Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

On Sunday, the Nashua Telegraph featured in their Living section a nice write-up about the recovery effort going on for the residents of Galveston. While there is still a lot of work to be done, it appears that the heart and desire is there for locals to completely rebuild the area after the devastation left by Hurricane Ike:

Despite these and a handful of other shuttered buildings, Galveston has reopened for business just in time for the spring tourism season.

The Flagship is one of only four of the island's 40 hotels that remain closed since the Category 2 storm tore through town.

Across town, the island's most popular theme park, Moody Gardens, reopened its storm-damaged rain forest and aquarium exhibits in March. Also last month, crews at the nearby Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark reopened its 70,000-square-foot indoor recreation area after a six-month cleanup. Among the features added during the overhaul were free wireless Internet, a large palapa structure and a wireless wristband debit system that allows visitors to buy food without carrying cash or a credit card.

A week after the reopening, park spokesman Jeffrey Siebert said attendance had kept pace with previous years.

While the news can be marred in the dark and depressing stories that develop from hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as the hardships that come in the wake of such tragedies, it is also important to see write-ups about things getting better. Galveston appears to be on the road to recovery and that's a wonderful thing to read and see. The article does mention that "many residents are still struggling to rebuild homes and wrestling with insurance claims and contractors," which is a shame but a reality after any devastation like that of Hurricane Ike. Receiving legal assistance when these delays occur should be a number one priority for anyone who has the will and desire to rebuild and return to a normal life but is finding the technicalities, bureaucracy or bullying of insurance claims to be getting in their way.

In the wake of insurance companies backing out of agreements intended to help policy holders rebuild their homes and move on with their lives, SE Texas residents are beginning to feel the need to turn to the legal system to receive the money they are owed. KBMT news did a feature on an impending 'explosion' of lawsuits after insurance companies like Allstate have gone back on deals that it had made with policy holders.

Kim and Terry Cooper have lived in their Orange County home for 10 years but were dumbfounded when their insurance company walked away from the Cooper's damage claims.

"They kept putting us off it seemed like Allstate was trying to keep their money as long as they wanted" said Kim Cooper.

The Coopers have already repaired the hole in their roof they say was caused by Hurricane Ike when a tree crashed into their roof. They are also dealing with a cracked foundation - all damages that they say ultimately made the home unlivable.

It is important that specific steps are taken when making repairs while waiting for insurance company money to come in. This includes, but is not limited to, making only necessary repairs while closely documenting the cost and work done to guarantee your claim is for the appropriate amount and is not lower because of the work you have done.

The article quantifies the issue

Fourteen lawsuits were filed in Jefferson County in the past week alone - all residents who say they are not happy with the relief offered by their insurance company and Brashers says that's only the beginning. The week before there were six.

If your insurance company is giving you the run-around, stop waiting for them to do the right thing and look into your legal options with an attorney. The Berniard Law Firm is equipped with experts and lawyers that are fully capable of reviewing and handling your issue. Contact the firm today if you feel that your insurance company is not handling your matter with the seriousness or care you deserve.

In looking to decrease its exposure, the Florida legislature has moved forward on legislation that will raise premiums on owners of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance policies. The Miami Herald reports:

Lawmakers approved the proposal (HB 1495) Thursday that would increase rates on a gradual basis for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The policyholders would see premiums increased an average of 10 percent in the next several years to avoid a potential one-time increase of between 40 and 55 percent on Jan. 1.

The House vote could come Friday.

Lawmakers are trying to decrease the state's $20 billion exposure on the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund by shoring up Citizens by getting all of its policies actuarially sound.

This is what happens when insurance companies like State Farm abandon markets when they're not allowed to charge however much they would like. This is a dangerous territory Florida will be finding itself in and something residents of the Gulf Coast need to keep an eye on should this occur in their state.

Placing a scientific and unbiased opinion on the issues relating to drywall imported from China, forensic experts have begun looking into the effects and problems involved with Chinese drywall. Along with the interesting fact that the crisis has already led to people taking advantage of panic ("One company is already cashing in and selling a Chinese drywall inspection kit," says Derry. "It is made to test water samples for sulfur levels—to determine if water is drinkable. I talked to the manufacturer and he said it would not work on drywall"), details of how and why the drywall got into the country are discussed:

"Regardless of what people say about US building developers and contractors, for the most part they didn't buy Chinese drywall to save money but ordered it simply for supply and demand," says Doug Derry, field services manager, CBI Forensics. And there was a lot of demand after Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. "Shipping records show that since 2006, 550 million pounds of drywall were imported from China into the US—enough for about 100,000 homes."

Derry says forensics inspectors started to investigate allegedly toxic drywall in December 2008. Based on what they saw, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin LTD., which is a subsidiary of German-based Knauf, supplies upwards of 50 countries with drywall and insulation. America ran out of drywall during the building boom, so between 2004 and 2007 Chinese drywall was being used to build American homes. (On March 24, 2009 Florida's Atttorney General launched a criminal investigation into Knauf and L&W Supply Corp, to investigate whether the companies committed any deceptive sales or marketing practices.)

"Interestingly, you can hear so much about building companies such as Lennar but more often than not, they trust their drywall contractor to supply, install and tape the houses," explains Derry. "All they know is that they order their subcontractors to begin delivering the drywall in preparation for installation. Perhaps during this period of time this Chinese drywall was available quickly and in the sizes and thicknesses required for the job.”

The density of this issue continues to increase as fraudulent "investigators" have begun to pop up and the issue does not seem as open-shut for guilt as it did before.

A Maryland based group recently studied the effects of a hurricane hitting the Northeast and found the results would be economically devastating. Using only a category 3 hurricane in their analysis (Gustav and Katrina were both 4's), the group found that such a storm could cause upwards of $130 billion in insured residential losses.

There's "definitely the potential for very large events (in the Northeast), but they're fairly infrequent," said David Smith, senior vice president of EQECAT, a risk management company in Oakland, Calif.

Some 250 insurance industry professionals, academics and others attended a Willis Research Network summit on Category 3 hurricanes in the Northeast at Princeton University on Thursday. And they heard talks on hurricane and climate science and hurricane, storm surge and flood risks in the Northeast.

"This is a collective journey into a new era of science," said Rowan Douglas, chairman of the Willis Research Network, the world's largest partnership between academia and the insurance industry.

The events that unfolded in New Orleans and Galveston have brought new national attention to the danger of "improbable" hurricanes striking the US. While any national exposure to the effects of hurricane strikes is positive education for the masses on what Gulf Coast residents face yearly, it is important to also note that the losses were based on insured homes. The Gulf Coast still faces the problem of insurance lapses and ambiguity and it is important that homeowners reread and, possibly, recalculate the coverage they need before each hurricane season begins.

In an interesting little article that may have slipped through the cracks for many, the Wall Street Journal discusses claims by Chinese officials that the drywall issue is, potentially, an American myth of sorts. Xu Luoyi, head of the National Building Materials Industrial Technology Supervisory Research Center, notes that the Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Company provided drywall for a variety of projects across the world and that the only complaints emerging are from the US:

“It’s worth considering why this problem has only emerged in the United States,” said Xu. “The U.S. credit crisis has caused the real estate market to collapse, and as a result domestic drywall manufacturers have seen their sales suffer and their product is relatively expensive compared to the Chinese-made drywall, so we should also consider these issues.”

Take it for what it's worth but Xu does provide interesting claims, including that Knauf's drywall was used for a wide assortment of projects. Knauf, per Xu,

supplied drywall to 75% of the construction projects for the Beijing Olympics, including the iconic Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, as well as for many other major projects such as Mao Zedong’s mausoleum and the National Theater in Beijing and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Just an interesting set of circumstances that may need further review as lawsuits against Knauf emerge and develop.

Texas' state-run wind damage insurance program has fallen into financial crisis as a result of settlements and payouts in the face of recent hurricanes. Insurance reform has been pushed to the top of Governor Perry's priority list in the new legislative session but things are not looking good for the program:

An arduous task is ahead for Texas legislators as they continue to hammer out measures meant to shore up the state's property insurance market in time for this year's hurricane season, which begins June 1.

While it continues to pay claims from Hurricane Ike last September, the state-run Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is in a "severe financial crisis," said Jerry Johns, president of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service and a spokesman for TWIA, which he said has depleted the Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund. In addition, reinsurance expires May 31, he said.

"If TWIA was in the private market, it would be in receivership," he added.

TWIA used up all of the cash it had on hand after Hurricane Dolly in July 2008 and dipped into the cat fund. The association assessed its member insurers $100 million before the larger Ike made landfall in the state in September. In its aftermath, TWIA assessed insurers another $430 million in order to be able to tap into reinsurance to pay claims (BestWire, Sept. 15, 2008). TWIA expects $2.7 billion in losses from Ike.

This is not good news as Florida's state-run insurance programs will be burdened by State Farm's departure and shows a severe problem that may become more and more prevalent and worrisome as years go on. It is important for property and home owners to maintain proper insurance as time wears on because full protection with legal assistance is one of the only solid manners in which policy holders can prevent troubles in the future should damage befall them.

As the Chinese Drywall saga continues, Florida has jumped all over the issue and is pushing for investigations while testing homes for dangerous sulfur levels. These actions come after a timeline of incidences, many of which may be read about on this blog's section on the drywall, and demonstrate a level of seriousness taken by the government to protect citizens:

The Florida Health Department said last week it would start testing air quality in homes built with defective Chinese drywall to determine if sulfur fumes emitted by the material pose any health hazard. Meanwhile, a state senator has asked Florida’s governor to set up a task force to take up the Chinese drywall issue.

Fumes emitted from Chinese drywall produce a “rotten eggs” odor and cause metals, such as air conditioning coils, to corrode. The fumes have also been associated with respiratory and sinus problems in some residents. In some homes, the drywall problems have been so severe that families have had to move, and some builders have begun gutting and replacing drywall in the buildings.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. imported roughly 5 million square feet of drywall from China during the housing boom from 2004 to 2008. Estimates indicate the drywall may be in more than 100,000 homes, more than 35,000 in Florida alone. The Florida Health Department has so far received 265 complaints regarding the toxic drywall.

The various health risks associated with exposure to Chinese drywall are not known to be limited, though various health symptoms are being reported and are listed here. If you feel you have been exposed to Chinese drywall or believe your home may have been built with these materials, contact your builder and a health expert immediately. After doing this, contact a legal expert who can help you navigate what course of action is necessary to help remedy this issue and make sure you are not left damaged.

A notable news item for victims of Hurricane Katrina and those who keep an eye on hurricane litigation, today's civil suit against the federal government for the failure of levees to protect inhabitants will bring national attention to this issue.

NEW ORLEANS — A groundbreaking civil suit begins in federal court here today to consider claims by property owners that the Army Corps of Engineers amplified the destructive effects of Hurricane Katrina by building a poorly designed navigation channel adjacent to the city.

The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a 76-mile-long channel known locally as MR-GO and pronounced “Mister Go,” was completed in 1968 and created a straight shot to the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans. The suit claims that the channel was flawed in its design, construction, and operation, and that those flaws intensified the flood damage to the eastern parts of New Orleans and St. Bernard parish.

If they win, the plaintiffs — a local newscaster, Norman Robinson, and five other people whose homes or businesses were destroyed by the 2005 storm — could pave the way for more than 400,000 other plaintiffs who have also filed claims against the government over Katrina’s destruction.

We will be closely monitoring this case as it has widespread implications for future incidences in the region and for homeowners in the Gulf.

In the midst of Hurricane Rita judgements and appeals, the Southeast Texas record recently profiled a woman who, albeit bravely, chose to represent herself in her appeal against her insurance company and paid the price. Mary Harmon, who felt her insurers, National Lloyds and the Kenneth Denby Insurance Agency, acted in bad faith when they denied her claim, went through the primary steps by herself but then chose to go it alone.

A year after filing an appeal over her Hurricane Rita insurance lawsuit, Mary Harmon had never filed a brief, leading justices on Texas' Ninth Court of Appeals to dismiss her case.

In August 2006, Harmon filed a suit against National Lloyds Insurance and the Kenneth Denby Insurance Agency in Jefferson County District Court, alleging the two insurers stiffed her on her Hurricane Rita policy claim.

According to her suit, Harmon purchased a National Lloyds home insurance policy through Denby on May 1, 2005. She alleges the defendants never informed her that her policy excluded windstorm damage.

While Harmon was right to hire an attorney, policyholders need to remain vigilant and allow the legal process to develop instead of moving on if there is a snag. Regardless, this case demonstrates a frequent blame game that occurs in regards to storm damage and the wind versus flood debate, as does the lack of consistent explanation from agents on coverage. Getting acquainted with your policy while at the same time making sure to immediately contact a legal professional in the event a claim is denied or undervalued is a must for residents of the Gulf Coast area.

If you need legal counsel, contact the Berniard Law Firm. Specializing in insurance appeals and disputes, our attorneys will work hard to make sure you get the money you deserve.

A recent New York Times article helps highlight just how far behind insurance companies are to innovations of modernity and innovation. Highlighting the cases of several cancer patients who were forced to go out-of-pocket to receive convenient oral treatments rather than in-house intravenous, etc., care, the NYT highlights how insurance companies rely on redtape and a lack of federal demand to innovate to demonstrate how the average citizen who, until they fall into crisis, believe they are fully covered suddenly are required to provide their own money for reasonable remedy:

Pills and capsules are the new wave in cancer treatment, expected to account for 25 percent of all cancer medicines in a few years, up from less than 10 percent now.

The oral drugs can free patients from frequent trips to a clinic to be hooked to an intravenous line for hours. Fewer visits might save the health system money as well as time. And the pills are a step toward making cancer a manageable chronic condition, like diabetes.

But for many patients, exchanging an I.V. bag for a pill is a lopsided trade because the economics and practice of cancer medicine have not caught up with the convenience of oral drugs.

Too often individuals appealing to their insurance company for help when necessary are finding that there is little to no interest on the part of these companies to modernize or "go the extra step" to provide the care they should provide. Through governmental complacence and a lack of oversight to the processes occurring in coverage, insurance companies have consistently red flagged and prevented proper restitution or remedy to claimants who have a full right to proper care. This practice extends beyond pharmaceuticals and the healthcare industry and into various other insurance industries, including property and homeowners.

By refusing to accept low-end bargaining from insurance companies and seeking legal advise on the rights provided by the contractual arrangement between policy holder and provider, citizens can protect themselves from needing to pay out-of-pocket for the results they deserve. While necessary governmental oversight over the insurance companies may be too far into the future to rely upon, everyday people can make sure that, should a form of tragedy befall on them that they believe their insurance provider is bound to provide, they have the legal support they deserve.

Per The New York Times, "After the 9/11 terror attacks, thousands of people faced a weighty and uncomfortable decision. Congress had created a special fund to compensate survivors and victims' families, but said that those who received compensation from it could not sue airlines or airport security firms, among other entities."

While many families who lost a loved on in the attacks "sought compensation from the fund" a "new court report suggests that the small minority who went their own way and sued made out better financially: 93 of the 96 claims have been settled, for an average of $5 million, or more than twice the average payment from the special fund."

This correlation can be found now in settlement struggles between people still fighting with their insurance companies with Ike and Gustav hurricane claims who did it without legal assistance. Insurance companies very often "lowball" or under-appreciate the value of homes and property damaged in incidences. With legal assistance, experts and courtroom litigants, individuals run a much better chance of receiving higher compensation. While, in this case, it was the government pressuring settlement, insurance companies have a proven trackrecord of manipulating and exerting pressure on their clients to accept their offers rather than pursue legal assistance. However, in the event your property or home is damaged under insured events, seek a legal expert who can get you the financial settlement you deserve.

The inevitable results of the importation of faulty Chinese drywall into a state that required heavy construction at the result of Hurricane Katrina has officially emerged. As reported widely by the Associate Press and other media outlets, Louisiana officials feared that Katrina's devastation had severely raised the odds that Chinese drywall would be a painful reality for individuals who had rebuilt since 2005. Now personal accounts are emerging that show this drywall issue is not limited to Florida but, rather, is officially here:

Hurricane Katrina victims who used cheap Chinese-made dry wall to rebuild their homes may have to rebuild all over again to correct severe problems. Wallboard from China that contains sulfur is wreaking havoc in homes, charring electrical wires, eating away at jewelry and possibly even sickening families. "The bathroom upstairs has a corroded showerhead; the door hinges are rusting out," said 50-year-old Thomas Stone, the longtime fire chief of St. Bernard Parish, southeast of New Orleans. Then there's the stench, like rotten eggs, that seems to get worse with the heat and humidity. "It makes me wish there would be another flood to wash it out," said Stone's wife, Lauren, 49.

It is important for homeowners who have rebuilt or fully constructed a home or property in the past five years to contact their builder and find out what materials were used in the development. If any health issues or structural damage is emerging since the home was built, contact a health expert immediately and then consult with a legal expert to find out what course of action may be taken to make sure that this faulty product issue does not become your new, costly issue.

2008 tax reminder from KATC -

Louisiana homeowners have several ways to save money on their 2008 taxes.

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is reminding homeowners that they can get a tax rebate if they were charged a Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. assessment last year. Some homeowners are eligible even if they don't owe taxes.

Another state tax break is a refundable credit to offset individual income tax. The rebate is for 7 percent of the premiums paid by individuals on their primary residence on homeowners, condo owners or tenant homeowners insurance.

A Citizens assessment must be subtracted from the total premium paid before the 7 percent credit rate, Donelon's office said.

Information about state tax breaks is at the insurance department's Web site: http://www.ldi.state.la.us.

A federal tax break applies to some homeowners who had hurricane damage last year. That compensation goes toward deductibles paid on damages from Hurricane Gustav or Ike.

Make sure to claim every tax rebate you can and make sure your insurance coverage is at the level you need it to be.

Two of Florida's elected representatives met with homeowners to discuss the federal government's interest and action regarding Chinese drywall. The drywall, imported and said to cause corrosion and a myriad of health problems, has been discovered in homes all around the Gulf Coast region and appears to be a problem that is not going away:

Two Florida lawmakers met with homeowners yesterday in West Palm Beach to discuss the state’s Chinese drywall problems. Attendees told Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., that they were most concerned about health problems posed by the sulfur fumes the drywall is emitting.

The Florida Health Department has received over 150 complaints of Chinese drywall that emits a “rotten eggs” odor and causes metals, such as air conditioning coils, to corrode. In some homes, the drywall problems have been so severe that families have had to move, and some builders have begun gutting and replacing drywall in the buildings. It is estimated that the defective material could have been used in as many as 36,000 homes in the state.

Both Nelson and Wexler have sponsored legislation calling for a recall of Chinese drywall, as well as further testing and a ban on the product. Nelson has also called for the resignation of the head of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to step down because of the agency’s slow response to the drywall issue.

The problem is not limited to Florida, however, as estimates tie Chinese Drywall to as many as 7,000 homes in Louisiana though, when all is said and done, it may be more. This seems almost certain as preliminary numbers of how many houses built with the material have skyrocketed to 100,000. It is important for residents who have had renovations or have had their homes built in the past five years to contact their builders and find out what material was used. If they are suffering from any of the health symptoms associated with Chinese Drywall exposure, it is important for these homeowners to contact a medical professional immediately and then consult legal counsel to be informed on their rights.

Video published by the Associated Press on the Chinese Drywall issue facing much of the Gulf Coast area.

The more and more information that comes out on this stuff the worse it looks. The health effects of Chinese Drywall and the damage it is causing new homes, including corroded fixtures and structural harm, is stunning really.

A recent article by Houston's Chronicle highlights the delays being faced by Texas property owners in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Not surprisingly, almost all involve insurance company delays:

LIST OF COMPLAINTS

Top five reasons Texas homeowners have lodged Ike-related complaints against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, as of March 12, and the number of complaints.

Delays (claims handling) 607

Unsatisfactory settlement 373 or offer

Denial of claim 281

TWIA appeal 262

Customer service 107

Source: Texas Department of Insurance

The problem many people are facing regarding this issue is that bureaucracy and insurance companies' unpublicized policies regarding automatic claim refusals or cap limits impede good faith claim efforts. Without proper legal support from a practiced attorney, many of these Texans will face difficulties seeing more, or any, money in the near future.

The article continues and outlines the problem that far too many homeowners faced in the wake of hurricanes in the Gulf Coast like Katrina. The insurance companies often rely upon analyses that focus entirely upon flood damage instead of wind damage, etcetera. This works to undermine claims made by policy holders that are made in good faith.

Hurricane Ike razed Joni Harding’s home and two rental properties six months ago today.

Since then she’s been able to pool enough money from her three flood insurance policies and savings to rebuild her primary residence, but she is still waiting for a settlement offer from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association on two of her properties, including her home.

Harding is among thousands of so-called slabbers, mostly from Bolivar Peninsula, still waiting on the state-sponsored company to make an offer. And many of those who have checks say they’re not enough.

As far as legalities, it is important, again, for policyholders to hire an attorney to go through the complexities of their policy and find out their best course of action to get the money they deserve. Attorneys like those at the Berniard Law Firm utilize construction experts to make sure claims are on mark and that present day values are used to make sure that the claim they put forth is the best.

In an extremely important ruling made by the Louisiana Supreme Court, citizens of Louisiana have an extended time period to press litigation against insurers for Katrina-related delays or judgements relating to storm damage and insurance company actions:

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and other insurers may face a new round of lawsuits related to Hurricane Katrina even though the deadline for filing expired a year and a half ago.

The Louisiana Supreme Court declined late last week to hear an appeal in the case of Brenda Pitts v. Louisiana Citizens, thereby allowing a lower court decision favorable to policyholders to stand.

In January, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that Pitts could file suit against Citizens months after the deadline for initiating litigation had passed because a class action lawsuit involving similar grievances had stopped the clock on the issue.

It is important that home or property owners who fell behind this deadline and were not able to get justice earlier on contact a legal expert immediately to discuss their rights in the wake of this ruling. The Berniard Law Firm was recently successful against Louisiana Citizens in a class action relating to delays citizens encountered in the wake of the hurricanes.

Per The Times-Picayune, FEMA has delayed the deadline to 2012 for collecting insurance money designated for the elevation and protection of homes in Louisiana:

Because of the slow flow of other federal money, such as Road Home grants, FEMA had already pushed back the deadline for home-raising work under the National Flood Insurance Program's Increased Cost of Compliance provision.

Typically, to collect up to $30,000 in so-called ICC money to cover the costs of protecting their property from future storms, rebuilding homeowners have two years from the date that their property is declared "substantially damaged" to complete the relevant work. FEMA had already extended that to four years.

For most people affected by Hurricane Katrina, that gave them until September 2009. But earlier this month, state officials argued that homeowners needed more time because of various impediments to rebuilding, such as a shortage of contractors, new damage from last year's Hurricanes Gustav and Ike and the late arrival of state-run storm-proofing incentive programs, namely the Road Home elevation grants from the FEMA-financed Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

This is a good sign as it indicates the federal government is aware that there are extensive delays people in the Gulf Coast area are dealing with, be it federal funding such as this or insurance companies delaying payouts. More time gives a break for residents who are feeling the economic crunch or are simply unable to meet the deadlines as they are set. Either way everyone wins in this scenario as it gives the government time to make sure the process goes correctly and is not rush and allows residents the opportunity to breathe easier about the new federal requirements.

While exact estimates are not exact to report, it is important to remember the damage of Gustav seven months later. This article, dated September 3, 2008, summarizes the hardship Gulf Coast residents faced

Storm-ravaged homeowners in the path of Hurricane Gustav will file an estimated 175,000 wind- and flood-damage claims with insurance payouts likely to top $5 billion, the Consumer Federation of America reported Wednesday.

Actual damages to covered property could range from $2 billion to $10 billion, according to industry estimates for the storm, which continues to dump rain and high winds across Oklahoma and parts of the Southeast.

The Consumer Federation of America is warning that because of increased deductibles and recent policy limitations on hurricane coverage, many homeowners will assume a greater share of the cleanup costs.

The final line is the most chilling. Homeowners often have to take the burden of hurricane damage as a result of being underinsured or insurance companies refusing to pay out, or at least give real and fair estimates, to homeowners. As a result, the burden of storms falls upon residents who, a week before they were aware of the storm, believed they had protected themselves to the best of their ability and had done the necessary things and steps to maintain their family's well being. However, the reality Gulf Coast residents fell into post-Katrina is that insurance companies will do what it takes to avoid real or fair payouts in the face of protecting their budgets and bottom-line. When this happens, it is inherently necessary to contact legal counsel, gather all of your documents relevant and contact legal counsel.

In a committee meeting relating to the insurance industry, witnesses recently laid before the Senate statistics and numbers that would imply an insurance agency, UnitedHealth Group, went to so far as to defraud through underpayment one in three of their clients:

CQ Healthbeat (3/27) reports, "UnitedHealth Group officials are in for an unpleasant experience at a Senate hearing next week - if a set-up session on Thursday was any indication." At a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing today, witnesses "described how health insurers routinely defrauded millions of patients who sought out-of-network care by paying less than the insurers owed for medical bills." A witness told the panel, which will hear from United representatives next Tuesday, that "the practice could have potentially affected as many as one in three insured Americans and lasted for at least a decade." Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WV), "declined to say what types of changes should be included in health overhaul legislation," saying, "I want to make sure exactly what it is we need to do...just in the saying of it, I could do damage to health reform."

This system of underpayment should come as no surprise to residents of the Gulf Coast, who found that their property insurers consistently undercut them by offering the bare minimum to their claims. The insurance agency at large is notorious for trying to bolster their bottom line by offering far less than the fair market or genuine value is to the damaged, insured homes or property of their clientele. It is becoming ever more important to attain legal support in the event you believe your insurance agency is acting in bad faith with their offer to your claim, whether it be health insurance or property damage or any type of issue with an insurer.

The Southeast Texas Record reports

A total of 13 suits against insurance companies regarding Hurricane Ike damage claims were filed in Jefferson County District Court during the week of March 23 - March 27, 2009.

Insurance companies are coming to realize people are beginning to become aware of delay and undercutting tactics and resorting to litigation to get the money they deserve. The longer people wait to hire an attorney when they start dealing with the absurd undertakings of insurance companies the longer their payout will take.

The various details of their claims (not shocking tidbit: those with specific details all deal with roof damage, a clear flood vs. wind issue) are available in the article linked.

With the building number of reports involving health problems and building defects relating to Chinese Drywall, it is becoming more and more obvious that there is a serious problem with this imported wallboard and that it is most definitely in the homes of New Orleans and Louisiana residents. While many people are aware of this problem, few people believe it "can happen to them" or that it may, in fact, be in their homes.

Health symptoms of Chinese drywall include nose bleeds, headaches, coughs, upper respiratory or sinus issues, and rashes. Home detriments or telltale signs of chinese drywall include corroded copper installed in the walls, a persistent smell of "rotting eggs," weakened or mildly buckling wall structures and gas buildup.

If you are experiencing any of these problems in your home, contact an attorney immediately. The Berniard Law Firm has been monitoring this situation since it first began to be reported and is prepared to help you receive the compensation necessary to compensate you for this homeowners nightmare. With the lack of knowledge about how serious the health problems may be or just how much damage, financially and structurally, the drywall can cause to your home, it is important to not wait and to immediately take action should you notice these issues in your house or property.

Remember, reports cite that up to 60 million pounds of Chinese drywall have been used in the state. This is not an issue that may exist in New Orleans, Slidell, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, etc. Senator Landrieu has already pushed for legislation calling for a recall and temporary ban on the drywall.

The facts show that the problem is already here.