Our position: The federal government should add wind coverage to its flood policies

October 8, 2007

A major reform of the way homeowners get reimbursed after destructive storms is making its way through Congress, and guess what?

The insurance industry opposes it.

Anyone believing in fair play and a measure of justice should support it.

Enough members of the House did last month. They passed Rep. Gene Taylor's "Multiple Peril Insurance Act," which allows folks who get flood insurance through the federal government to also purchase wind policies from Washington.

What's so special about that? Ask Gulf state residents who'd held federal flood-insurance policies and private wind policies when Hurricane Katrina came ashore. The feds cut billions of dollars in checks. Insurance companies cut excuses.

Time and again they said flooding, not wind, damaged the homes -- and despite evidence to the contrary.

Mr. Taylor's roof, for example, blew 450 feet from his Mississippi home. But his insurance adjuster claimed no wind damage, blaming Mr. Taylor's losses on flooding. Interesting. Katrina's winds preceded the storm surge by five hours.

The result of the insurers' chicanery? Policyholders ended up paying billions of dollars over the years in premiums to insurers who, instead of paying claims, passed the buck to the feds.

Now the insurance industry -- and this might be laughable if it weren't so lamentable -- is warning the public that adding wind insurance to the federal flood program will cause huge deficits. And that by offering the insurance more readily, it could land more people and property "in the path of devastating storms." Such caring. Such heart. From the very industry that has caused government to pay out so much after catastrophic storms because it won't honor the policies it writes.

The serve-insurers-first-last-and-always system won't blow over, though, unless the Senate joins the House in its reform. It needs to draft and pass a companion bill.

Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, break out your pens! Florida's got more than 40 percent of the nation's flood-insurance policyholders -- more constituents with more at stake on this than any other state.

Each senator, in fact, supports letting homeowners buy federal flood and wind policies. But that won't happen unless they kick up a storm and get their peers to stand down the powerful insurance lobby.

Mr. Martinez, in the minority, sits on the committee reviewing the policy. Mr. Nelson, whose party runs Congress, doesn't sit on the committee but last week urged its chair to give it legs.

Few in the Senate expect that to happen. But few in the House a short time ago thought Mr. Taylor's bill would pass. Floridians and victims everywhere of property insurers' abuses need the senators' best efforts.


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Inconvenience and Truth

by Ana Maria

Lately, I haven’t felt much like writing. My Creative Muses who usually inspire my writing have been silent. The utter inconvenience of living in the Katrina-ravaged area gets to and exhausts me—and I’m among the lucky ones. Though my mother’s house was substantially destroyed, the frame of the house remained. With tremendous thanks to my brothers, the inside was rebuilt, and we’re at least 90% back to pre-Katrina.

My mother never lived in a FEMA trailer. Truth be told, my mother’s name was put on the FEMA list and months later when we still hadn’t heard from Bush’s agency and one of my family members checked on it, FEMA couldn’t find her name. I imagine this was not a one-time FEMA flub. Thankfully, she lived with my brother in Georgia until the house got good enough for her to move in regardless of the inconveniences of living here.

To many of us online, the idea of our Internet provider being down about 90% of the time is a ridiculous notion, yet over the last month, that is what I experienced. Yesterday, I had BellSouth come in and switch me to its service. And service is what I got. REAL service—and I’m not just talking about access to the Internet.

I called BellSouth last week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday. They called me twice to confirm Monday morning’s appointment. Then, the guy showed up, on time, and with a smile on his face, nice as he could be. In no time flat, I had my Internet service switched, AND he ensured that I could get on before he left the house. What a breath of fresh air!

This isn’t just about being connected . . . to the Internet. Rather, it is about being connected to a lifestyle many of us expect because, well, we live in the United States of America. You know, things like calling up a company for a service, making an appointment to come to the house within a few days, and voila! The deed is done without blinking an eye or thinking two seconds about it.

For some reading this entry, this may seem like a big, “Uh, yeah. So what?” And that is my point.
It should be a big so what, but even two years after the worst natural disaster hit the area, it isn’t. And the ordeal is wearing thin on my nerves. I can only fathom how it is impacting others who’ve been here from the beginning. I just want the money to flow to the area. I just want Big Insurance to pay Big Time through signing into law the Multiple Peril Legislation that Congressman Gene Taylor championed a few weeks ago in the House of Representatives and in making Big Insurance subject to the same anti-trust legislation to which other industries are subjected. Both will take time to enact into law, and I look forward to those laws becoming reality.

I’ve been here six months. The newness has worn off, and the conditions of daily living are wearing thin. And I’ve only been here six months. My recent memories of going out to eat at any number of fabulous restaurants in San Jose or San Francisco, Calif., from which I had moved, remind me of life that should already have returned here.

Last night, I attended Congressman Gene Taylor’s Town Hall meeting in Long Beach, Miss. He talked a great amount of the time on the insurance reform bill he championed in the House of Representatives and the hope of it going through the Senate. Question after question pored from the audience, the overwhelming topic being residential and commercial insurance.

One woman told of how 25% ($20,000) of her family’s income is spent on family insurance coverage and the increase in homeowners and wind coverage. My goodness! 25% on insurance?! Here in South Mississippi. Well, yeah. Paying out that much of one’s income is no simple matter. On top of that, life’s simplicities—be it dependable Internet service or going to the movies or choosing from a wide variety of restaurants to eat out occasionally—are neither convenient nor so simple.

Simple like going to the movies. A new George Clooney movie is out. Like many a women, I’m a big fan. Great actor, terrific roles, and he’s very easy on the eyes plus that voice of his, not to mention that I like his politics, I grew up with his aunt’s singing, his father ran as the Democratic nominee for a congressional seat a few years ago . . . the list goes on. I want to see the movie.

But, geeze, where in the heck would I go to see it when it begins playing in “theaters everywhere”? Everywhere? Not around here. I don’t know of a theater within 30 miles. Is George Clooney worth driving several hours round trip? Hmmmmm. Not a trick question, but one that I’ll have to ponder a moment or two.

Of course, that isn’t the point specifically. The point is the utter intolerability of simple things being not so simple, of convenience we expect all over the country not being all that convenient, of the truth of these simple inconveniences wearing on everyone’s nerves—those living with it and perhaps those reading and hearing about it.

I was ever so happy to go see Inconvenient Truth the first night it played in San Jose, Calif. Now I live in an area of the country where inconvenience is the truth of our lives.


© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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The Best of A.M. in the Morning! Oct. 1 - 6, 2007

by Ana Maria

Blog Entries
The Madness of Little Things Inside Katrina Land October 1, 2007
The Insurance Apologists: Loving America, not Americans October 3, 2007
Bush’s Veto Threat Threatens More Than Multiple Peril Legislation October 2, 2007
Revving Up Insurance Reform Momentum! October 1, 2007

News Items
Insurance candidate criticizes opponent October 5, 2007
Sound Off from the Biloxi, Miss., Sun Herald Sun Herald October 5, 2007

ANDERSON PUSHES FOR LOWER INSURANCE RATES October 4, 2007
If a New Yorker gets it, why can't an Alabamian? Sun Herald, October 4, 2007

Schumer Backs Wind-Damage Coverage in Flood Insurance Overhaul Congressional Quarterly October 3, 2007
Cochran, Lott voice support for flood bill Sun Herald October 3, 2007

Presidential Veto Would Break Faith with South Mississippi Sun Herald October 2, 2007

NYT Editorial: More Housing Woes in Mississippi New York Times October 1, 2007
Bush vows veto The Mississippi Press October 1, 2007
Opinion/Editorial: Surviving the Shards of Wars and Hurricanes October 1, 2007


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Sound Off from the Biloxi, Miss., Sun Herald

. . . the daily newspaper covering the Mississippi Gulf Coast's three counties

Here's an idea

• Why can't the multiple-peril insurance program be funded by a 2 or 3 percent federal gas tax applied to every gallon of gas sold within 50 miles of all U.S. coastlines? This tax would be paid for by the natives who would benefit from the insurance as well as the visitors and tourists who enjoy amenities the coasts provide.

Sound Off is a daily column featuring anonymous comments on virtually any topic. Limit e-mail to 70 words.

The Sun Herald published this comment on October 5, 2007.

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Insurance candidate criticizes opponent

Friday, October 05, 2007

By CHERIE WARD

BILOXI -- Gary Anderson, the Democrat candidate for state insurance commissioner, said Thursday he's not going to be in the back pocket of big insurance companies and accused his opponent of taking money from the insurance industry for nearly 10 years.

Anderson defeated Insurance Commissioner George Dale in the Democrat primary. The August race ended Dale's 32-year tenure as the state's top insurance regulator and the longest serving state insurance commissioner in the nation.

The 51-year-old former state fiscal chief now faces Republican state Sen. Mike Chaney of Vicksburg in the Nov. 6 general election. Chaney won the GOP nomination for the four-year post by defeating Ronnie English of Vancleave.

Anderson, of Jackson, held a press conference at Mary Mahoney's restaurant in Biloxi Thursday, surrounded by about 10 supporters.

He didn't delay his criticism of Chaney.

"My independence from insurance industry is one of the main differences be-tween my opponent and me," Anderson said. "Right now, Mississippi pays the third highest insurance rates in the nation. It takes the right kind of experience and the independence to do the job."

Anderson repeatedly chastised Chaney for ac-cepting contributions from insurance companies and others associated with the industry. He also accused Chaney of being in "the back pocket" of the industry both candidates are vying to govern.

"Since 1999, Mr. Chaney has taken thousands of dollars from insurance interest. In 2007, while running for insurance commissioner, he said, it's wrong to take money from industries you regulate.' Despite this statement, Mr. Chaney has continued to take money from insurance agents and companies," Anderson said.

Anderson said Chaney "flip-flopped" on his promise to the American Association of Retired Persons.

"He told the AARP he would support the grocery-tax/cigarette-tax swap and then did not," Anderson said. "If he'll do that to the elderly, what will he do to the people of the entire state?"

In an interview with The Mississippi Press published Sept. 29, Chaney offered no criticism of Anderson.

During the press conference, Anderson said he would lower the insurance rates in the state.

"For too long the insurance companies have had a free rein to do as they please in our state," Anderson said. "We need to change that. My plan is simple. Work everyday as an advocate for the insurance rate payers for our state and remain independent of insurance special interest. I haven't taken a single dime from insurance companies because it's just plan wrong to take money from the insurance companies that you're responsible to regulate."

Anderson said he wants to reduce fraud and waste in the insurance system. He said he wants to remove confusing language from insurance policies so the holders can better understand them.

Asked how he would regulate nationwide insurance providers refusing to write homeowner policies in Mississippi, Anderson said, "let them go."

"I plan to make Mississippi more attractive to the insurance industry," Anderson said. "That way, if State Farm or someone wants to go, they can. There will be five other companies wanting to take their place."

He said he will use his 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors to encourage competition in the insurance marketplace.

Anderson offered no opinion on the multi-peril legislation the U.S. House of Representatives approved on Sept. 27 that would allow property owners to purchase wind and flood coverage in a single policy.

The legislation is sponsored by Congressman Gene Taylor, D-Miss., and will now be presented to the U.S. Senate. If approved, the issue will be considered by President George W. Bush, who has vowed to veto the bill.

Reporter Cherie Ward can be reached at cward @themississippipress.com or (228) 934-1442.

The Mississippi Press published the original article on October 5, 2007.


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ANDERSON PUSHES FOR LOWER INSURANCE RATES

OPPONENT REJECTS "NO INSURANCE MONEY PLEDGE," POCKETS INDUSTRY MONEY BY THOUSANDS

Biloxi, Mississippi - Insurance Commissioner Candidate Gary Anderson held a press conference at historic Mary Mahoney's in Biloxi to address Mississippi's insurance crisis. He reaffirmed his pledge to NOT take money from big insurance or their executives and his plans to lower insurance costs in our state.

"I want to reduce fraud and waste in the system and aggressively investigate and punish those who commit insurance fraud, including insurance companies themselves," said Anderson at the press conference. "I will fight for plain English policies. Let's remove confusing language from insurance policies so Mississippians can understand their insurance coverage," Anderson continued.

Gary Anderson reaffirmed his pledge to remain independent of big insurance. Anderson said, "Back in June, I promised the people of Mississippi that I would not accept contributions from insurance companies. I haven't taken a single dime from big insurance because it's just plain wrong to take money from an industry you are responsible to regulate. You can't protect the pocketbooks of the ratepayer if you are in the back pocket of big insurance."

Anderson said his independence from the insurance industry is one of the main differences between himself and Mike Chaney. Chaney flip-flopped on his promise not to take money from the industry he would be charged with regulating as insurance commissioner. According to Chaney's own financial disclosure, he has taken thousands from insurance since he entered the race for insurance commissioner.

Anderson also pointed out that Mike Chaney wanted to make the Insurance Commissioner position appointed not elected, saying Chaney wanted to take away the right of the voter to elect or remove the state's sole insurance rate setting authority.

Anderson said he would use his over 25 years of experience working in the public and private sectors to encourage competition in the insurance marketplace. He announced he would use his economic and community development experience to help speed up recovery along the Gulf Coast. Anderson has served as the state's Chief Fiscal Officer as well as the Director of Community Development.

Gary was born and raised on his family's farm in Byhalia, Mississippi where his mother, a retired schoolteacher and his father, a farmer and retired fireman still call home. Gary and his wife of 25 years, Debra Miller of Vicksburg, live in Jackson.

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The Madness of Little Things Inside Katrina Land

by Ana Maria

Isn’t it maddening when you’ve worked hard on a document pushing up against a deadline and you go to print the thing and the printer is on the blink? Or you get to the last few pages and run out of paper—as in there is no more to be had and you have to run out to the store? Or you are trying to upload it into a email to send to your boss from your home office and the Internet goes on the blink? The madness of the little things that go haywire—however temporary it may be—is enough to have any of us go batty.

Thankfully, it often is very temporary, and we resolve the matter in short order. Yeah, I remember those days which for me were but seven months ago. Yep, those were the days before I stepped foot inside Katrina Land where the madness of the little things are neither temporary nor do they remain little after but a short while.

Almost a month ago, I got new Internet service installed. Most of the time it has been down. That aggravates me to no end. The company’s customer service isn’t a high priority here. Over the last decade alone, when I lived in Nashville, Tenn., or Northern Virginia outside of DC, or San Jose, Calif., being without service was as rare as snow—which never occurred.

Add to this trying to learn a new software program that has all kinds of fantastic video tutorials . . . if only I could get online to view them. So, I decided to print out the 407 page manual and read through it to figure out a few things. Hmmm. I don’t have 3-hold punched paper, and I’m not really feeling like printing out 407 pages and punching the holes myself. The holes don’t come out the same, and the paper doesn’t sit evenly in the binder if I were to do that many pieces. It drives me crazy and aggravates me so I decided I’d just run out to the store and pick up a pack of paper with the holes already pre-punched.

Oh, Geeze, Louise! I hate shopping at Wal-Mart, and I’ll be you-know-what if I’m going to waste my time and gas going there to look for something that it doesn’t have. So, I called and was put on hold. I got put on hold and would probably still be holding the phone at this minute if I hadn’t finally just hung up, because it seemed apparent that customer service wasn’t exactly their strong suit last night. I knew that I would be going to Gulfport this afternoon for a fundraiser for our Democratic nominee for Insurance Commissioner Gary Anderson. Before going to this fabulous event that I'm excited about attending, I could pop into Office Depot to get the paper I need.

By the time all is said and done, I will have waited over 24 hours and traveled a good 25 to 30 minutes extra (one way) to get the paper I could have gotten in a heart beat were I still living in San Jose, California. Granted, that city is the 10th largest in the country with a population of a million and my hometown has not even one percent of that. I’ve lived in communities with far less population: Nashville, Tenn., and Annandale, Virginia. Access to office supplies in each of those places is as common as bell pepper in a grocery store.

And throughout the 24 hours, access to my Internet service will be sporadic, at best. The madness of little things like copy paper and Internet service inside Katrina Land is, well, maddening!

Since I’m not able to do anything much with my new software for a bit, I turn to read a few newspaper articles I had downloaded in the mad rush to take advantage of the moments that my Internet service is up and running.

I see that Alabama’s U.S. Senator Shelby isn’t jumping on board to praise the ever visionary multiple peril insurance legislation that Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS) championed in the House of Representatives. Today’s editorial in the Sun Herald asks the right question.

If a New Yorker gets it, why can't an Alabamian?

The editorial is referring to the fact that New York Senator Charles Schumer is definitely on board with passing in the Senate the Taylor multiple peril insurance reform legisation. Way to go, Charlie!

I’m sure that my neighbors in Alabama who’ve been dealing with all of the big and little aggravations since Katrina are too overwhelmed to lobby their senator. With all the destruction and devastation geeze, Louise, they should not have to have the political wherewithal to do so. After all, they didn’t lobby Senator Schumer of New York, and he definitely gets it. Perhaps we can do it for them and put in a few calls and emails to ask Senator Shelby this poignantly stated question. If a New Yorker gets it, why can't an Alabamian?

Being without the conveniences of everyday American life—you know, a home to live in, clothes for the kids, jobs for mom and dad, running water in the elementary schools, are more than a little maddening. All the more because it is so apparent that turning our lives upside down and inside out has been for the sheer greed and gluttony of corporate goons. This is madness, and it is wrong. With the changes that the multiple peril legislation provides, this madness need not ever again happen in the USA.

But it did happen throughout South Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. U.S. Senators Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, Republicans representing Mississippi, get it. New York Senator Charles Schumer gets it. After over two years of his people suffering in South Alabama, Senator Shelby doesn’t. How maddening! And that’s no little thing.

I think the Sun Herald has the question down pat. If a New Yorker gets it, why can't an Alabamian?



© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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If a New Yorker gets it, why can't an Alabamian?

Editorial
October 4, 2007

As expected, Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, Mississippi's two Republican senators, voiced support this week for Coast Congressman Gene Taylor's effort to expand the National Flood Insurance Program to include damage done by wind as well as water.

Taylor's proposed legislation passed the House of Representatives last week and is now drawing the attention of the Senate.

As hoped, a senator from another coastal state applauded the House plan to expand the federal insurance program. "I believe we should do the same in the Senate, and will work toward that," said Democrat Charles Schumer of New York, a senior member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue.

But not all the news is positive.

The Bush administration is still trumpeting the possibility of a presidential veto of a multiperil plan.

And next door in Alabama, Sen. Richard Shelby has declared himself a foe of the proposal. As a fellow Republican who also represents a regular route for hurricanes, perhaps Shelby can be persuaded by Cochran and Lott.

We hope so. And sooner rather than later.

As Schumer appreciates, the private sector is abandoning property owners in coastal areas while objecting to the public sector filling the gap.

"You can't have it both ways," Schumer says.

So he is trying to help homeowners on Long Island in New York and in Long Beach in Mississippi.

He deserves a lot more support.


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The Insurance Apologists: Loving America, not Americans

by Ana Maria

Sticking his foot down his mouth, George Dale—the soon-to-be former Mississippi Insurance Commissioner proclaimed as D.O.A. in the U.S. Senate the multiple peril insurance policy that Gulf Coast Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS) successfully led to being overwhelming passed last week with bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives. Since losing the primary election in August to Democratic candidate Gary Anderson, guess George Dale hasn’t gotten any better at telling which way the political winds are blowing.

On the heels of this obviously premature proclamation, U.S. Senators Lott (R-MS) and Cochran (R-MS)came out in favor of addressing the issue. Moreover, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) expressed his support for Taylor’s multiple peril legislation specifically. Yes, ma’am, and yes, sir. We have a live one! Congressional Quarterly reported

At least one influential Senate Democrat wants to see the federal flood insurance program expanded to include wind-damage coverage, setting up a potential clash with Republicans.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the flood insurance overhaul bill (HR 3121) passed last week by the House, noting that it would allow individuals and businesses to purchase wind-damage coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program.

“I believe we should do the same in the Senate, and will work toward that,” Schumer told a Banking committee hearing Tuesday.

For some people, having egg on their faces—as in the case of George Dale—seems to be a regular fashion accessory, kind of goes with the shoe hanging from their mouths. Dale never understood what could be the big deal with families and businesses being financial wiped out by the insurance companies that he and he alone permitted to write worthless policies while these same families and businesses paid good money for the policies Dale authorized to be sold in this state. Fortunately, others do get it.

Senator Schumer

said property and casualty insurers have stopped writing wind-damage policies in many coastal areas, including Long Island.

At the same time, he observed, private insurers largely oppose the House bill for its inclusion of wind in the federal program.

“Gentlemen, ladies — you can’t have it both ways,” Schumer said.

Way to go, Charlie!

With Schumer’s leadership joined with Lott and Cochran, other Senators will join in to provide what Americans—and therefore America—needs for financial security’s sake.

Conveniently enough and as if on cue, Big Insurance and their political apologists like George Dale in the U.S. Senate will be seen waving Old Glory while speaking with patriotic language about God and country as the national anthem plays softly in the background . . . while Big Insurance continues to pick our pockets thereby legally stealing the financial security from our families and businesses.

What is it with politicians and corporations who claim to love America but obviously can’t stand Americans?! Yes, that’s a take off of a line from a character played by Annette Benning slamming Richard Dreyfuss’ conservative senatorial character in one of my all time favorite movies, The American President. The line resonates with such poignancy, doesn’t it?

When it comes to loving America and hating Americans, Senator Schumer himself said it best, “Gentlemen, ladies — you can’t have it both ways.”


© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Schumer Backs Wind-Damage Coverage in Flood Insurance Overhaul

At least one influential Senate Democrat wants to expand the federal flood insurance program to allow property owners to purchase coverage for wind damage as well, setting up a potential clash with Republicans.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the flood insurance overhaul bill (HR 3121) passed last week by the House, noting it would allow individuals and businesses to purchase wind-damage coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program.

“I believe we should do the same in the Senate, and will work toward that,” said Schumer, a senior member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue.

The proposed coverage expansion is an outgrowth of insurance disputes that arose after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005.

The wind damage provision in the House bill was pushed by Mississippi Democrat Gene Taylor, one of hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents whose homes were destroyed by Katrina, and who then saw their insurance claims denied when they sought to collect. The industry asserted that homes and businesses were destroyed by flooding, covered by the federal program, and not by wind damage, which private policies cover.

Taylor argued that homeowners should be able to purchase coverage for both types of damage through the federal program. But the administration opposes such a move, arguing it would crowd out private insurers and expose the federal program to added financial risks. The White House has threatened to veto a bill that includes such a provision.

The Senate has not yet begun work on its version of a flood insurance overhaul.
Source: CQ Today Midday Update
Political Clippings compiled from BNN Frontrunner and CQ Politics.com.
© 2007 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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