[lonestar]

Melinda Ballard sounds like the same person who turned her "nightmare" into a "cottage industry" to teach people how to sue their insurance companies.

There have been several scams in Houston where people have bought two-story houses; flood the top floor with hoses or break pipes and collect big bucks.

I think it's the newest rip-off for lawyers. We have insurance companies who are choosing to no longer write home-owner's.

[Restorer]

That rip-off artists take advantage of a problem does not mean the problem does not exist.

People stage auto accidents all the time to defraud insurers. That doesn't mean real auto accidents don't also happen.

Some insurers routinely deny what they know are legitimate claims. This is just as much insurance fraud as the situations you describe. Both should be prosecuted to the max.

Ms. Ballard can be located at http://www.policyholdersofamerica.com/index2.html if you're interested in her story, rather than somebody else's version.

[Restorer]

Just curious.

Do you think people who have legitimate claims denied by their insurer should NOT sue the company that violates a legal contract? If so, why do you believe this?