurricane is not raising water but high velocity wind which drives water on shore.”
As I recall, wind driven water/waves is specfically excluded under the Home Owners policy.
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.
Insurance Adjusters have their hands full with Katrina. I am confident they will pay for the damages that are covered under their policies. However, not all of the damage was done by Katrina. Flooding was a major cause of damage to this area. While my heart goes out to everyone living in her path, anyone can purchase flood insurance and those that did not should not expect the insurance industry to pick up the tab. My rates are high enough thank you.
Jay,
Had you really been quoted and paid a premium for flood insurance; and by that I mean a real premium, not a tax-payer subsidized premium on the limited coverage NFIP offers, you’d know it. You wouldn’t be making such assinine statements about insurers collecting premiums for thirty years.
Sounds like you are either one of, or represent, the three out of four people who decided to not buy flood insurance, despite the fact that every agent offers it, the news media and the insurance commissioner always talk about having it after each and every storm, and the NFIP runs commercials on TV and Radio all the time about the need for it.
In my mind, you, and/or your clients, chose to be self-insured. You got what you paid for: nada.
Jay,
I find it interesting that so many people feel like paying insurance premiums is the same as making deposits into a savings account. Let’s see… my home is worth approximately $185,000. My annual homeowner’s premium is $530. If I were to cancel my insurance, and save that money in a cookie jar, after 30 years I would only have $15,900! It would take 350 years for me to save up the $185,000 that my house is worth. What would I do if I had a total loss? That’s why I have insurance. If my house burns to the ground tomorrow (a covered loss), I am fully protected by the big, bad insurance company. Oh, and I’ve only been paying premiums for 2 1/2 years!
Now for another lesson… Say you hire a contractor to build a sunroom on the back of your house for $10,000. You sign a contract for this, and he gets started. About halfway through the job, you tell the contractor that you expect him to build you a pool at no extra charge. Do you really think he will do it for free? I don’t think so. Oh but wait, maybe you can get your neighbors to pay for the pool! After all, just like insurance, you haven’t paid the full amount for what you expect, a sunroom AND a pool/wind damage AND flood damage. And your neighbors, like the other policyholders, can pay the difference!
Enjoy your new pool, but your neighbors won’t be around to enjoy it with you. They all moved to a new state, where the cost of a sunroom is reasonable and their neighbors don’t mooch off of them.
By the way, don’t paste into the comment window from Word. The â?? is supposed to be ‘
Thanks for clearing that up. For a long time I thought some people were using a Spanish keyboard.
“Ground Surface water whether wind driven or not is not covered under a homeowner’s policy.”
Another politic-er trying to move up in office… Oh and joy an attorney looking for a payday. Go figure.
http://www.insurancescrawl.com/archives/2005/09/tragedy_and_fai.html
They will pay! These guy’s will only pay those that stand and fight. My only question is this….Why do most insurance policy’s on the coast have a 2% hurricane deductable. When one looks back at the damage Katrina did to mississippi’s gulf coast, one will not remember the great flood of 2005.
chris…don’t sound so bitter. My agent sold me a golden umbrella policy , which included a 2% hurricane deductable. He also informed that my policy would cover everything. My premium was already at 6000.00 a year when Katrina hit my house and left nothing behind. I also have eye witnesses, and feel confident that in the end… THEY WILL PAY!!!!!!
I agreed, the Insurance Companies should not have to pay for flood or water damages
on Homeowner policies.. my home was located on Fowler Street in Biloxi, I have neighbors that stated that my home was off of its foundation before the water came on shore, the water line in my home is angled in the position that the house is now lying, My Insurance Company says that the water knock my home off of the foundation, I disagree.. If they were honest in my particular case they would have to pay for the home, not its contents, they have offered to pay for the cost of replacing the roof, the company\’s engineer, stated that the wind was not strong enough to move the home from its foundation.They have also informed me that a court battle could take ten years or better. So, you guys are right, I didn\’t have flood Insurance, when I purchased 12 years ago, that was a selling point, I even received a flood certificate stating that my home was not in a flood area, therefore I do not expect to be paid for flood damages, I do however, expect the Insurance company to be fair and honest.. call a spade a spade.
On the hurricane deductible policy it clearly states \”Please read the following
very carefully this changes your original policy.\” It says it twice. Then about 3/4s
down it says an insured loss is covered, or
any (object)s driven by a windstorm. The last I looked water is an object. A storm surge is wind pushing against the oceans surface is the primary cause of a storm surge. Ask your insurance agent or company about that and they will tell you your claim is due to flooding and is not covered. What this changes your original policy.
Flood is excluded in a regular homeowners policy, But not in the hurricane deductible policy. It state \”any insured loss is covered, or any (object)\’s driven
by a windstorm. I have some questions. Can you taste, smell, hear, and touch water, because if you can it is an object.
Is a hurricane a windstorm. 165 mile per hour winds. I would say yes. If anyone thinks insurance companies will get out of paying this you are definetly wrong!
My family has lived in Pensacola since 1973. We have experienced many hurricanes over the years and endured numerous negotiations with our insurance companies. On 9/16/04 hurricane Ivan made landfall with sustained winds of a 130 mph. The winds initially caused substantial roof damage, with many homes losing their roofs or being opened up by flying debris. The wind then drove ashore a 16 foot storm surge inflicting additional heavy damage to homes that where already opened up by the wind.
The roof on my home in Pensacola Beach stay on throughout the storm but a heavy cabinet from a home up wind of my property flew into my door which opened the house to flooding. Fortunately, this happened late in the storm resulting in a high water mark of only 31 inches. Other homes surrounding my property had more severe wind damage along with high water marks of over 60 inches.
The wind caused severe flooding damage to happen. It blew many homes apart and opened them up to water and flooding damage. My insurance company eventually agreed with me but it took persistent and sometime contentious negotiations. In the end the insurance company did the right and reasonable thing. Unfortunately, it will take a judge’s decisions to help the less fortunate people of Mississippi and Louisiana.
Dickie Scruggs is suing the insurance companies here Pascagoula had something like a 27 foot storm surge came in and I live 1.7 miles from the beach I received about 15 inches of water and I 16 foot above sea level. I noticed no comp person said anything about my last email because there is nothing tho argue with. Greg I agree, but the insurance companies will get out paying thousands of claims that are actually covered by there policy because many people are fixing their houses without pictures before and after the storm. Sad but true. This is just what the inurance companies want.