"If you decide not to, why should you be compensated for your compounded stupidity?"
Wow, spoken from someone who doesn't live near the beautiful ocean. Really the mansions and things that were built on the beach survived fairly well. The real problem in the south, is that the majority of homes that were destroyed, were older, and prior to new building codes. My house withstood the hurricane just fine. My house is built to the very best of codes and I had no problems with two direct hits.
We will probably not see the same catastrophic loss in housing again in areas that were hit, because all of the substandard housing was destroyed. This very fact nullifies the insurance industry's arguments.
Do you really think Lott's home was sub-standard housing?
I live by a beautiful river. That river floods, and a portion of my property is within the 100-year line. That portion of the property has been under water twice in the last ten years.
I don't think I'm going to put a Million-dollar house down on that portion of the property. But if I do decide to do so, I will not come crying to you to bail me out when it gets flooded.
I don't think any house, old or new, survived the 25-foot storm surge in Mississippi.