Payouts Hinge on the Cause of Damage (NY Times)

[Up2Late]

(I hate to be the barer of more Bad News, but...)

Payouts Hinge on the Cause of Damage

By JENNIFER BAYOT
Published: August 31, 2005

As a member of the national catastrophe team at Allstate Insurance, Bill Mellander follows hurricanes for a living. And Katrina looks different from other hurricanes he has seen. "The thing that sticks out so dramatically is the extent of the flooding," said Mr. Mellander, whose job is to swoop into disaster areas to help evaluate damage and share information with the news media. New Orleans, in particular, "is essentially a giant bathtub," he said.

If flooding - rather than strong winds - turns out to be responsible for most of the damage caused by Katrina, many displaced homeowners may be in for more frustration. While most have insurance that protects them against wind damage, such insurance rarely covers floods. Homeowners must buy flood protection separately.

"A lot of people who live in flood zones have homeowners insurance but don't have flood insurance," said J. Robert Hunter, insurance director for the Consumer Federation of America. "If a flood hasn't happened in an area in a long time, people tend not to think about it."

In many of the Louisiana counties hit hardest by Katrina, less than half of households are covered for floods, according to an analysis of federal data by The New York Times. In Orleans Parish, which includes New Orleans, and in St. Tammany Parish, roughly 4 in 10 households are covered. But in St. Bernard Parish and Jefferson Parish, 57 percent of households bought flood protection.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/business/31insure.html?ex=1283140800&en=a7e120da608e65ea&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
(more at link above)

[Joebert]

1. What sucks about flood insurance...

I do not live in a flood plain. When I moved here, I asked if I could get it anyway, and I was not even allowed to pay for it. It's Federal after all, not a company that provides it.

So when my basement flooded 6 months later, I had no recourse.

Nice.

[bleedingheart]

6. had the same thing happen to me...if you don't live in a flood plain

designated by the government...you can't get it but then if you have flooding you are screwed.

[loudsue]

2. Insurance companies in this country need to be HEAVILY regulated

In fact...ALL corporations in this country that provide essential services to people need to be HEAVILY regulated.

I'm sick and tired of our politicians LEGISLATING a profit for some companies (insurance companies, drug companies, and many banks, who stand to be "bailed out" if they go under). They're protecting these predator corporations with OUR tax dollars, or our premiums.

Oil Companies
Airline Companies
Weapons manufacturers

I'm tired of paying for some gigazillionaire CEO to run things into the ground, and the rest of us paying WELFARE checks to the tune of billions.

Watch congress vote for SUBSIDIES for the insurance companies after this flood, and not give diddlyshit to 90% of the PEOPLE who lost everything but their hair in this tragedy.

:kick:

[doodadem]

3. I'm trying to figure out how this is going to be paid for....

For the uninsured/underinsured, the federal government will be picking up a tab of BILLIONS of dollars. Where is that money coming from, in a budget that is already strapped to the max???

[Joebert]

4. Go go deficit spending!

Actually, what will probably happen is any money going into voting security, education, the arts, and poverty programs will go away.

This way the money saved can go to large companies to pay for overpriced services to repair the area over budget, and behind schedule.

[Up2Late]

5. kick n/t

:kick: