Cheyenne, Wyoming were hit by an extremely damaging and freaky flood on August 1, 1985. My husband and I were paid about $1200.00 for some window damage done by hail but we ultimately wound up losing our home and having to claim bankruptcy due to the damage done to our house that State Farm claimed they did not cover. These insurance companies want higher and higher fees to \”cover\” (and I use that term loosely) and they want their payments \”right now\” too. However, when it comes to ponying up to the bar and paying their part when something happens, they squirrel out of it like the huge, money-hungry, power-driven mega-monsters that they are. The insurance situation in this country is a disgrace and desperately needs to be over-hauled as well as investigated thoroughly!
What both of you are saying are frequently expressed complaints against insurance companies. I won\’t disagree with your sentiments, but ask that you, and others, give this some thought about what the real problem is.
I see the underlying problem as this.
(1) We are all hooked on insurance and end up paying a huge percentage of what we earn to fund it. I pay auto insurance, homeowners insurance, professional liability insurance, accidental death insurance, disability insurance, title insurance, and excess coverage insurance (umbrella coverage.) Some coverages are required by law, such as auto liability insurance. If you rent a car the agency tries to foist more insurance off on you. We are insurance poor. Insurance is like a great, big security blanket.
(2) Insurance carriers won\’t do business unless they can make a profit. In some areas such as workers compensation they are guaranteed a profit. Mostly profits are not guaranteed, but with their actuaries they know how to figure the odds or limit exposure.
(3) So we have a commercial enterprise run with a skill and adeptness that makes the tobacco industry look like rank amateurs. A huge demand and \”practically\” guaranteed profits.
(4) We\’re stuck as long as we remain hooked. Even Mississippi Jim Hood who called State Farm all sorts of bad names didn\’t want the carrier to leave the state.
This is a social phenomenon and I don\’t have a good answer for it.
What you say is correct and I to work for the insurance industry to pay my insurance bill. The problem lies in the fact that State Farm and Nationwide (and possibly others)knew they could not stand on their concurrent causation language and tried to do so. The one who suffered were their insureds in Missisippi.
I agree with your observation. Because of the magnitude of the damages and injuries the carriers\’ position has been scrutinized.
Now the insureds will get some more money and the carriers will move on. But, what then for most of those insureds? Will they be able to afford adequate coverage to allow them to rebuild and live in those communities?
My prediction is that most of the beautiful coastal residential areas will, in the not too distant future, be affordable only by the rich who have the money to either self-insure or pay high premiums.
People need to understand what they\’re covering i.e. what they\’re buying. They need to understand that in most cases the state where they live approves the forms that are being written. In some cases, they write the forms. Most of the coastal homes could only be afforded by the wealthy before; that\’s not going to change. The difference is wealthy people who understood what they bought then had the power to go to the courts on the sympathy that was due the poor injured by Katrina they were able to get coverage that they did not purchase. There\’ve been a record number of carriers going under. And part of the actuaries numbers for profit rely upon the expectation that there will not be coverage for these kind of loses. So, imagine what that does for a company\’s profit line. Insurance companies make money this year so that they can pay your claims next. Surely no one thinks that the $1,500 you pay for homeowners insurance, even over 30 years, will pay for one fire. Don\’t forget the fees to the state, the salaries, the systems and other infrastructure. And THEN the company is a free enterprise with a right to make money. Alternatively, go without insurance but be ready to pay the price.
Melanie, I am sorry you lost your home in those storms back in 1985 but you cannot blame State Farm for causing the storm, nor for you not getting paid on your claim, if in fact flood or any other type of surface water caused the damage. Again, FLOOD is not covered under any standard homeowners policy.
The way to clear up some of the problems is to clear up some of the language in the policy. get rid of all-risk policies and make them named perils and allow homeowners to buy extra perils. Clearly define all perils and if the loss situation is not caused by a named peril then the loss is not covered. A grey area is not covered.
The other option is to self insure. Since only 1% of us can afford to do that then I guess we have to live with this monster we created called insurance.
Back to this article. Whether State Farm is wrong or right here does not matter. The question is did the judge follow the rules, and if the answer is no the State Farm will get a new trial. What happens after that is up to what all the facts are in the case. I do not know so I will not be an arm-chair juror, and pretend to know the correct answer. But I do know that two wrongs do not make a right.
Seems this happened to someone else; or was this you? No, your name is not Debbie Walter. You must have just copied and pasted this to make it look like your plight. Nice.
\”Subject: RE: Ratings For the bad boys
Posted On: May 1, 2007, 8:00 pm CDT
Posted By: Rat
Comment:
After suffering through State Farm\’s brand of paying off claims after a natural disaster I believe every single word these women are saying. We in Cheyenne, Wyoming were hit by an extremely damaging and freaky flood on August 1, 1985. My husband and I were paid about $1200.00 for some window damage done by hail but we ultimately wound up losing our home and having to claim bankruptcy due to the damage done to our house that State Farm claimed they did not cover. These insurance companies want higher and higher fees to \”cover\” (and I use that term loosely) and they want their payments \”right now\” too. However, when it comes to ponying up to the bar and paying their part when something happens, they squirrel out of it like the huge, money-hungry, power-driven mega-monsters that they are. The insurance situation in this country is a disgrace and desperately needs to be over-hauled as well as investigated thoroughly!
\”they could not stand on their concurrent causation language and tried to do so\”
Yes relying on policy lauguage is definitely a problem in non-rule of law environments.
Apparently judges & juries can\’t understand the term \”concurrent causation\” the result is you\’ll see companies leaving areas subject to hurricanes and flood, either that or you\’ll see everybody else who doesn\’t live in a hurricane & flood zone subsidize those who do-spurning even more growth in hurricane & flood zones.
But hey nobody enforces the Constitution either so what does it matter what the contract language is anyway?
Still trying to slime their way thru their own loopholes they got caught up on.
They have wasted more money trying to Get Out of Paying Claims & All they had to do was explain the Policy to the Insured and Pay Wind Claims.
Nope! They had to be greedy.
They thought they were Almighty & too Powerful to loose one court battle.
Big Mistake!
They underestimated the Power of a few Powerful Men that were elected
BY THE PEOPLE in Mississippi.
All of these people can\’t be wrong.
One Company with thousands of law suits.
In spite of it all….
S/F CEO STILL MADE $11 Million in 2006.
Yet they still cry like girls.
They still continue trying to screw people and fight each case every step of the way.
If they would use the money they spend
in the Lobby, Campaign Contributions, Attorney Fees, Punative Damages & millions spent each year on Advertising they are Such Good Neighbors.
The TV Commercials are horrible & annoying. They make me hate S/F, we roll our eyes and find it crazy for them to think we believe the Good Neighbor Jig!
They should be a class action suit for False Advertisement! Good Neighbors, they are not!
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Tell me it ain\’t so. Poor ole State Farm. So abused and mistreated.
Cheyenne, Wyoming were hit by an extremely damaging and freaky flood on August 1, 1985. My husband and I were paid about $1200.00 for some window damage done by hail but we ultimately wound up losing our home and having to claim bankruptcy due to the damage done to our house that State Farm claimed they did not cover. These insurance companies want higher and higher fees to \”cover\” (and I use that term loosely) and they want their payments \”right now\” too. However, when it comes to ponying up to the bar and paying their part when something happens, they squirrel out of it like the huge, money-hungry, power-driven mega-monsters that they are. The insurance situation in this country is a disgrace and desperately needs to be over-hauled as well as investigated thoroughly!
What both of you are saying are frequently expressed complaints against insurance companies. I won\’t disagree with your sentiments, but ask that you, and others, give this some thought about what the real problem is.
I see the underlying problem as this.
(1) We are all hooked on insurance and end up paying a huge percentage of what we earn to fund it. I pay auto insurance, homeowners insurance, professional liability insurance, accidental death insurance, disability insurance, title insurance, and excess coverage insurance (umbrella coverage.) Some coverages are required by law, such as auto liability insurance. If you rent a car the agency tries to foist more insurance off on you. We are insurance poor. Insurance is like a great, big security blanket.
(2) Insurance carriers won\’t do business unless they can make a profit. In some areas such as workers compensation they are guaranteed a profit. Mostly profits are not guaranteed, but with their actuaries they know how to figure the odds or limit exposure.
(3) So we have a commercial enterprise run with a skill and adeptness that makes the tobacco industry look like rank amateurs. A huge demand and \”practically\” guaranteed profits.
(4) We\’re stuck as long as we remain hooked. Even Mississippi Jim Hood who called State Farm all sorts of bad names didn\’t want the carrier to leave the state.
This is a social phenomenon and I don\’t have a good answer for it.
What you say is correct and I to work for the insurance industry to pay my insurance bill. The problem lies in the fact that State Farm and Nationwide (and possibly others)knew they could not stand on their concurrent causation language and tried to do so. The one who suffered were their insureds in Missisippi.
I agree with your observation. Because of the magnitude of the damages and injuries the carriers\’ position has been scrutinized.
Now the insureds will get some more money and the carriers will move on. But, what then for most of those insureds? Will they be able to afford adequate coverage to allow them to rebuild and live in those communities?
My prediction is that most of the beautiful coastal residential areas will, in the not too distant future, be affordable only by the rich who have the money to either self-insure or pay high premiums.
People need to understand what they\’re covering i.e. what they\’re buying. They need to understand that in most cases the state where they live approves the forms that are being written. In some cases, they write the forms. Most of the coastal homes could only be afforded by the wealthy before; that\’s not going to change. The difference is wealthy people who understood what they bought then had the power to go to the courts on the sympathy that was due the poor injured by Katrina they were able to get coverage that they did not purchase. There\’ve been a record number of carriers going under. And part of the actuaries numbers for profit rely upon the expectation that there will not be coverage for these kind of loses. So, imagine what that does for a company\’s profit line. Insurance companies make money this year so that they can pay your claims next. Surely no one thinks that the $1,500 you pay for homeowners insurance, even over 30 years, will pay for one fire. Don\’t forget the fees to the state, the salaries, the systems and other infrastructure. And THEN the company is a free enterprise with a right to make money. Alternatively, go without insurance but be ready to pay the price.
Melanie, I am sorry you lost your home in those storms back in 1985 but you cannot blame State Farm for causing the storm, nor for you not getting paid on your claim, if in fact flood or any other type of surface water caused the damage. Again, FLOOD is not covered under any standard homeowners policy.
The way to clear up some of the problems is to clear up some of the language in the policy. get rid of all-risk policies and make them named perils and allow homeowners to buy extra perils. Clearly define all perils and if the loss situation is not caused by a named peril then the loss is not covered. A grey area is not covered.
The other option is to self insure. Since only 1% of us can afford to do that then I guess we have to live with this monster we created called insurance.
Back to this article. Whether State Farm is wrong or right here does not matter. The question is did the judge follow the rules, and if the answer is no the State Farm will get a new trial. What happens after that is up to what all the facts are in the case. I do not know so I will not be an arm-chair juror, and pretend to know the correct answer. But I do know that two wrongs do not make a right.
Melanie,
Seems this happened to someone else; or was this you? No, your name is not Debbie Walter. You must have just copied and pasted this to make it look like your plight. Nice.
\”Subject: RE: Ratings For the bad boys
Posted On: May 1, 2007, 8:00 pm CDT
Posted By: Rat
Comment:
After suffering through State Farm\’s brand of paying off claims after a natural disaster I believe every single word these women are saying. We in Cheyenne, Wyoming were hit by an extremely damaging and freaky flood on August 1, 1985. My husband and I were paid about $1200.00 for some window damage done by hail but we ultimately wound up losing our home and having to claim bankruptcy due to the damage done to our house that State Farm claimed they did not cover. These insurance companies want higher and higher fees to \”cover\” (and I use that term loosely) and they want their payments \”right now\” too. However, when it comes to ponying up to the bar and paying their part when something happens, they squirrel out of it like the huge, money-hungry, power-driven mega-monsters that they are. The insurance situation in this country is a disgrace and desperately needs to be over-hauled as well as investigated thoroughly!
Debbie Walter-\”
\”they could not stand on their concurrent causation language and tried to do so\”
Yes relying on policy lauguage is definitely a problem in non-rule of law environments.
Apparently judges & juries can\’t understand the term \”concurrent causation\” the result is you\’ll see companies leaving areas subject to hurricanes and flood, either that or you\’ll see everybody else who doesn\’t live in a hurricane & flood zone subsidize those who do-spurning even more growth in hurricane & flood zones.
But hey nobody enforces the Constitution either so what does it matter what the contract language is anyway?
Still trying to slime their way thru their own loopholes they got caught up on.
They have wasted more money trying to Get Out of Paying Claims & All they had to do was explain the Policy to the Insured and Pay Wind Claims.
Nope! They had to be greedy.
They thought they were Almighty & too Powerful to loose one court battle.
Big Mistake!
They underestimated the Power of a few Powerful Men that were elected
BY THE PEOPLE in Mississippi.
All of these people can\’t be wrong.
One Company with thousands of law suits.
In spite of it all….
S/F CEO STILL MADE $11 Million in 2006.
Yet they still cry like girls.
They still continue trying to screw people and fight each case every step of the way.
If they would use the money they spend
in the Lobby, Campaign Contributions, Attorney Fees, Punative Damages & millions spent each year on Advertising they are Such Good Neighbors.
The TV Commercials are horrible & annoying. They make me hate S/F, we roll our eyes and find it crazy for them to think we believe the Good Neighbor Jig!
They should be a class action suit for False Advertisement! Good Neighbors, they are not!