After
the news report the
other night I called
my neighbor, who is
also my insurance
agent. I asked him
if I stopped paying
the premiums on my
house, would they
continue to insure
me and pay me if my
house burned down.
I think he thought I
had been drinking,
(I hadn’t) but he
was kind enough to
tell me that of
course they would
not. Then he asked
why I would ask such
a question. I then
told him about the
lawsuit filed by the
attorney general of
the state of
Mississippi to force
the insurance
companies to pay for
homes without flood
insurance, which
were ruined by
hurricane Katrina. I
could hear his
breath suck in and
then he told me that
I had to be kidding.
I assured him that I
was not.
In case you missed
it last week, that’s
what they did in
Mississippi. The
attorney general
decided that
homeowners who had a
homeowners policy
but had not
purchased a separate
flood policy had
been cheated and
defrauded and should
be reimbursed. How
was a homeowner to
know that they
wouldn’t receive any
money if their house
floated away under
the policy they
owned?
I don’t know about
you, but this kind
of stuff makes me
sick to my stomach.
What the wonderful
state of Mississippi
is trying to do is
to get the insurance
companies to pay out
millions and perhaps
billions of dollars
for losses they had
not contracted to
insure, nor were
they paid for.
Anyone who has had a
home for any length
of time should be
adult enough to know
that normal
homeowner’s policies
do not cover rising
water as you might
encounter in a
flood. For this
coverage you will
need a separate
policy called a …pay
attention now….FLOOD
INSURANCE policy.
Flood insurance, got
it?
So, since the state
of Mississippi is
taking the position
that the homeowners
of Mississippi just
never knew what
their coverage
actually entailed
and that they were
cheated, then I
think it’s only
reasonable to assume
that if I stop
paying on my policy
then if I have a
loss, it would be
covered as well.
Don’t you think
that’s fair? I could
always say I didn’t
realize I wouldn’t
have any coverage if
I stopped paying for
it. Or I thought the
policy that covered
my house also
allowed me to go to
the hospital for
treatment. How was I
to know? I’m not an
insurance
professional; nobody
told me that my car
insurance policy
wouldn’t cover new
glasses, or a root
canal. I mean why
have one of those
old long, detailed
things called a
contract when all
you need to do is
send in a check ever
so often and the
insurance companies
will cover you for
any losses out of
the goodness of
their heart. Don’t
hold your breath.
Now, don’t get me
wrong, I feel bad
for the people who
lost their homes and
businesses due to
the storm. But,
listen to me, if the
insurance companies
go back and decide
to remove their
exclusion for flood
and rising water
damage in order to
pay for the damage,
where do you think
those losses will
show up? You got
insurance? You hide
and watch. You and I
will start to see
those increases in
our premiums. Those
insurance companies
don’t build those
big buildings
because they are
stupid or because
they like losing
money.
So whose
responsibility is it
to know about what
you are covered for
or not? May I be so
bold as to suggest
it is you and I.
We have become a
nation of whiners.
We point the finger
at everyone other
than at ourselves.
If you don’t know
what your insurance
covers, why do you
own a house? If you
drink and drive and
have an accident,
why is the bartender
or waitress that
served you at fault?
If you get angry
over paying child
support then why did
you have the child?
If you don’t like
the way the nation
is run, then why
didn’t you vote?
In the thirty-five
years or so that
I’ve been in
business I have
never met a man or
woman who didn’t
know how to cash a
check. I use this
example to show that
most of our
population can do
things when it is
beneficial to them.
I only wish they
could do other
things when it is
beneficial to the
rest of us.
