Your former Allstate agent?
Posted on 09/21/2005 10:01:23 AM PDT by george76
Insurer's operating chief responds to Mississippi suit...
Allstate Corp. won't pay flooding claims stemming from Hurricane Katrina, Chief Operating Officer Tom Wilson said on Tuesday, in a direct challenge to a lawsuit filed last week by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.
Controversy has emerged surrounding the devastating flooding that followed the storm. Standard homeowners' insurance policies typically exclude flooding, partly because a national, government-run program covers those risks. However, many homeowners hit by Katrina may not have bought this extra coverage.
Mississippi's Hood sued Allstate and four other leading insurers in the state on Sept. 16, arguing that their flood exclusions should be voided and that they should pay flood claims.
"Exhibit one for us will be just the national flood-insurance programs -- advertising programs, which they put on very aggressively every year," he said. "People know this is a separate coverage, so we're not having many issues with our customers."
Allstate's Wilson did concede that there will be "issues" when assessing what damage was caused by wind and what was the result of flooding.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
From what I was told by someone that had their house flooded in a Florida hurricane, they look at the high water mark in your house. The water stains the wall.
It it's above the high water mark you won't have much trouble claiming it. It it's below the high water mark, you'll need to prove that the damage being covered wasn't caused by flood waters.
Here's the National Flood Insurance Progrems definition of a flood.
Flood insurance covers direct physical loss caused by gflood.h In simple terms, a flood is an excess of water on land that is normally dry. Here is the official definition used by the National Flood Insurance Program.
A flood is 1)A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from: 2) Overflow of inland or tidal waters; 3) Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; 4) Mudflow*; or 5) Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined above.h *Mudflow is defined as gA river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of
See www.FEMA.gov for more
I pay over $1000 for flood insurance (seperate from Home Owners and seperate from the Wind and Rain Policy). If the insurance company is judged having to pay, will my mortgage company "allow" me to dump it? I doubt that very much - in fact, I'll probably wind up paying over $2000 a year for flood insurance.
"Lighten up. My point was that there could be an opportunity for Allstates smaller competitors here."
Buying for ten and selling for nine is not called opportunity its called bankruptcy.
I pay over $1000 for flood insurance (seperate from Home Owners and seperate from the Wind and Rain Policy). If the insurance company is judged having to pay, will my mortgage company "allow" me to dump it? I doubt that very much - in fact, I'll probably wind up paying over $2000 a year for flood insurance.
Looking at a water mark only works when one has a wall or house left standing.
And I'll try to explain the State of Mississippi's insurance nuances (to the best of my understanding), if there is a policy that covers wind damage but excludes flood damage, the insurance company has to pay for the damages it covered. The problem here right now is that the insurance companies are not paying anyone for any wind damage, they are just saying "flood and not a dime" on houses that are just gone.
I dont think that insurance companies should have to pay for things they didn't cover, but I think if they sold a hurricane policy, they should pay for hurricane damage. And silly me, I think a hurricane wind driven wall of water is hurricane damage.
Our designated flood plains are alongside rivers and bays, but the beaches are on the Gulf of Mexico. I've never in my lifetime heard of the Gulf of Mexico "flooding", have you?
Usually doesn't matter. If a home is compeltely blown away by the wind, but the entire neighborhood is underwater and a total loss, they can legitimately deny any claim. The house WOULD have been lost due to a non-covered event.
It's trickier in more complicated situations.
The "good hands people" like your premium payments, but they apparently don't care so much for your claims...
Flood maps are available online:
http://www.esri.com/hazards/makemap.html
http://www.msc.fema.gov/states.shtml
Background article from Louisiana State Univ:
http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/en/family_home/hazards_and_threats/floods_hurricanes/flood_maps_permits/Flood+Insurance+Rate+Maps+FIRMs.htm
Detailed "how to" use the FEMA online maps (requires pdf file reader):
http://cwcb.state.co.us/flood_watch/onlineFEMAissued%20FIRMs.pdf
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"Is storm surge considered the same as a flood?"
Yes, storm surge is considered a flood.
"Are all the homes and businesses in the gulf on federally designated flood plains?"
Maybe not all, but a good number. You can order flood maps from FEMA or NFIP - I don't remmeber which.
Yup. Because a falling tree is covered. If the storm pushed the water into the house through the storm surge, Allstate should pay, unless a rider specifically excludes 'wind driven water' or all water damage.
Nope. And the standard policy DOES exclude damage caused by "rising waters"... which this certainly was.
Man... if you choose to live on the ocean and BELOW sea level... you've got to plan accordingly.
IMRight said: Man... if you choose to live on the ocean and BELOW sea level... you've got to plan accordingly.
That's New Orleans that's below sea level, not Mississippi.
The water that poured through the levee breaches was driven into Lake Pontchartrain by the wind, too. The conventional wisdom is that "water that comes from the ground level up" is flood damage, no matter how it got there. Water that enters a structure from above, through wind-damaged walls or roof, is covered by the standard (non-flood) homeowners or commercial property policy.
You can bet that people who didn't have flood coverage have been busy inflicting post-Katrina roof damage before the adjusters view the property. Yu can also bet that the insurance companies will be scrutinizing those satellite and aerial photos, comparing them with damage claims subsequently reported.
If Allstate simply agreed to cover all water damage regardless of whether a flood policy was in place, lots of people will be suing for the return of flood policy premiums, and rightfully so.
The Weather Channel has constant reminders that flood insurance is required. Anyone in a coastal area or flood zone that doesn't have it is just asking for trouble. I can't believe mortgages are written without flood insurance.
"If Allstate simply agreed to cover all water damage regardless of whether a flood policy was in place, lots of people will be suing for the return of flood policy premiums, and rightfully so."
Let's see...nearly thirty years worth of premiums. Woo hoo! Count me in!
I can see the argument too, but it just doesn't work that way. Pretty much all the water on earth, at one point or another, came from above. Flooding caused by heavy rains, one could argue, came from above and so should be covered. It isn't. A flood caused by a tree that gets blown over onto a dam was caused by wind and should be covered, right? It isn't.
Interesting stuff. All I really know is I'm glad all I have to worry about is snow.
Same difference... if you live in a flood plain you've got to plan accordingly.
You WILL eventually die... if that would be a financial burden, then you need life insurance. You will very likely need medical care over the course of your life (and lots of it). If you don't think you'll always have the savings to cover it... you need health insurance. You will sooner or later get involved in a car accident... you need car insurance if you don't have an adequate reserve.
And if you live somewhere that you KNOW will eventually flood (even if it's only once every 100 years), then you need flood insurance unless you can afford to lose your home.
I'd bet there will be stories in a couple weeks of the people in TX who saw Katrina and realized "I need flood insurance!", so they purchased some... but haven't had 30 days for it to become effective.
Your former Allstate agent?
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