And you thought your homeowners insurance was expensive!

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

No one likes to over pay for anything, especially not for insurance.While the cost of Auto insurance and Life insurance have fallen in resent years, for most of us the cost of our homeowners Insurance has risen steadily. This is particularly true in the Gulf States. Many insurance companies saw five years worth of profit wiped out in one hurricane season. These losses occurred even after companies had dramatically increased their deductibles and placed restrictions and limitations. In addition to some large losses, scientists are warning that the United States might be in a 20-year cycle of greater storm activity coupled with the global warming. The actuaries at the carriers are looking at warmer seas, higher sea levels combining with new construction being built at a dizzying pace and in ever more dangerous locations. All of this while natural reserves and buffers are being lost, and more and more land is being paved reducing the areas ability to handle flooding. The average cost to insure a U.S. home in 2004 was $729, according to the most recent National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) data. The cheapest state was Idaho, where the average home insurance premium was $448. In Texas, the most expensive state, it was $1,362, or 2.5% of the average Texans’ household income.
“Every disaster known to man can happen in Texas, even earthquakes,” says Jim Hurley, a spokesman for the Texas Insurance Department, a state organization for insurance agents and consumers. “We’d love to be lower on the list, but our geography and weather patterns won’t allow it.” Any real-estate agent will tell you the three greatest factors that effect the price of property are, location, location and location; that pretty much holds true for property insurance. Below are the 5 Highest States for Homeowners Insurance.

1: TexasAverage Annual Premium: $1,362

2: LouisianaAverage Annual Premium: $1,074

3: OklahomaAverage Annual Premium: $991

4: FloridaAverage Annual Premium: $929

5: MississippiAverage Annual Premium: $907

State Farm States No New Policies in MississippiWednesday

February 14th, 2007
By Larry Lubell
Urban Insurance Blog ________________________________________

State Farm Insurance Company anounced that it. is suspending sales of any new commercial or homeowner policies in Mississippi starting Friday. A company official said that the wave of litigation it has faced since Hurricane Katrina, was the main reason. Mississippi’s “current legal and political environment is simply untenable. We’re just not in a position to accept any additional risk in this homeowners’ market.” said Mike Fernandez, vice president of public affairs for State Farm State Farm has argued that their homeowner policies were worded to cover damage from wind but not from water - even if hurricane-force winds were the cause of the rising water. They also state that their policies exclude damage that could have been caused by a combination of both wind and water. Hundreds of State Farm policyholders have challenged that claim, saying they were “Sold” Hurricane policies and storm surge is a part of a hurricane, and they are therefore entitled to Compensation. In the case of Norman and Genevieve Broussard VS State Farm a jury awarded the Broussard’s $2.5 million in punitive damages against State Farm for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina storm surge damage to their Biloxi home. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. later reduced the award to $1 million, even though the judge found that State Farm acted in a “grossly negligent way” by denying the claim filed by policyholders.
Last month Attorney General Jim Hood reached a settlement with State Farm requiring them to pay about $80 million to more than 600 policyholders who sued the company for refusing to cover damage caused by Katrina. Judge Senter later refused to sign off on part of the agreement, a deal between State Farm and Mississippi

Urban Insurance is offering homeowners insurance in several states, including Illinois and Indiana.For quote on Homeoweners, auto, life or any other insurance coverage,
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Punitive Damages Awarded in Katrina Case

Saturday, January 13th, 2007

Larry Lubell

Thursday, a jury on awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages to Norman and Genevieve Broussard a couple who sued State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. for denying their claim after Hurricane Katrina. This decision could assist hundreds of other homeowners in their attempts to force insurers to cover billions of dollars in storm damage. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter’s earlier rulings in other Katrina cases have favored the insurance industry, but this decision goes to the heart of the objection companies have use to refuse to cover billions of dollars in damage from Katrina’s storm surge. After he explained his ruling, Senter ordered a recess to give attorneys time “to get over the shock.” After the jury announced its award, the Broussards left the courthouse arm in arm. “It’s a great day for South Mississippi,” Norman Broussard said.
The Broussards claimed that a tornado during the hurricane destroyed their home. State Farm blamed all the damage on Katrina’s storm surge.
State Farm and other insurers say their homeowner policies are written to cover damage from wind but not from water. That flooding and storm surge are excluded as part of homeowners policy even though those policies were sold as covering Hurricanes, even if hurricane-force winds preceded a storm’s rising water. In fact, after State Farm and other companies writing property insurance in Florida, suffered catastrophic losses after Hurricane Andrew, they dramatically altered the terms of their polices. In addition to increasing deductibles, they divided up the destructive force of a hurricane into two parts. One is wind, which is covered, and second is the water surge, which is not. It is for this reason that immediately after Katrina you heard Insurance companies talking about the “Great Flood of 2005.” Flood insurance is offered on a separate policy. Property coverage can be tricky, since there are often exclusions that might not always seem obvious or intuitive. It is always a good idea to review your coverage with an insurance professional.
The judge ruled that State Farm couldn’t prove that Katrina’s storm surge was responsible for all of the damage to the Broussards’ home. The judge also said the testimony failed to establish how much damage was caused by wind and how much resulted from storm surge.
State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said after the jury’s verdict that the company is likely to appeal the decision. “We are surprised and disappointed by both the judge’s ruling on the coverage issues and the amount awarded by the jury for punitive damages,” he said in a written statement. “We believe the expert testimony supported a different result.”

Property coverage can be tricky, since there are often exclusions that might not always seem obvious or intuitive. It is always a good idea to review your coverage with an insurance professional.

Call us at 800-680-0707 for a free review.
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