What Score Would You Give 'Em?

Full disclosure: State Farm is my home insurer. When two trees fell on my (last) house during Katrina, I was assessed within a month, I was able to pay for the tree removal and the new roof and I even ended up with a little money left over. I, personally, am a very happy customer of theirs.

But from what I understand, a lot of other people are not.

To Wit:

Mississippi's insurance commissioner says a long-awaited review of State Farm's handling of insurance claims after Hurricane Katrina is nearly complete.

Commissioner Mike Chaney said Aug. 1 that he plans to release the department's market-conduct exam of State Farm in late August or early September.

The Bloomington, Illinois-based insurer received a draft of the report in early July and gave the insurance department its formal response on July 28.

Chaney says he can't disclose the exam's conclusions yet. But he says it found "some good'' and "some bad'' in how State Farm handled policyholder claims after the August 2005 hurricane.

Of course, with the recent revelations about Trent's alleged coaching of witnesses, Mississippians just may have a better fall in store then most major networks' prime time line-ups. Pass the nachos, will ya? This is about to get good.

Punish them with punitive damages

To put it in the simplest terms, punitive damages awarded in civil cases are to punish companies for their wrongdoings. Granted, State Farm does not think they did anything wrong by denying homeowners claims after Hurricane Katrina, but let's hope that the 5th Circuit realizes how badly the insurance industry treated the people of Mississippi.

From the Clarion Ledger:

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to throw out a landmark $1 million punitive damage award to a Mississippi couple who sued the insurer for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina damage to their home.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from lawyers on both sides of the case, which was the first among hundreds of Katrina insurance lawsuits to be tried by a jury in Mississippi. The court didn't immediately rule on State Farm's appeal.

First insurance CEO comes to visit Lott

The Sun Herald:

"He's the only CEO of an insurance company who has been in my office since Katrina and I have hammered them regularly," said Lott, who sued State Farm after his Katrina claim was denied and has since settled his case. "If somebody was going after me the way I've been going after them, I would go to their office and say, 'Hey, let's talk,' but the CEOs of State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide - none of them have come to see me."

Wow. I assumed they already would have met. I guess it's easier to sit in their comfortable offices and refuse to face the folks they've wronged.

Gene Taylor Stands Up For Mississippi on Insurance On House Floor

He explains how the plan will save the government money, be fairer to citizens, and that many national Republican leaning groups support it.

He goes over briefly how an adjuster tried to shift the cost for his loss onto the federal government even though it was clearly covered by his policy.

Thanks to AM in the Morning for spotting it.

Denton and Walker Secure Justice for State Farm Policyholders

Anita Lee writing for The Sun Herald reports on a new set of insurance settlements:

Biloxi attorney Jack Denton told the Sun Herald he and attorney William C. Walker Jr. finalized the settlement Friday morning of 18 lawsuits filed against State Farm. Two of those cases were set for court later this month. While Denton could not discuss specifics of the settlement, he said the specter of punitive damages against the insurer played into the negotiations.

"We finally got a little relief," Denton said. "We're pleased that we were able to get our current State Farm cases resolved. What it indicates to me is that we have finally reached some middle ground with State Farm that has created a basis on which we can settle our State Farm cases."

The Sun Herald Article

Al Hopkins Takes Advantage of Katrina Lawsuit While Accusing Hood of Doing Same

Al Hopkins, a Republican running for Attorney General, issued a press release attacking Hood for his handling of the case.

From the release:

Hood only files it now because he botched it the first time, causing Mississippians to get delays in their relief, and now he’s desperate to get headlines for the political race he is in. The people it hurts the most are those who’ve waited the longest for relief.

The case was thrown out the first time because it was too good to State Farm. You wouldn't know that from all the Republicans wailing that Hood is creating a bad business climate or even the ones that want him to let companies off the hook entirely.

Hopkins makes the argument that Hood isn't sticking it to State Farm enough which in the face of the public arguments and condemnations of "Activist AG Jim Hood" from most of his fellow Republicans rings hollow.

State Farm Pays Legal Fees for Dale's Deputy

According to his deposition in front of the Scruggs Katrina Group, David Lee Harrell, Deputy Commissioner of Insurance under George Dale, is not responsible for his legal fees. They're being paid for by State Farm Insurance Company.

See the transcript of his deposition at
http://www.scruggskatrinagroup.com/docs/harrell_deposition.pdf

The subject of interest is on page 7.

I can only interpret this as State Farm paying him to protect them.