From this:
If an insurance policy bought by the owner of a home or business says, specifically, that hurricane damage is a covered loss, that should be that.
So says Attorney General Jim Hood, who has named a bevy of insurance companies as defendants in suits filed in federal court.
If the federal government defines an area as […]
From this:
Allstate, the largest publicly traded homeowners and auto insurer in the U.S., said it plans to scale back its exposure to the Gulf Coast homeowner's market following the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita this summer.
Speaking at the company's third quarter earnings conference call with analysts earlier Thursday, Chief Executive Edward Liddy said Allstate […]
The NYT offers a report on James Lee Witt in "FEMA Leader Under Clinton Makes It Pay":
…Soon after the storm hit, the State of Louisiana signed up with Witt Associates, a disaster consulting firm. Within days, Mr. Witt had become a fixture at the state's emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, advising the governor and […]
Oct. 4, 2005 - Hundreds of thousands of hurricane flood victims along the Gulf Coast are only now realizing they were misled by the government on their need for flood insurance.
State floodplain officials tell ABC News that the floodplain maps, created by FEMA and used by the federal government, are both outdated and inaccurate. They […]
Apparently they forgot to add something to their $250 billion aid package. Tim Coulon, chairman of the Louisiana Stadium and Expedition District, wants FEMA to pay to upgrade the Superdome so it can be used as a shelter in the future. If FEMA won't pay, he says it shouldn't be used. They want upgraded […]
From this:
"The Mississippi attorney general's view [is] that we should pay for claims — flood claims even though we never insured those," Allstate's [Chief Operating Officer Tom Wilson] said during a speech at a Banc of America Securities conference in San Francisco. "We do not intend to do that."
For now that is: "Witt's firm postpones Allstate job".
The firm counseling Gov. Kathleen Blanco on hurricane relief efforts has temporarily set aside another client — the nation's largest private insurance company — to avoid a possible conflict of interest.
While working for Louisiana, James Lee Witt Associates will not lobby Congress on behalf of Allstate Insurance […]
The state of Mississippi is suing various insurance companies that are trying to avoid paying out billions of dollars. Apparently the policies have provisions restricting damage to wind and rain, rather than flooding. Only about 30% of houses in the affected areas of MS and Alabama had flood insurance.
UPDATE: There's a later roundup in "Lawsuits […]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The former FEMA director hired by Louisiana to help lead its Hurricane Katrina recovery effort has registered to lobby for an insurance company that wants Congress to create a natural disaster "catastrophe fund."
James Lee Witt and his firm, James Lee Witt Associates, registered Tuesday to lobby for Allstate Insurance Co. Their mission: […]
