| Insurance Reform - Louisiana |
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By The Associated Press - Times Picayune, March 30, 2010 State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., the state's largest residential insurer, is asking for an average 9.9 percent rate increase for homeowners coverage in Louisiana. The filing with the Department of Insurance comes just over a month after Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon rejected the company's request for an average 19.1 percent rate hike. Donelon called that proposal unreasonable and unjustified. State Farm received an average 8.3 percent increase last year in Louisiana after asking for 13.7 percent. Read more . . . Proposals could affect home insurance bills By Jeremy Alford - The Daily Comet (LaFourche Parish) May 7, 2009 BATON ROUGE - A pair of Houma-Thibodaux area lawmakers saw differing results Wednesday for a similar set of bills that seek to add consumer protections on insurance policies that cover homes. Read more . . .
House approves change for 'named storm' deductibles By Ed Anderson - The Times-Picayune, May 06, 2009 BATON ROUGE -- Homeowners should be hit with only one named-storm deductible during each hurricane season and not one for each storm, the House determined Wednesday. By a 99-0 vote, lawmakers approved House Bill 333 by Rep. Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, chairman of the House Insurance Committee, sending it to the Senate Insurance Committee. Under existing law, insurance companies can invoke a deductible for homes or businesses damaged after each storm or hurricane, totaling thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expenses by policyholders, before claims are paid. Read more . . .
Insurance companies should be restricted in their use of so-called "named storm'' deductibles in Louisiana, even though the change will probably trigger a rate increase for homeowners, a House committee voted on Wednesday. Insurers in Louisiana and other states have special deductibles that apply only to damage caused by hurricanes and tropical storms named by the National Hurricane Center. State law now allows firms to impose the deductible more than once per year if two or more named storms hit Louisiana in one hurricane season. Read more . . .
A state appeals court has upheld the certification of yet another class action lawsuit against Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., this one charging that the state-sponsored insurer failed to pay contractor overhead and profit on claims from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Orleans Parish case, Stephanie Press v. Louisiana Citizens Fair Plan Property Insurance Corp., is one of three hurricane class actions pending against Citizens. In total, the cases have the potential to award tens of millions to policyholders and create financial problems for Citizens, which can pass on bills to taxpayers if it does not have enough cash on had to fulfill its obligations. John Wortman, chief executive of Citizens, said that the insurer plans to appeal the decision to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Read more . . . La. homeowners face high insurance bumps Insurers ask for double-digit hikes By Ted Griggs - The Advocate, April 23, 2009 Hundreds of thousands of Louisiana homeowners could see double-digit insurance rate increases this year, the biggest rise since 2006, in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, insurance industry officials say. Since December, at least a dozen insurers have asked the state to approve double-digit rate increases — the highest at 27 percent — and three have been approved, Louisiana Insurance Department records show. Read more . . . Citizens passes on settlement in Katrina class action suit If Citizens prevails, it says it will dispense with both suits for $35 million. If it loses, taxpayers could be on the hook for possibly hundreds of millions of dollars. "It is a high-stakes gamble," Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said. "Rolling the dice gets us through the upcoming hurricane season while all of this plays out at the appeals court." Read more . . . Judge orders Citizens Property Insurance to pay $92.8 million Jefferson Parish Judge Henry Sullivan ordered Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Wednesday to pay $92.8 million to 18,573 policyholders around the state whose Hurricane Katrina claims were not adjusted on time, formally placing a dollar value on the judgment he issued on Friday. Read more . . . Policyholders limited in how low they can go with contents coverage By Rebecca Mowbray - The Times-Picayune, March 22, 2009 Keith Brannon has been living a minimalist's life since Hurricane Katrina. Like many New Orleanians, Brannon dragged the entire contents of his house to the curb when his Broadmoor-Fontainebleau area home flooded and moldered in the storm. He has replaced only the bare essentials. "We don't have that much furniture because we're still finishing up the house," he said. "We have no junk." So when he opened his insurance renewal and discovered that he's paying for $146,805 worth of contents coverage at his house, he called his insurance agent to reduce it. Brannon was shocked to learn that he can't. Read more . . . Citizens told to pay plaintiffs 18,573 in Jeff may receive $5,000 each By Rebecca Mowbray - Times-Picayune, March 21, 2009 A Jefferson Parish judge has ordered Louisiana CitizensProperty Insurance Corp. to pay what could be $92.8 millionin penalties to 18,573 policyholders in a class actionlawsuit because their Hurricane Katrina claims were notadjusted on time. The Friday evening ruling by 24th Judicial District JudgeHenry Sullivan on a motion for summary judgment does notspecifically list the total to be awarded. But it lists thenumber of policyholders affected and under Louisiana law,the penalty for untimely adjustment of claims is $5,000 perviolation. Read more . . . We already knew AIG chief didn't play fair By Jarvis DeBerry, Columist, Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) March 20, 2009 According to the eternal laws of playground politics, it is perfectly acceptable for an aggrieved party to go to his friends and say of an offender, "Don't play with him no more." Sometimes there's an instantaneous no-play-with pact. Just a simple "OK," no questions asked. At other times, though, the sought-after ally already has reasons not to play with the offender and can cite a history of obnoxious behavior.
By Rebecca Mowbray - The Times-Picayune, March 18, 2009
So it is with insurance giant AIG and its Chairman Edward Liddy. Americans have had enough of corporate greed and insensitivity and this week began booing and hissing them loudly. But they're new to the game. We've been angry at Liddy for years. Read more . . . AIG chief didn't always defend sanctity of contracts To many on the Gulf Coast, watching AIG Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy talk about the sanctity of contracts in defending the award of $220 million in bonuses to employees at the embattled insurer was an ironic moment. "How about that?" said Bob Hunter, a New Orleans native who is director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America and author of a 2007 study documenting the decline of claims payout ratios at Allstate, Louisiana's second-largest insurer, during Liddy's tenure. "He's always disregarded contracts to maximize profits." "It's rather ironic that Ed Liddy is espousing the sanctity of contracts when it serves the interests of the insurance company, but when the sanctity of contracts is violated from the homeowners' perspective, there's no obligation and it's up to the homeowners or the courts to enforce it, " said Johnny Denenea, an attorney for Slidell homeowners Bob and Merryl Weiss, who won a verdict against Allstate in the first insurance trial to be completed in federal court after Hurricane Katrina." he said. Read more . . . 5th Circuit upholds Katrina suit award By Allen M. Johnson, Jr., - The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), March 13, 2009 The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a federal jury's award of $206,000 to a Plaquemines Parish couple for the 2005 loss of their Port Sulphur home after Hurricane Katrina. Read more . . . Appeals court reverses ruling that State Farm acted in bad faith By Rebecca Mowbray - The Times-Picayune, March 12, 2009 A Port Sulfur couple whose home vanished in Hurricane Katrina won't be able to collect penalties, bad faith and attorneys fees from State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal overturned the finding that the state's largest insurer acted in bad faith in handling their claim. The U.S. District Court decision forcing State Farm to pay Judy and Michael Kodrin the full value of their homeowners policy for wind damage still stands, but the appeals court ruling removes two-thirds of their original $356,318 award. Without penalties and attorneys fees, the Kodrins could have to cover the costs of litigation out of their remaining $117,084, meaning that they won't have much to show for their three-and-half-year ordeal. Court takes turn toward insured Shift is attributed to storm experience By Rebecca Mowbray - The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), March 8, 2009 After siding with insurance companies in early rulings after Hurricane Katrina, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal has suddenly cranked out a stream of policyholder-friendly rulings in hurricane cases. Read more . . . Scalise supports adding wind to flood insurance program By CityBusiness staff reports - New Orleans City Business, (Louisiana) March 5, 2009 Rep. Steve Scalise is co-sponsoring a bill that seeks to add wind coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program. Read more . . . Congressman Gene Taylor reintroduces bill that would allow federal government to sell wind coverage By Rebecca Mowbray - The Times-Picayune March 03, 2009 With the deadline for re-authorizing the National Flood Insurance Program extended until September 30, Mississippi Gulf Coast Congressman Gene Taylor reintroduced his bill to allow the federal government to sell wind coverage Tuesday."At this point, anything we can do to relieve people's costs is going to be better than nothing," Taylor said. "I remain convinced that the nation can do it and charge less than what the private sector is charging." Read more . . . Federal wind-coverage bid revived Insurance called recovery barrier By Rebecca Mowbray - Times-Picayune, March 04, 2009 With the deadline for reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program extended until Sept. 30, Mississippi Gulf Coast Congressman Gene Taylor reintroduced his bill to allow the federal government to sell wind coverage Tuesday."At this point, anything we can do to relieve people's costs is going to be better than nothing," Taylor said. "I remain convinced that the nation can do it and charge less than what the private sector is charging." By combining coverage for tropical storms, hurricanes and flood in one policy, Taylor hopes to avoid the wind-versus-flood disputes that left homeowners in a jam after Katrina. He believes that such a move would free coastal states from being stymied by insurers who don't want to sell homeowners policies, and would allow states to spread risk more broadly than through last-resort insurers such as Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp."The states can't handle it. Their exposure is enormous, and they can't spread the risk," Taylor said. "I know in South Mississippi, insurance is the No. 1 barrier to the recovery." Read more . . . Property insurance increases expected By Ted Griggs - The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) February 28, 2009 Louisiana homeowners and businesses will see property insurance rates rise more this year than they have since 2006, in large part because of the financial meltdown, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said. Read more . . . Louisiana is one of the most expensive places in the nation for homeowners insurance by Rebecca Mowbray - The Times-Picayune, March 02, 2009 Louisiana has the third-highest homeowners insurance premiums in the nation, according to the first assessment of prices after Hurricane Katrina by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.The average homeowners insurance premium in Louisiana was $1,257 in 2006, an increase of 9.9 percent from the previous year and the third biggest increase in the nation.But Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said that the 2006 figures don't reflect the wave of price increases after Katrina, because bills in 2006 would have been based on rates that were approved in 2005, before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita walloped the state. Read more . . . Task force issues insurance report ABA says insurers should offer options By Rebecca Mowbray - Times Picayune, February 25, 2009 The American Bar Association recommends that insurers offer customers the option of buying insurance policies that cover flooding from storm surge to help cut down on legal disputes after events like Hurricane Katrina.The suggestion is part of a set of recommendations issued by the ABA's tort, trial and insurance practice section after a year and a half of study. "The insurance industry needs to get creative in offering all kinds of policies, rather than just saying, 'No, we don't cover it,' " said Ed Sherman, a professor at Tulane Law School who served on the task force and helped draft the proposals. Read more . . . Citizens raises policy premiums Statewide average boosted 18 percent By Rebecca Mowbray - Times-Picayune, June 24, 2008 Homeowners insurance rates at Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will increase by a statewide average of 18 percent in October as premiums at the state-sponsored insurer catch up with the dramatic run-up in prices from private companies after Hurricane Katrina. Read more . . . |
| For every dollar paid out of the federal treasury under flood, Allstate takes a credit and keeps a dollar. Essentially Allstate is profiting at the expense of the American taxpayer." | |
| JOHN DENENEA attorney for couple suing Allstate |
Inflated flood claim turns up at trial
Allstate contents list is news to owners
Citizens CEO gets 10% raise
Insurer lines up catastrophe plan
By Rebecca Mowbray - Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), May 13, 2008
Below I-10, insurance hard to find, hard to fund
By Mark Ballard - The Baton Rouge Advocate (Louisiana), May 11, 2008
While the House had voted to include the expanded coverage, the Senate vote against the provision was 73-19. Read more . . .
Insurers to get Citizens policies
Coverage moved to private carriers
At Their Limit
As local homeowners insurance rates continue to rise, the elderly and others on limited incomes are fighting to keep their finances afloat
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is stubbornly ignoring mounting evidence that it has poorly run the flood insurance program, and it's time the White House and Congress force the agency to change its ways.
For months reports from government investigators as well as whistleblower lawsuits have exposed how FEMA's lax management of the program is likely wasting billions in taxpayers' money. Yet to this day, the agency's brass refuse to investigate or correct problems. Their lackadaisical attitude with the taxpayers' money is unacceptable.
The most recent criticism came last week from the Government Accountability Office. In a report, the GAO pointed to the "inherent conflict of interest" that exists when the same private insurer determines flood damage, which is covered by the government, and wind damage, which is covered by the private insurer. GAO investigators concluded that insurers who provide wind coverage "have a vested economic interest" in determining which damage was caused by flood or wind. The report recommended that FEMA obtain wind damage files from private companies to check whether taxpayers have gotten fleeced. Read more . . .
GAO report warns of insurer bias on flood claims, recommends reforms
Editorial: Where's the outrage?
Times Picayune (New Orlean,LA), June 10,2007 D
Insurers bilked flood program, suit says
Adjusters say wind claims underpaid
By Rebecca Mowbray - Times-Picayune, May 31, 2007
