Were insurers crooked bookies?

Letter to the Editor

Reading comments from some observers of the post-Katrina insurance drama can become downright painful. Trying to characterize the Scruggs Katrina group as Morris Bart attorneys would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

State Farm and Nationwide committed no less than fraud against thousands of legitimate policyholders. I would encourage anyone to drive to Bay St. Louis and observe how, after nearly two years, an overwhelming majority of the beachfront homes and surrounding areas remain empty lots.I deliberately mention the beachfront homes, because it automatically eliminates the ignorant comments I have read by those who suggested FEMA owed nothing to the lower-income residents who should have 'fended' for themselves.

They read the hype about "over-payments" and fraud cases and allow this to disguise how inefficient and unresponsive that agency became after one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history.These beachfront homeowners are an important demographic, because they illustrate the sad reality that honest, legitimate paying insurance customers were worse off than renters once Katrina's storm surge had passed.

Once these insurance companies lost the great Katrina bet, they operated like crooked bookies and effectively hid behind the ambiguous language within their policies to defraud their clients.
I would have no problem paying my attorneys whatever percentage they wanted to go after that insurance company. I encourage you to share your outrage with the residents on the coastwho will still be living in more than 20,000 FEMA trailers on the two-year anniversary of Katrina on August 29. You can be the guests of honor at their celebration.

Dominic Haberman
Hattiesburg

Letter to the editor
Hattiesburg American
Hattiesburg, MS
(1.5 hours from Bay St. Louis, going northeast
Katrina hit Hattiesburg, too.)