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.
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.
Video published by the Associated Press on the Chinese Drywall issue facing much of the Gulf Coast area.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kHq_H3l7aE
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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