"We are looking at a robber baron in the face that is trying to make an example of Mississippi," - Jim Hood, Mississippi Attorney General
Those folks who have taken "good neighbor" to a whole new level of irony may have decided to abandon Mississippi homeowners, but it's state AG who's more than willing to show them the door...
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says if State Farm wants to stop selling homeowners policies in Mississippi, they better plan to shutting down auto insurance too... He's asking for all-or-nothing legislation that would require State Farm to sell both if it wants to continue doing business in the state. Give a listen
State Farm has been slow-paying, denying and/or fighting some 35,000 claims from policyholders in Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties.
As of mid February, State Farm says they have paid out on an average of $25,030 for structural damage to 794 policyholders left with slabs or pilings.
794 claims??? And how much house do you think you're gonna get for $25k?
This goes long way to explaining why, more than a year and a half has since the Katrina Tsunami swept over south Mississippi, only a handful of the 11,000 homes destroyed in Hancock county have been rebuilt privately. 80% of the reconstruction there is being done by volunteers and funded by charities.
Hood's proposal is meeting heavy resistance from both the Governor and
the State Insurance Commissioner, but is proving wildly popular with residents on the coast.
Meanwhile, the insurers have bigger things to worry about.
Katrina's indiscriminate path of destruction and the insurers' equally indiscriminate pattern of bad behavior have led to a truly bipartisan effort in Congress to regulate the industry by removing its exemption from anti-trust laws.
What You Can Do
Ask your reps to support The Insurance Industry Competition Act of 2007, and fire up your browser on Feb 28th for the webcast of the House subcommittee oversight hearing on Katrina claims.
Now, that's entertainment!