May 23, 2006
Wind vs Water - Judge rules for wind
No flood insurance? You will not get any damages from your homeowners insurance if your house gets flooded as a result of a hurricane. You may get some damages for wind damage to your home and that’s that! If the waters are high and remain in your home as a result of the hurricane storm surge your home may get soaked and crumble but no damages are coming your way.
Just as we talk of the insurance companies and their homeowners policies tailor made to escape on certain legalities it has happened again. In Lafayette, La a judge has ruled that the insurance company need not pay damages caused by floods caused by Hurricane Rita if you have only coverage for windstorms in your policy. Yet again a homeowner realizes that his homeowners insurance policy does nothing much for him after a hurricane.
"You get what you pay for, and what they paid for was wind damage," said U.S. District Judge Richard Haik in a ruling Thursday. But, he also said: "I wish I didn't think that. I am not a fan of insurance companies."
For thousands of homeowners without flood insurance, the critical question is whether damage was caused by Katrina's 145-mph winds or by the wall of water that surged to shore. Wind damage is covered, but insurers say their policies do not cover damage from water, including wind-driven water. Policyholders argue that storm surge should not be considered flooding.
The lawsuit was filed against State Farm and Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance on behalf of two families and sought class-action status. The insurance companies said the policies explicitly excluded flood damage.
Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to continue paying the utility bills of thousands of Houston hurricane evacuees for an additional month, through June 30, and this will be to total of 35,000 people in the area.
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