this thing would badly damage insurance agencys but what of the folks that pay their prememim on time? the companys issued the policys now they are being shady with fine print...can they be trusted in the fucture..i dont thank so..these companys should be expelled from mississippi....contact jim hood ms. attorney general...stick togather mississippians

Wind or Flood. . .this is not a new issue. . .When Camille hit the same problem arose. . . My insurer offerd to settle for about 50%. . . (I lost my home 1 1/2 blocks form the beach on Terrace in Waveland.) You could sue. . .then you get to pay the attorney 1/3 of what you recieve. . . . . .one year to the day (you must sue or settle in one year). . . I settled for 75%. . .

Everything said here is true. We were told we had no need whatsoever for flood insurance. We just refinanced in June and I was told we were not in a flood plain and probably would not even qualify for this type of insurance. Our insurance agent won't even talk to us and we were offered less than 9,000.00 dollars to repair our soon to be bulldozed 175,000 dollar home.We can't find a home to live in because we can't PROVE that we will have our "old" house paid off. We've paid on our homeowners and wind and hail policies, without a single claim, for well over 11 years. When do we and others like us get some relief??? Unfortunatly bankrupty may be our sole option. Where is all the donations that have benn given to our area? How can we all get some help before what's left of our lives also gets demolished? 'Hope' right now, really seems be a four lettered word of the worst kind.

Isn't the insurance companies there to help people recover from when bad things hit? You'd think they were just a gimic to make money???

Shame on the attorneys and Congressmen who raise hopes for the uninsured. The home owner policies have excluded flood and wave action wheather wind driven or not for at least forty years. This seems to be the same type of self serving hype from attorneys and Congressmen that surfaces after every storm Shame!!

Maybe Insurance companies should just cover EVERYTHING and then we just pay the extra 4 or 5 times what the rates are now. That seems fair. Oh wait, then people will complain because they cant afford insurance.

Like any other contract, you should always read and understand what you are paying for BEFORE you purchase. Not after and certain not after the storm.

Look, I empathize with the plight of these folks, but the fact is simple - a hurricane may flood your house if you're within a few miles of the coast.

If you're in a "X" flood zone (no special risk) then the insurance is DIRT CHEAP. You can't get replacement value on a mansion (the amount is capped which you can buy) but its NOT EXPENSIVE.

I pay less than $400 a year, and I live on an inland waterway which COULD take surge damage. Opal and Ivan tried - and got VERY close - to flooding me. I am not required to have flood insurance, but you can bet I do have it, because I live where a hurricane can hit me.

EVEN INLAND you need it if you're within 50 - and perhaps 100 - miles of the coast unless you are on known high ground. Why? Because inland flooding caused by torrential rains is a common problem with hurricanes.

Folks, we're talking about very inexpensive insurance if you're not in a special risk area. I don't understand how anyone who lives anywhere near the coast thinks they don't need this.

You do.

I pray that the insurance companies do the right thing by all their customers here and give the people what they paid for in their premiums, so that they can get on with their lives.

There is NO excuse for anyone living in the coastal counties of MS to not have had flood insurance. Hurricane Andrew in the 90's should have been enough of a wake up call for anyone on the coast. Now the people want the rest of the country to underwrite there poor decisions - is that fair to the rest of us? It's regretable that some will have to get & pay new mortgages to repair their damage but it was a choice they made & they have to live with the results of that choice. National Flood Insurance was CHEAP in these areas - everyone living there should have had it & they have no one to blame but themselves for the fact that they didn't. The people in these areas need to quit trying to make others responsible for there flawed planning.

dont expect...new york aid...because WE live in mississippi....they dont judge us in the same manner it seems...but we are americans too

In this great country I fine it irrehensible that we give so much in foreign aid but when it involves taking care of our own these companies are splitting hairs. Everyone affected by the hurricaine should be compensated by their insurance companies and then aided by the government. In order to continue to have faith in insurance companies and our government we must all foresee the increased premiums lest this happen to those of us yet unaffected. Shame on these insurance companies!!

Thanks Marty and MSNBC.COM for helping to keep us informed on the insurance side of this story. It effects us all along the coast. Hopefully my story regarding Katrina will help others. My home on Lafitte Dr. Waveland, was totally destroyed along with all of my neighbors. My adjuster asked me if by chance a tree had fallen on my property, was the tree a good size tree, was the root ball still attached to the ground, and did it fall into the house? In fact all of the above was true. She turned in the claim. Then she called about a month later to say that all the claims, south of the tracts in Waveland, had been reworked due to eyewitness accounts during the storm. She said that the findings were that a tornado had ripped through Waveland, south of the tracts, destroying the homes, prior to the surge. My insurance company(Wind & Hail Policy) paid the limit of my policy. I feel remarkably fortunate. I hope this information helps everyone on my street, in my community, in the town of Waveland and beyond. God Bless you all.

We have lived here for 23 years and had flood insurance on the two different houses we owned. In June of this year we started to build our new house and we immediately purchased Builder's Risk insurance. We were told it covered "everything", was not even mentioned to us that flood and earthquake had to be ADDED on. As you can guess after the fact we were told by the agent, "oh, you didn't add that on"? Our fault? Guess so, but from now on we will get a lawyer involved with anything to do with insurance. If you want to keep up with what is happening on the coast of Mississippi check out wlox.com, sunherald.com, katrina.passchristian.net, and arloandjanis.com. For those concerned about the pets here that have lost there homes , hssm.org

I'VE READ ALL YOUR POSTINGS AND CAN'T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD COULD EVEN IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE FROM LOUISIANNA AND MISSISSIPPI ARE GOING THRU THE INSURRANCE COMPANIES JUST LIKE OUR GOVERNMENT SEEM NOT TO HAVE A HEART OR SOUL THESE DAYS GOD SAYS IN THE GOOD BOOK TO HELP THY NEIGHBOR WELL IF NOW ISN'T THE TIME TO DO SO THEN I SURE DON'T KNOW WHEN IT COULD BE. THIS GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO FIND MONEY FOR WHAT EVER IT NEEDS WELL THE PEOPLE PAYING THOSE TAXES NEED THEM NOW I THINK IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THINGS IN THIS COUNTRY WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO HUMAN LIFE COMMING FIRST ESPECIALLY CHILDREN AND ELDERLY I USE TO BE PROUD TO BE AMERICAN AFTER THIS ADMINISTRATION I'M NOT SO SURE AND I'M A GRANDMA OF TWO. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

it's so easy for others to say- living in MS without proper insurance was a choice. Obviously living for most people - where you grow up, having a mortgage and family, job security- sure, it's all a choice to have these things, but for most people -no matter where they live- moving is not an affordable or realistic option. It is quite true that the insurance companies since Katrina have altered the "settlements" due to: was it hail vs wind vs flood vs tornado ect..., therefore leaving thousands of honest, bill-paying, hard-working Americans (who just happen to live in MS) without a home. It's sad to hear other Americans give us the "you get what you deserve" attitude. No one here is asking for a handout, we only want a Realistic settlement for our homes!! Thank you to MSNBC for sharing this with the rest of the nation.

I lived in the New Orleans area for 26 years. EVERYONE knows the difference between flood and hurricane insurance. To claim otherwise is being dishonest. Accept that you screwed up and stop asking the rest of the country to bail you out.

It is unfortunate what has happened to the many thousands of people in all of the affected areas, but trying to blame you insurance company for your loss is absolutely ridiculous. I have worked in the insurance industry for several years and encounter this same type of reaction whether it is a major series of losses or one single loss by one individual. Yes, the coverages should be fully explained to customers and the customer need to understand what is covered and not covered, a majority of time this is the case. Even then it is very common for the insured to believe they are covered for something they are not after a period of time. All homeowners policies are clear on what is and is not covered and if there is a question on that, it is the responsibility of the insured to understand this. No home policy is written to cover the losses most people incurred in regards to the tidal surge, this is strictly the domain of flood policies. This coverage is not expensive considering what it covers, all homeowners should consider it if they are within bodies of water that could overflow into their homes, floodplain or not. Once again, I do feel for everyone and their losses, but unfortunatly what is not covered can not be paid for by the insurance industry.

Shame on the Attorny General. As a lawyer he should be able to read acontract and to understand the consequences of this suit. Ifthey win(very unlikely) all that will happen is that the insurance companyies will go bankrupt, which means that legitimate claims will go unpaid and that there will be an exodus from the private market so that people will not be able to afford insurance if they can even find someone to provide it. You can't blame the insurance co. for a failure to properly plan. People living near water need flood coverage, period.
I'm sorry for these people who have experienced this tragedy but it wasn't unpredictible and people must take some responsibility, you are not required to have life insurance or even health insurance but most people are reasonable enough to know they should get it. Flood insurance is on average cheaper than either one!

There is no reason whatsoever to pay people insurance claims for insurance they did not have. Flood insurance is, and has been heavily promoted by ads on TV and elsewhere, a separate policy. If people CHOSE to take the RISK by not buying the insurance then they need to accept that they made a bad decision, and live with the results. That's the RISK they took and the rest of us shouldn't have to pay for it. What's next, Vegas losses ?

I agree completely with Patty Hancock (msg sent 11/25/05 @ 10:56:09am)!!! It's a *@#! shame that we can rebuild places like Iraq but can't take of our own at home...We send our own sons daughters abroad at what cost but what do we offer their families??? Somewhere the priorities got skewed!

The flood insurance program has been in existence for a very long time. You can't expect insurance companies to pay for damage that was specifically excluded from their coverage.

If you live in a coastal area and did not sign up for the flood insurance program, you can't expect others to pay for your mistake. If we go back and rewrite contracts after the fact, why would anyone bother buying insurance? They can just get it after the disaster.

I think it's just terrible what the insurance companies are doing to these people who have lost everything. These insurance adjustors need to get out there and see how devasted the hurricane hit areas are. It's time for a major change of heart in the insurance industry.

It is unfortunate that so many people find themselves is dire straights because of the force of nature. However, hurricanes are a common event along coastal areas. Those that choose to live in those areas have a personal responsibility to adequately cover their own bases. Don't look to the rest of us to make good on a choice gone bad. I am definitely not down on paying higher insurance premiums because of those among us that want to live in a beachfront community rather than slog around in a foot of snow every winter. Cry me a river.

As a homeowner, you need to be prepared for anything. Just because someone tells you you don't live in a flood plain or you don't have tornados or earthquakes doesn't mean it can't happen. We have flood insurance and we live in Phoenix Arizona for christ sakes!! We don't live near a coastline or any body of water for that matter nor do we get much rain. But I am not about to take a chance on losing my home if we get a huge storm. Apparently many underinsured or uninsured made the decision to place their homes at risk in certain instances and now they want everyone to make an exception and give them what they haven't paid for. Sorry about your loss but that's the chance you took.

It is wrong for Representative Gene Taylor to even suggest retroactive federal insurance! That means citizens of disasters in other areas of USA, with out coverages will pay for those that did not have insurances! The many poor and homeless, or those in apartments and do not own homes will be forced to pay!

It is a sad shame that the people who had a choice, to have, or not have, insurance...or a choice, to live, or not live in a hurricane area have such devastating problems, but, it is not my responsibility to pay! The represenative Taylor should see that ALL USA citizens are protected! Representative Taylor should see that ALL people have homes, and insurance! Representative Taylor should try to pass laws that protect every one EVERY ONE from, hurricanes, tornadoes, rain, earth quakes, wind, flood, damage from poor construction, and or neglect! Representative Taylor is grand standing on peoples misery and suffering, of which no one had any controll! But, why should people living in ghettos of USA cities, be asked to pay for homes, when they themselves do not even have one?

So sorry for you all, I also live on the coast but several miles inland and the first thing I learned when I moved there was to buy the flood insurance in Dec of every year and that home owerner insurance would not pay for water damage. It cost me $737.00 a year for floor insurance plus another $150.00 for house insurance. People that lived that close to the water made a poor decision not to have flood insurance, it is offered every year.

i live on the coast in florida and am required to carry flood insurance,mine costs a fortune ,but its still cheaper then loosing a house ,anyone who thinks they can retroact this has to be slightly insane.you would be putting a hit on insurance companies,and guess what happens next?my rates have gone up 35%since charly ,heck there wasn't but a very small 6 foot surge.lets face it if you live near the water you should be tnsured.good luvk,but dont get your hopes up.

Unfortunately, this seems to be one of those situations where no one wins, unfortunately, I have heard very little in terms of a compromise.

Though there situation is tragic, homeowners in the gulf region really should be aware of what their insurance contracts say. Insurance companies are in business to make money after all, and to expect them to pay out large sums of money because people think they should is not fair or reasonable.

That said, I cannot fathom why insurance companies, in the interest of good PR and business relationships can 't issue some form of special dispensation stating that (for example), all eligible claim payouts will be doubled or tripled up to policy maximum. No, this may not be replacement costs but would have to make a dent.

For its part, the state should set up a fast, IMPARTIAL aribitration system to help determine claim eligibility and compensation fairness.

I don't know who said this, but isn't the definition of compromise when everyone walks away just somewhat unhappy?

Not only should these people be smart enough to have flood insurance, it amazes me the number of people that live in hurricane zones and don't have house or flood insurance at all. But the government does pay for housing for them and then they complain about how long it takes to get out of the system. If you break a law driving ignorance of the law is not a defense, the same thing should apply when it comes to house and flood insurance. I do feel badly for the majority of the victims and hope that they can get anything needed to rebuild if they so choose.

I believe insurance agents and their companies market to the public by insinuating they are there to help and "represent the best interest of their customers" when in fact that is very misleading. Insurance agents have a fiduciary duty to the company they sell for, and this fact should be disclosed at the time of introduction of intent to provide policy sales. This would encourage homeowners to do more research and rely less on an agent who does not represent them.

It is so shocking to me that people still don't get this. You don't get something for nothing! I work for a extremely ethical insurance company. We have made it a vital point to always remind our customers about flood insurance...and that homeowner's policies do not cover it. Being a customer myself, I have been reminded no less than 10 times in 4 years.

I am sorry so many people lost so much, but the reality of the situation is so simple you can't bring yourself to see it. You should have had the appropriate coverage for the Gulf Coast. If you live in a Gulf State (which I do), you can only blame yourself for not protecting your investment.

Insurance companies can't be forced to pay billions of dollars they do not have, because hundreds of thousands of people didn't pay them premiums to be able to pay out those billions. It will only cause them to go bankrupt and hundreds of thousands of more people will be out of work.

You can not have it both ways. It was common knowledge in the area that homeowner's insurance does not pay for flood damage. Now those who made a deliberate choice to go uninsured want to rewrite their contracts after the fact so the rest of us have to pay for their mistakes.

It seems to me there are two, no three, different issues. The third is addressed by the posting from JD, which I was glad to see. To my totally inexpert eye many of the first pictures from Missisippi looked like tornado damage. (The debris had a circular look.) I have been concerned that the insurance companies were ignoring that and saying all was flood damage.

The other two have to do with the type of insurance. Homeowner's insurance has never covered flood damage. You would have to live in pretty much of a vacumn not to know that. But I have seen a good deal of coverage talking about people having "hurricane" insurance. Unless there was some very LARGE print on the first page saying otherwise, any reasonable person would expect "hurricane" insurance to cover all damage from a hurricane whether caused by wind or water.

Giving folks in Mississippi who don't have flood insurance fedral aid is one thing, and I'm for that. But lets not try to rewrite the insurance policies after the fact just because these folks did not understand them. Everyone who lives on the coast has been told for years that floods are not covered in their policy. They didn't think it would happen to them. That's the whole point of insurance to insure against the not very likely. Since it was not very likely, the flood insurance was cheap. Rewriting a contract after the disaster would set a terrible precident. It's not the insurance companies fault.

Here's the thing. Anyone who lives in the southern coastal region enjoys certain benefits that the rest of us in the country don't. Warm weather, access to beaches and boating. But these luxuries come at a price: the threat of hurricaines. Everyone knows it. But the question was "what to do about it?".
Seems like many decided that "nothing" was the best answer. Maybe they decided not to get the flood insurance because they weren't required to. Getting by on "just what's required" is very popular these days. It's a theme that will play out in a very visibly in the coming years as people reach retirement age and try to live on "just what's required" - Social Security. That one will affect more than just the southern coastal regions I'm afraid, but it's the same problem. People are not saving more than the minimum and are hoping for the best. I'm sure we'll hear the same arguments: the actual amount that people were to receive was hidden in the fine print. The government should pay up because it's the right thing.
Social Security will play out in the same way as the Katrina debate with the same people weighing in on either side.
The bottom line is this: About half the country thinks the U.S. should be a "Care-Taker" society where people need to be looked after. The other half of the country thinks the U.S. should be an "Empowerment" society where people have the right to flourish and create their own prosperity.
I fall on the Empowerment side of things. Let me quote John D. Rockefeller Jr.: "I believe that every right implies a responsibility: every opportunity, an obligation: every possesion, a duty".

I am sorry for the losses experienced by the hurricaine victims. But they had a duty to their home to provide the insurance required. It's as simple as that.

What is all the donation money collected being used for? Why should anyone donate if it's not helping. Can we find out how all the money is being used? Everyone should read their homeowners policy. Remember the old saying "better save then sorry". Don't expect help for your insurance companies you better the government helps all of you rebuild. Again show me where all the money goes.

Face it, if the homeowner policies paid out claims on the presumption that wind was the culprit, many insurance companies would probably go "belly up," just as after hurricane Andrew. But where the damage is, no doubt, due to wind, the insurance companies are obligated to take care of their customers. According to FEMA's flood statistics, "25% of all flood claims occur in the low-to-moderate risk areas." But even the victims of Katrina, who were insured for flooding, are not collecting nearly enough to rebuild their homes. Flood insurance is only inexpensive if FEMA considers you a "preferred risk." Although my own area is not prone to flooding, my flood insurance is approximately $1,000 annually. I contacted two "flood premium reduction companies," one of which is currently working to lower my premium. Typically, if they are unsuccessful in either lowering your premium or lifting the mandatory flood insurance, requirement, (for mortgage holders,) they will either waive their fee or rebate a portion of it. According to one of them, "Over 90% of high risk designations we've evaluated were wrong."

I'm appalled at the utter lack of realization being shown by so many. IF insurance companies are forced to pay claims for non-covered damages, every homeowners policy in the nation will immediately triple in price. No homeowners policy has EVER covered flood damage. It is a standard exclusion. This is not a matter of insurance companies using fine print to deny a claim. Its a matter of people trying to use emotion to force a company to payout a benefit to which the recipient is not entitled. I do not deserve to have my homeowners premium triple, because you chose not to spend $300/yr to protect yourself. I'm sorry you're without home. But I dont you a new one.

Mississippians anti-government beliefs are a direct cause of the misery after Katrina. Being so anti-Gov't. has resulted in a small weak, state government too weak to protect its people in times of crisis OR to protect its people from the insurance corporations that purposely write obscure language into policies in order to avoid paying on policies when they need it most.

Maybe this disaster will finally wake Mississippians up to the fact that other states like CA, NY, NJ realized long ago. Insurance companies exists to make a profit. They do it by gambling they will make more money from protecting people who never need help than the money they will spend helping people when they do need help. States like CA, NY and NJ knew this would lead to a conflict that would ensure people would be ripped off. So those states stopped allowing insurance policies to include such deceptive clauses in their policies. This resulted in more expensive insurance, but it also resulted in dependable, effective insurance.

In Mississippi, the state government is way too poor and underfunded to take on the insurance industry. Mississippi instead let insurance companies basically write the laws governing insurance companies in the state, and as a result they have this insurance mess post-Katrina . Somehow Mississippians thought would get great protection both from the state and insurance companies, but only pay a fraction of the amount people in states like CA, NY and NJ pay. Now they learn how untrue that notion was.

Mississipians having placed extreme financial constraints on their state government can expect to lose the lawsuit. What the insurance companies did in that state is legal in every way according to the laws of Mississippi.

Mississippians only have themselves to blame. They believed that the profit motive would ensure everyone would be treated fairly, even though paying on a policy costs insurance companies money. They refused to place enough faith in their government to fund it well enough to properly play its protective role in times of crisis. Whatever gross failures occured in Mississippi government during this mess is, because the state is broke. It is NOT because government wastes money or does not care. It doesn't have any money to waste. LOL

The insurance companies have lots of cash to spare, and you can be they will spend all they need to in order to ensure the weak, poor government of Mississippi loses the upcoming court battle to force insurance companies to pay up.

In short you get what you pay for, that applies to government too. Relative to the rest of the nation, and especially in states like CA, NY and NJ Mississippians pay next to nothing for the little government they get. Considering that no one should expect much help from its on a shoestring financed state.

They shouldn't be mad at the insurance companies. They shouldn't be mad at the state. Mississippians should be mad at themselves. Mississippians chose to be extraordinarily miserly in funding for services, and now they are paying the true price for their unthinking stinginess.

The rest of the nation should not be forced to pay for the cheapness of Mississippians beyond making sure the basics are provided for. Any rebuilding should be on the backs of the Mississippians who so foolishly believed that profit-making companies would come through and pay in full, even though that would cost them money, and for believing they could get it all from a state government that is one of the poorest funded in the nation.

I have news for you, very few people in California have earthquake insurance. They will all be singing the same tune and demanding a government bailout soon enough. I can't imagine another hurricane along the coast or an earthquake in California. Who ever heard of such a thing? It's not like these things are predictable... oh wait, yes they are.

People in this country need to start taking accountability for their own actions and understand the meaning of accepting risk. Someone assumes the risk for damage, either the owner, or the insurance company. If you aren't prepared to accept the consequences if the risk turns into reality, then you need to buy proper insurance. If you can't afford the insurance, then you can't afford the home.

I don't think that most of you really understand the problems we have here. I have lived here since 1959. I went though Camille, that has the worst hurricane to ever hit the Gulf Coast. Everyone here encluding the flood maps never thought that the water could ever get as high as Katrina brought it. 90% of the insurance companies,real estate agents,attorneys, mortgage companies never even dreamed that the water would raise into the C zone. If Camille did not get it, you were safe from tidel waters. Well, with Katrina the wind blew very hard and windows blew out, roofs came off. Than the water came and washed away all the proof. So if you are in a C Zone (no flood zone) and your home is completely gone the insurance company pays you NOTHING.
Now you want to tell me that there was no wind damage to my home.
Then you have the homes on the other side of the rail road tracks that the float water from Camille never went over the tracks levee (also in C zones). What about them. Most of them had 6 to 9 feet of water. No body thought of that happening. No even the goverment. 90% of them had no flood insurance. Most of us are not looking for handouts, just help. I put in for SBA loan the week after the storm. I have not heard a word from SBA. I hear that they are turning most the the loans down. Than you have to go back to FEMA . No one knows what they will do, because we have not gotten that far. I lost my business,home and my rental properties are either totally gone or had 8 foot of water. The properties that were in the flood zone had the proper insurances. The properties in non flood zones did not have flood insurance.
I want the thanks the thousands of people who have helped all of us.
It would be a god send if we could pay the last 5 to 10 years of flood insurance for up to the limit we had wind insurance for and have the flood insurance program pay us. From someone who has been here stayed though the storm and is still here.

I do feel for those that lost all and didn't have flood insurance but where one lives and what they can afford are not related. For many people, especially fixed income, elderly, $1200/year is a lot of money considering standard insurance covering every other calmity in the world only cost a few hundred dollars per year. Moving someplace where flood insurance isn't required/needd isn't an option if your leaving all your family and friends behind.

As far as insurance companies going belly up, highly unlikely. I remember news coverage of the high payouts for Florida hurricanes last year and many companies were saying it wasn't hurting their bottom line. Some of this was for investor confidence, but they wouldn't be in business long if they didn't get enough from premimums or market investments to cover their payouts and still pay thier investors. In Florida, they have another tack, one payout for non-flood huricane damage and your policy is dropped. In the hardest hit areas, no new policies were/are being written and Florida residents have to go to state fund with very high costs. It is mandated by law, that the state fund be higher than any other high risk policy so the state doesn't compete with private insurance companies. A friend of mine now pays $1800/year for insurance and still needs flood insurance on top of that. My guess is that many Missisippi residents that do get insurance payouts for non-flood damage will find themselves in similar shoes.

Mississippians will do and are doing fine. We don't need or want any help from anyone who doesn't want to participate, thank you very much. We tried to secede from the rest of ya'll honery folks once and perhaps we should consider it again! If you think that we are stupid, well you are wrong. If you think we made bad choices...perhaps, but we will take our medicine and pull our selves up and have another go at it. One thing about it, we do learn from our mistakes. Nature threw us a curve and we swung at it. I wonder what you would do if you found yourselves in our shoes. Oh! but then you people are so much smarter than us that nothing like this could ever happen to you. Uh-huh! We will be fine. We've done it before and we can do it now. We are not a bunch of whiners and while the rest of ya'll have been blowing your hot air into this web site, we Mississippians have been rebuilding our lives, our homes, walking to work, living in tents, and raising our families just as if it was all a normal part of life. Our schools are open and we are taking state tests, playing sports, falling in love, growing up, and moving on. We actually sit around and laugh about all of this. We get together a couple of times a week and pray for the rest of ya'll! Thank you for thinking about us, but don't put yourselves out. We appreciate the helping hand and all the fine people who have come down and helped us dig out. We've made some fine friends from this mess. However, those of you worrying about us taking your money...don't. You see, we pay taxes too and we have gumption and pride as well. We don't go where we aren't wanted and when people come to visit and are rude, we politely ask them to leave. You see for us this is just another opportunity to grow stronger and love harder and rise above. Thank you very much... ;)

One thing that needs to be changed is the elimination of fine print in any kind of contract. Insurance companies should spell out their coverages in "plain and simple" English, than customers can choose what coverages they want and need and take their chances if they wish. Also in certain areas of risk certain coverages should be mandatory, plain and simple.

The insurance companies are thieves. They take people's money and refuse to provide the service for which they were paid. The 2 per cent hurricane deductible is a joke. The insurance companies use the premiums people pay to pay their top execs huge salaries. Oh, and forget about going into bankruptcy. The Republicans have now made it almost impossible for ordinary people to file bankruptcy. Large corporations can do it to avoid paying for retirees' pensions and insurance and employee benefits, but not the middle class. The Republicans have succeeded in loading the dice against the middle class, and will back the claims of the insurance companies over hurricane victims. After all, they figure, money talks, and bs. walks.

I am sorry, i have family in Jackson COunty, MS. I have known of theway isurance people are. They will not talk to you about flood insurance, some don't even offer it to you at all. Stating that you do not qualify for it. And on top of that if you were hit by one hurricane, you were more than likely told that you might lose your coverage. You pay so much money for something that you may never use, but when you need it, they tell you no. That by true definition is fraud. If these insurance companies refuse to pay for this hurricane it will tell me something. And will make my final decision on whether i will have it at all. That surge was a wall of water driven by wind. No matter what they say, it was hurricane damage. Not flood. I wish everyone in those areas affected the best of luck this this matter and hope the insurance companies do right by the policies. And all customers they have.

I am sorry, i have family in Jackson County, MS. I have known of the way isurance people are. They will not talk to you about flood insurance, some don't even offer it to you at all. Stating that you do not qualify for it. And on top of that if you were hit by one hurricane, you were more than likely told that you might lose your coverage. You pay so much money for something that you may never use, but when you need it, they tell you no. That by true definition is fraud. If these insurance companies refuse to pay for this hurricane it will tell me something. And will make my final decision on whether i will have it at all. That surge was a wall of water driven by wind. No matter what they say, it was hurricane damage. Not flood. I wish everyone in those areas affected the best of luck this this matter and hope the insurance companies do right by the policies. And all customers they have.

We live in Florida, and one of the things that we had to sign when we bought our house was a form that we understood that flood insurance was not required for where our house is situated (on a hill, 25 miles from the Gulf) - but if we wanted it, it was available.

This was part of the mortgage company required paperwork - anyone who has ever gotten a mortgage anywhere has probably signed the same form.

I think the confusion came in because people just didn't understand the definition of flood vs hurricane when they chose not to buy the insurance.

This is tragic for those who are uninsured.

Hurricane insurance is no bargain. The 2 percent deductible was a big surprise to Floridians last year - because house values have risen so much.

A lot of people who bought a fifty thousand dollar home ten years ago thought their deductible would be one thousand dollars - only to learn that the deductible was based on the current value of their home - and suddenly found themselves looking at a ten thousand dollar deductible.

The one true thing is that insurance companies are in business to earn a profit, and I wonder how much of a hand they have had in the sudden rise in property values in Florida over the past two years?

Having many friends and family on the MS Coast I've heard several sides to the insurance debate. In fact, we lost a 'vacation home' there...24 feet above sea level. Our insurance company asked us if we wanted to get flood stating that we definitely weren't in a flood zone but being one half block off of the beach they said they really felt they needed to ask...they said it was cheap...so my husband said sure why not. We got the check for 100% two weeks ago...we're expecting an additional check for contents soon. This has gotten me to thinking a great deal. So I decided to take a poll over the last month as I traveled throughout Texas. The only people that had 'flood' insurance where those living in the Bayou City (Houston)...a city that traditionally floods from rain every year -somewhere! Most in Houston were AMAZED that others living near the coast wouldn't have flood insurance. Like one man just south of downtown Houston said, 'We have NO elevation here like MS...Katrina could have brought water to my door step...I'm three feet above sea level and it takes me 30 minutes to get to the Gulf, but nothing stops water...it's the most destructive force in nature!"

On the flip side not one person I spoke to in Corpus Christi had flood insurance... they said, "Corpus is protected by big barrier islands and sits on a rise." That's what Bay St. Louis thought. I asked one gentleman who's home is located about three blocks off of the bay there why he didn't have flood. He stated that he was 15 feet up and didn't need it. Let's see...if Katrina had hit Corpus that would have put him 15 feet under water...okay, let's take off 10 feet of that because he has a 'barrier island' protecting him. I pointed out that he would have taken possibly 5 feet of water... that makes your house unlivable. He just stared at me in shock. Think he'll get insurance now? Hmmmmmmm.

I live in So. Miss. with an elevation of 27ft.
We got flooded. We fortunately carried flood insurance.
Very few in my neighborhood did. I was lucky in that
my insurance agent did not dissuade me from getting
it - in fact he noted that my coverage was insufficient
and encouraged me to bump it up, even though I didn't
have to have it. I did. Three months later, I needed
it after all.

Speaking to others in my neighborhood, I heard time
and time again that their insurance agents actively
discouraged them from buying flood insurance. Not
only that but no mortgage holder would allow you to
take it out of escrow. That's fine (it was around
$300/yr) but it gave it the patina of buying an
extended warranty on your toaster.

It's easy to say how others _should_ have had the
insurance. I wish you were here prior to the
flood and hear how people were actively being
discouraged from buying it because "you don't have
to have it."

I just get completely worn out in everyday life trying to understand why we even need small print. Insurance companies,big businesses, you name it they all have fine print for a reason. They all want you to pay for things you are not going to get. I don't vote for promises either. If they ever eliminate small print then we will all have to learn the legal lingo to understand the insurance word scams. What ever happened to working for a living instead of cheating for a living?

I have written several articles about the insurance issues relating to Katrina and my blog links to additional resources. Please go to Insurance Scrawl, www.insurancescrawl.com, which contains commentary on the law of insurance, the insurance of business, and the business of insurance, written by policyholder attorney Marc Mayerson

As one who has been displaced by hurricane Katrina, I have seen the vast majority of residents in the New Orleans area struggle with the same issues. Here, we are told that the policy doesn't cover tree damage unless it has hit the house....when the policy says nothing to that effect. Insurerers are retrospectively rewriting policies, and hoping that if they make it difficult enough, they can keep the money that they should rightly pay the insured. Delays, hair-splitting, are all a way that they can get an interest free loan from all of us who have paid premiums. They keep our money as long as they can, and pay out as little as they can get away with. That is the name of the game. I hope that the federal government will not allow this abuse to occur. American's stealing money from other citizens, in the guise of business as usual. Hopefully the insurers will not be allowed to distort the legal loopholes to withhold help to those who have lost their homes, their neighborhoods, and everything that they loved.

From an insurance adjusters point of view: your local agent should provide you with enough information so that you can decide on whether flood insurance is necessary. He or she should be familiar with the location of your property and advise you accordingly. I've seen too many uninformed policyholders who were never advised by their agent as to the coverage provided by the standard homeowners policy. However, ultimately it is the policyholder who needs to review the policy and be certain that there is adequate and proper coverage for their property.

From an insurance adjusters' viewpoint: We must follow the language and intent of the insurance policy. If the policy specifically states that flooding is not covered, then it is not covered. I've been working these storms since early September and I am appalled by the number of people who live on or near the coast or bay and failed to purchase flood insurance. Contrary to what the media reports, most of these people are well informed and educated and knew that they should have had flood insurance but decided to roll the dice. Well, they lost and now they are complaining that the "rules are unfair". Don't blame us if you failed to do what you were knew you were supposed to do.

It only proves that insurence companys are all alike, take your money then find ways to not pay off when something like this happens. It is like buying a new car and have insurance on it, but now you need gap insurance because the prime will not cover all the damage or total cost if you total your car. I am all for the government taking charge and force these insurance companys, that take your money and leave you hanging, to cough up all the money to pay for these housed. Get real insurance, that is why we pay our premimems on time.

insurance companies have never been accused of being fair, generous, understanding, or compassionate. the bastards ought to be outlawed; let the government take over the whole residential insurance business.

I was told one time that when we point our finger at someone most of our fingers are pointing at the person responsible. We all take risks, and we decide what chances to take. Do I pt some money in an IRA or spend it all now, do I get 50k or 100k auto insurance, .. I could go on but you know where that was heading.
The last time I checked, our Fereral Government has been helping (which folks means all of us in this great land) the Katrina affected area. Overseas we are rebuilding a country ravaged by a militaristic murdering dictator. Those people had no choice before we came on the scene.

My heart goes out to these folks for the hardships they must endure. But, bottem line folks, you had a choice. Buck up. Lick your wounds. Learn from your mistakes. Move on.

Are the storms a tragedy, of course, but suing to have your policy cover damage that was outside the scope of coverage purchased will have an affect on your region Forever. If an insurance company cannot rely on a contract (your policy) it will stop selling insurance at any price in your region, that will be a disaster for generations, everyone dislikes insurance companies, but you can not have any business operate without insurance, if its not available no major business will rebuild, because they cannot afford the risk sharing that insurance provides. Government aid? Yes, but changing a contract's terms after a loss, no matter how severe, will permanently cripple any State that allows that verdict to stand.

What's the sense in having "Hurricane" insurance if it doesn't cover damage caused by hurricanes? Someone should define "flood" more clearly. Maybe they should define what "Hurricane damage" is. Insurance companies make billions of dollars off of premiums paid. The insurance companies take the risk of insuring people on the coasts and know that hurricanes will likely happen every now and then. To sell a policy that covers hurricane damage and then say the damage was due to flooding when in fact a hurricane was the cause, is dishonest. Insurance companies will be taking a hit but that is the cost of doing business. Rates will go up all over the country and that is expected. Insurance companies looking for an out on this is wrong. Hurricane insurance is useless if it doesn't cover damage from a hurricane. I may as well invest the money I would have used for so called hurricane insurance and provide myself with an emergency fund to cover any damage caused by hurricanes. This whole notion that the insurance companies shouldn't cover water damage caused by a hurricane because the water was driven into the coast and cuased a flood is ridiculous. Hurricane damage is: wind damage, water damage, heck, it's damage to your property when a hurricane hits. Maybe someone should define "Hurricane damage"

What I still cant believe is all theses folks living near the coast with NO flood insurance! I dont pity these folks one bit..Then to top it off they want to rebuild in the same spot and expect the rest of America to pick the tab up.

I grew up in New Orleans and used to go to the Biloxi beaches on the weekends during the summer. I can't beleive that people in coastal MS did not have flood insurance because some map said they didn't live in a flood zone. I live 60 mile from the Outer Banks in North Carolina and you can bet your sweet a## I have flood insurance. IT ONLY COST AN ADDITONAL $20 A MONTH ON MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT. I do not think we should allow these people to purchase flood insurance and make it retroactive. I feel for all the people affected by Katrina and have made donations to the relief effort, but these people made the decision not to purchase flood insurance. The extra $20 a month is alot cheaper than the payments on a low interest loan from FEMA for the next 20 to 30 years.

I grew up in New Orleans and used to go to the Biloxi beaches on the weekends during the summer. I can't beleive that people in coastal MS did not have flood insurance because some map said they didn't live in a flood zone. I live 60 mile from the Outer Banks in North Carolina and you can bet your sweet a## I have flood insurance. IT ONLY COST AN ADDITONAL $20 A MONTH ON MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT. I do not think we should allow these people to purchase flood insurance and make it retroactive. I feel for all the people affected by Katrina and have made donations to the relief effort, but these people made the decision not to purchase flood insurance. The extra $20 a month is alot cheaper than the payments on a low interest loan from FEMA for the next 20 to 30 years.

Like always, there is different opinions and different interpretations....having been down to help out, I have listened to many sides and kept in touch with lots of the wonderful, strong and inspiring people I met in Waveland/Bay St Louis.
Here in simple terms is a story the rest of you may understand, to demonstrate what seems to be happening to many....
Say you are driving along in your insured car, you get hit, the car is totalled, you are hurt, and you happen to be carrying your best friends top of the line golf clubs in the back. The truck you hit is from the circus, an elephant gets out and sits on your car, flattening the already totalled car. The insurance company then says to you, we will only pay for say your steering wheel, because we don't cover you for an elephant sitting on your car. You argue the car got wrecked by the accident, they say, no the flattening occurred from the elephant. And the elephant damaged the golf clubs. And there you have it.
I have several friends whose homes had gaping holes in the roof and ceilings, the ceilings collapsed onto the floor, then came the wave and the insurance company is saying 'only damage done above 5' high is covered'. These adjusters are not forensic scientists. How can you prove what was caused by what?. In the meantime they live in tents, trailers or in 2 cases, their rotting, mold infested home, while everyone discusses, debates and negotiates.
The lady who had 100% pay back is lucky and I am happy for her. In many cases, if your home got swept away and you were covered as you should be near the beach, your case IS cut and dry and payouts are being made. There are many, many though that are caught up in legal wrangling and in the meantime cannot move on. I hope you all get resolution soon. I think of you often, my hearts still down there!!

you no what gets me you say it cost 100000.00 to repair your home. what kind of home did you have if it costs 100000.00 to repair then it must have been 400000.00 new price. pretty hefty price being around here you can buy new houses and land from 65000.00 up 1700 sqf. call around and you can get you a whole house built for less than 100000.00 live within your means my god i got a modular home and 9 ac. for 300000. least i anit up side down in debt. but i do fill for you people down there as i own a tree company and worked the area of hattiesburg mssouth and as a poor area before the storm as well.

Everyone that has insurance policies receives a "written" copy of their policy, you must read it to know what you have as far as coverage. One person on this blog commented that he had flood insurance even though he is not in a flood zone, that is a really good idea, good for him. For the people wanting to sue the insurance companies for "what they don't have coverage for." I say BOO, you should be ashamed! You are going to drive up insurance costs for everyone, and that is really WRONG! As a matter of fact, I think anyone involved in this suit, should they win, God forbid, should have their names, addresses and all contact info given to the public so we can let them know how we feel about what they have done to screw it up for the rest of us.

I can't believe the number of posts on this topic in reference to Mississippians asking for some sort of handout, or asking others to pay for our damage by a complete FREAK of nature, or the suggestion that we are just too stupid to have purchased proper insurance or make intelligent decisions. Unbelieveable! One of my very good friends lives 61 miles inland from the Mississippi coast, and never has she been told by her insurance company or mortage company or any of the neighbors within her community that she needed to purchase flood or hurricane insurance. Why? Well, because the area had never flooded! Although her damage was minimal compared others in her area, she has not once asked for any sort of aid in rebuilding structural damage that her insurance check did NOT reimburse! She lost a very good friend- who died from Katrina, a young woman only in her 30's with 2 children. Her stepdaughter was badly injured by falling debrie- these are the things that most of us here are concerned with!! Katrina was a devastating monster of a disaster, and as one of the previous commentors said, for those of you who think majority of us have asked for any handout- THINK AGAIN! We are rebuilding one day at a time by ourselves!!! and By the way, obviously we know, the cost of this devastion could very easily bankrupt an insurance company, but what I think most of you (not living here)don't get is some of the people have been cheated out of proper settlements due to the insurance companies trying to decide just exactly what caused who's damage. This has lead to inconsistencies in settlements- was it tornado vs hurricane?!? and much of the evidence is in the ocean or miles away due to the massive wind. It's just mind boggling how some people act like this was just some ordinary hurricane and we- Americans who just happen to live in Mississippi- got what we deserve- and for what????

READ WHAT YOU BOUGHT! Even living in Illinois and Michigan, I knew the difference between home insurance for damage from fire and wind versus flood insurance.

Frankly, the federal government should get out of the business of covering uninsured losses. If you don't have flood, tornado, hurricane or earthquake insurance and choose to live in areas that have those events, then you are on your own. Disaster assistance should be for unexpected events - you have a blizzard in Florida, fine or a huricane in Michigan, fine but not the other way around because those are expected. I do not want to subsidize someone's desire to live in a certain part of the country regardless of their reasons for being there.
At minimum, no one should be able to claim disaster assistance from FEMA more than once for the same property. If they choose to stay on the property and rebuild after it was destroyed once, then it should be solely their problem and not picked up by the taxpayers the next time they are wiped out by a flood, tornado, hurricane or earthquake.

I do not appreciate these people from other parts of our country crucifing our congressmen "Gene Taylor" He is trying to see that everyone has a roof over their heads and that everyone is protected from hurricanes. His office is helping indiviuals everyday get out of tents into fema trailers. If they wait on fema it would take another three months. Everyday Gene and his office are helping people in the community get things done. Also, on the insurance issue all of these people were told not to purchase flood insurance because it was not necessary. They were mislead and someone needs to be liable. I did have flood insurance on my business and my home but neither required. Note flood insurance only covers 250,000 for your structure and most homes were well over this amount. Even if one did have flood insurance this is a drop in bucket compared to what a beach front home might owe on their mortage. My business was 28ft above sea level and the area took 4ft of water. It was not in a flood zone. Note, this structure was directly on the beach road. The adjuster and a engineer decided that it was taken completely taken down by water. Now imagine this is a 35ft building and the surge was 32 ft. This would mean that 4ft of water could take a 35ft building down. PLEASE! Someone that road out the storm found my husband and I and told us that our building was completely gone before the water ever came. He was staying diagionally behind our building. Now this proves the point how can we beleive these engineers because until this person found us the insurance company was just paying for the roof. Remember, the insurance company is paying the adjuster. If a structure is completely gone only God knows what took it first. We had hundreds of tornadoes in Bay St.Louis and Waveland area. These insurance companies are just screaming flood for everything so they can skate out on their liabilities. Everything is gone so they have the advantage. And in the case of the structures that are still standing, how do we not know that the windows and doors did not blow out before the water came . In a hurricane the wind comes first then the water. Also in the same respect we all know that without wind their would not have been water in many areas. This was WIND DRIVEN WATER. If a car is blown into your home by wind it is covered. If a tree is blown into your home by wind it is covered, but if water is blown into your home it is not covered. This is a scam. I tell all of you affected by the storm do not give up. Do not let these insurance companies take advantage of you in this way. These insurance companies could pay thier claims the proper way and be fine. The are all reinsured. Also for the people out there that practically tell us to bad it was your misjudgement, they only worried about how this will affect insurance rates next year. One needs to realize you never know what might come your way therfore think of your fellow man in this situation it could be you. I do want to THANK all the wonderful people that have supported us and helping us to rebuild our area. May God forever bless you.