posted on August 2, 2007 12:39:23 PM newKatrina Victims Lose in Appeals Court
Aug 2, 3:04 PM (ET)
By BECKY BOHRER
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Hurricane Katrina victims whose homes and businesses were destroyed when floodwaters breached levees in the 2005 storm cannot recover money from their insurance companies for the damages, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
The case could affect thousands of rebuilding residents and business owners in Louisiana. Robert Hartwig, chief economist at the industry-funded Insurance Information Institute in New York, said in June that a ruling against the industry could have cost insurers $1 billion.
"This event was excluded from coverage under the plaintiffs' insurance policies, and under Louisiana law, we are bound to enforce the unambiguous terms of their insurance contracts as written," Judge Carolyn King wrote for a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
As a result, the panel found those who filed the suit "are not entitled to recover under their policies," she said.
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posted on August 2, 2007 01:42:42 PM new
That's what I can't understand.
IF you want flood insurance then PAY for it.
It's cheap.
In Huntington Beach, CA., we were required to have it. Period....and it was for some '100 year flood' that might happen. Not in some 'bowl' where they'd been warned over and over their levies weren't going to hold during a strong hurricane.
Some people have NO common sense. And can't even read their own insurance polities. And yet they're allowed to VOTE. Scary.
I really would like to know what causes the development of a human being who is without a shred of empathy or tolerance or civic responsibility for those less fortunate economically than they may be.
posted on August 2, 2007 02:35:51 PM new
Well...one thing you can learn about me is that I believe CONTRACTS over rule empathy.
When you purchase ins....and they're ARE contracts between the home owner and the ins. com.....there is NO CLAUSE, in that contract, [b]for feeling sorry that some were injured....and thus forcing the insurance companies to pay for no other reason than they 'feel like a bleeding heart liberal' to whom, obviously like helen believe EMOTIONS should rule over law/contracts. LOL LOL LOL
That's NOT the way law nor contracts work helen. Sorry to bring you back to the REALITY of life.
posted on August 2, 2007 02:46:03 PM new
I also wanted to say that I can understand helens position in one way though.
Since she believes others should pay for her lack of willingness to purchase her OWN medical insurance - since she CAN pay her own way - just choose NOT TO....then of course, it would only be in line with her thinking about that...which would encourage her to believe those who didn't choose to purchase flood insurance, should be provided for anyway. Make those ins. companies pay for what the purchaser decided NOT to buy from them.
That's a further left than progressive/lib position. One where the gov. should pay EVERYTHING for all of us.
But then, with the taxpayers being the payee....just how would that work? LOL
Linda, I didn't expect an answer to my question from you.
And of course you don't know what I believe about health insurance... I have health insurance, a high deductable policy that I can easily afford but I am concerned about the many people who cannot afford health insurance.
You obviously don't give a dam. As long as you have yours then to hell with those who do not.
posted on August 2, 2007 03:23:58 PM new
Helen, if you could see New Orleans, you would better understand. Where else would you continue to build a city that is lower than Lake Pontchartrain on one side and the Mississippi River.
And then expect to keep it dry with antiquated pumps that run on electricity that won't be running in case of a flood.
In the meantime, they build a super dome that the citizens grandchildren will still be paying for and forget to have a flood evacuation plan.
Louisiana, especially South Louisiana, is filled with mafia, corrupt politicians, and ex-governors in jail.
Hundreds of school buses were left in their lots to flood while people were not evacuated. The governor and the mayor of Louisiana waited to see who could get the most publicity before making a decision that was too late. As the governor told a TV crew, "I'm so confused, I don't know if I'm coming or going" in her best Louisiana drawl.
New Orleans is a terrible place, and the reason most stay there, is they can't get out or rely on the dole. Notice the thousands of them now in Texas that won't go home.
posted on August 2, 2007 03:46:02 PM new
Did their mortgages not require flood insurance?
I would think that these people did not own their homes for cash ~ most mortgage companies make flood insurance a mandatory requirement for approving the loan.
I know this is true in many areas ~ am surprised it wouldn't be so in New Orleans.
Bummer.
If it aint in the contract, why should the insurance companies (and therefore other policy holders) have to pay?
"Helen, if you could see New Orleans, you would better understand."
Etex, I've visited New Orleans many times since my Dad lived there for several years.
I'm not really in need of instruction on how to understand poverty in New Orleans. I've seen poverty there and in Mississippi where only the poor live along a river that often floods. They return over and over to their flooded homes because they could not afford another place.
What I am really trying to understand are individuals like you and Linda and Bear who seem to have no empathy for the poor people there who lost everything that they owned through no fault of their own in one of the biggest national disasters that this country has experienced.
posted on August 2, 2007 04:55:17 PM new
Technically, the insurance companies are right. But we are talking about human beings whose lives are in ruins. Instead of blaming the victims of this disaster, the blame should be put on the corrupt government of Louisiana, specifically New Orleans. NO has a long history of corruption from the police department on up. They have not served their citizens well or even minimally.
Can you even imagine what it was like during and after Katrina? If you were lucky enough to escape with your life, you witnessed the destruction of everything you had in this world. You witnessed dead bodies floating in the fetid water, maybe some of them your loved ones. People you have known all your life are now dead. Even your beloved pet is gone. People huddled on their rooftops in searing heat, waiting for days to be rescued. Your neighborhood is unrecognizable. You are herded like cattle into an arena, roasting in the heat, little or no water or food, at the mercy of thugs who would take advantage of the situation. Then you are displaced from the only home you have ever known and brought to another state where you know no one. Can you even imagine the mental trauma of that ordeal? Oh, you can also look forward to people calling you leeches or n'er do wells for being slow to recover from this horrendous experience.
[ edited by coach81938 on Aug 2, 2007 04:57 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2007 05:02:14 PM new
"What I am really trying to understand are individuals like you and Linda and Bear who seem to have no empathy for the poor people there who lost everything that they owned through no fault of their own in one of the biggest national disasters that this country has experienced"
No empathy?? Empathy I have. I guess trying to explain to you is out of the question. Why live in a city that is below the level of the river that runs downtown protected by levees. Because they couldn't get out? Don't kid me. All they have to do is move 20 miles north and away from the river. The wouldn't have to work either, the dole takes care of that. The disaster in New Orleans was nothing compared to the damage on the coast of Mississippi and you don't hear them whining. It is well on its way to being rebuilt. Typical lib. If you are feeling such empathy, get your butt there and do something. Instead of wondering why someone else doesn't. If they spend one dime of my tax money in New Orleans, that is too much.
I spent every 5th or 6th week in New Orleans for years in my sales job and could not wait to get out. If it is so great, why won't the refugees in Texas go back home, when their state is begging them to.
And, no, for the other poster, they are not required to have flood insurance. Our municipal lake just flooded by 3.3 feet over the spillway, a first ever, and most of the mansions on the lake have no flood insurance. Why, I don't know, it's cheap.
[ edited by etexbill on Aug 2, 2007 05:18 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2007 05:04:22 PM new
"And of course you don't know what I believe about health insurance...
I know what you've posted, here, on this subject over the years.
"I have health insurance, a high deductable policy that I can easily afford"....
well, it's ABOUT time you started paying your own way - buying your OWN protection for yourself. Not what you've previously posted on why YOU chose not to purchase your own medical insurance. - Even though you've always said you paid for your own medical needs but wouldn't purchase med. ins. lol You would LOVE having a system just like canada's and that's why you've argued about it/supported it so often in the past.
"but I am concerned about the many people who cannot afford health insurance.
I think most are concerned those in TRUE need. I think most KNOW there are many gov. agencies that already take care of those medical needs for those who can REALLY not afford to do so.
But get real. Like with the SCHIPS program...people earning $82,000. a year CAN afford to purchase their own. So can ADULTS, up to 25 years old, who are now being offered a free pass into a child's entitlement program. Heck, they could be elected and serving in our liberal congress...and STILL draw from the SCHIPS program IF you and your ilk had their way.
You support any and every socialist entitlement program....and have never posted any limits on income that YOU feel should be in place for when they should be paying their own way. You want it ALL paid for/taken care of by our BIG BROTHER government. If they just don't want to buy it...if they're illegals...you still want them to have coverage paid for by those of us who have paid our own way. Not chosen to do without ins...but rather made other decisions....smarter, more adult decisions and set having medical ins. as a necessity - not expecting any one else to take care of us.
You obviously don't give a dam. As long as you have yours then to hell with those who do not."
And you're incorrectly ASSUMING again, as you usually do.
posted on August 2, 2007 05:06:01 PM new
Just more "christians" taking great delight in the misfortunes of others.
Only morons lump all the victims of Katrina into one group.
Neocons are so happy that homes and small businesses will NOT be rebuilt....so I guess they think these people should've just died in the hurricane ...solved all the neocon's problems.
Well, I guess the likes of linduh and tex should be happy that so many including children DID die...I can see them laughing and doing the happy dance to see these "unapproved" people and their children disappear under the water.
posted on August 2, 2007 05:07:45 PM new
Most of the people who died in New Orleans did not die of drowning. Look it up. Most were elderly and a lot of them died in hospitals (which are still just getting into operation), including some that a doctor was just acquitted of giving them a lethal dose to help them along.
"Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco talks with Michele Norris about how her state is faring post-Katrina. She says more money is needed to rebuild neighborhoods and to build stronger levees, but that the reconstruction is a chance to do things right."
Oh, yeah, Kathleen. Send more money and we will do it right. Yep, into our pockets just like all the other money collected in Louisiana. She'll join the other ex-governors in jail before it's over.
posted on August 2, 2007 05:10:24 PM new
Again, mingo, get yourself over to New Orleans to help instead of waiting for the government. Maybe you'll be lucky and not get fired upon like the members of our church group.
posted on August 2, 2007 05:13:58 PM new
On zoomin's question...in CA everyone who lives in a 'flood zone' is forced to purchase flood ins. IF one carries a mortgage. They're required by the LENDER, not the city/state. Why it's not required in N.O., LA I don't know.
But as far as these people owning their own homes....from what I've watched on TV programs covering the Katrina victims....a large majority of them weren't owners, but rather renters. And maybe?? it's like 'renters insurance' one has the choice to purchase it or not. The actual 'owner' can chose to cover his own house/building or not. ???
But no one will convince me that owners didn't know their homes were in a flood zone of the highest magnitude. A bowl...where discussions of what could happen was discussed for decades.
posted on August 2, 2007 05:20:59 PM new
"But no one will convince me that owners didn't know their homes were in a flood zone of the highest magnitude. A bowl...where discussions of what could happen was discussed for decades."
Yep, a disaster waiting to happen for years, but they dodged the bullet before. They had 3 days notice. Put the blame squarely where it belongs, the New Orleans administration and the governor of Louisiana.
With many fewer citizens in N.O. - old nagen said he'd do something about their crime rates. Well....guess he's done the best HE can....their rates have escalated higher.
Such leadership. I would feel sorry for the NO citizens but THEY voted to put him back in office. So they're getting what they VOTED FOR. Their choice. Their consequences. Maybe next time they'll make wiser choices. Put someone in there who will actually HIRE more police...and get rid of the ones who are just as corrupt as he is.
================
edited to add:
[b]Homicides on the rise in New Orleans
City's murder rate is 30 percent higher than any other U.S. city[/b]
NBC VIDEO
New Orleans murder rate on the rise
Jan. 5: There have been 14 murders since Jan. 1 in New Orleans, outpacing any other U.S. city, and even the number of troops killed in combat in Iraq. NBC's Martin Savidge reports.
Nightly News
NBC News
Updated: 6:29 p.m. CT Jan 5, 2007
Martin Savidge
Correspondent
NEW ORLEANS - In the last week more Americans have died in New Orleans than in Iraq. Since Dec. 29, there have been eight military deaths. In the Big Easy, there have been 14 murders.
[ edited by Linda_K on Aug 2, 2007 05:40 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2007 05:42:18 PM new
Yep, she's a good cajun girl too. Born a Babineaux in New Iberia. About as south Louisiana french cajun as you can get. Living up to her roots as the other southern Louisiana governors.
[ edited by etexbill on Aug 2, 2007 05:42 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2007 05:46:57 PM new
Where is old Huey Long when they need him. A nice northern Louisiana gov who said he didn't want a vote from a city that ran a streetcar.
course they killed him in the state capitol building.
posted on August 2, 2007 06:15:41 PM new
Ah helen, you're just jealous. kiara no longer runs behind every post YOU make agreeing with you. Now she does that with mingo. No longer the twin attached to YOUR hip. No longer two peas in the pod. Since you're not here as much as you were.
The green-eyed monster act is NOT attractive on you. But one person who happens to see the N.O. corruption and incompetent in the same manner is something that just gets you to join in kiara's whine-fest. LOL
posted on August 2, 2007 06:39:14 PM new Etex, making an effort to meet your expectations is a goal that I avoid with a fervor unparallelled and unprecedented.
Wishing to be in your good graces will only occur to me in a nightmare.
posted on August 2, 2007 06:40:50 PM new
Yes, she is.
BUT she's one of those 'internationalists' I often speak of. She also claims to be an American. lol Dual citizenship - so she SAYS. But she lives in canada....has for all the 9 years I've read her posts.
She shows NO allegiance to any nation, though. I once asked her to try and understand MY allegiance to MY country....like I was sure she had with canada. She corrected me, telling me she didn't.
