Ida devastated our community causing suffering and pain for many of our residents. The damage to homes that are no longer habitable is staggering. Adding to this tragedy is the fact that “Like a Good Neighbor” and “You’re in Good Hands” were nothing more than catchy phrases throw at us for years by large insurers which gleefully took our money, but whose actions when needed don’t in the slightest resemble either of their promised messages.
Adding to this atrocity is the failure to have elected a competent state insurance commissioner, our latest of which whose only claim to fame is that he hasn’t been criminally indicted like many of his predecessors. And let’s not leave out our notorious state insurance commission who allowed many of the loopholes for non-payment of claims to be included in home owners’ policies. The most egregious being a 2% to 5% deductible for a “named storm” calculated upon the insured value of the home.
For years many of us dutifully paid our insurance premiums, never filing a claim, and thinking that we would be treated fairly and respectfully when a need arose. Many of these individuals bragged upon how long they had been with their insurance agent and how they had established a kindred relationship. Many never bothered to read their policies or get other quotes to determine if they could have saved some money on premiums with better protection. They forgot the fact that many of these beloved insurance agents are simply company employees receiving monetary compensation for every policy they write. They have no authority over claim decisions made by the corporate office. People just assumed they would be taken care of “Like a Good Neighbor,” or be “In Good Hands.”
Sadly, we now learn some of the larger insurance companies are not stepping up to make us whole as evidenced by the fact that there doesn’t even exist among the various companies a uniform definition of what is considered an “uninhabitable dwelling”. And of course our esteemed legislators claim that this is something that needs to be standardized; as usual, always reactive, rather than proactive. But in their defense, this is what the state insurance commissioner and insurance commission should be about, insuring clarity and uniformity in policy coverage
To make matters worse, some have reported that not only did they not receive adequate monetary assistance from their insurance company to make their dwelling whole again, but that they were also presented a laundry list of improvements that needed to be made to their dwelling at their expense before any renewal of the policy would occur. Maybe our State Attorney General, Jeff Landry, who loves litigation will finally decide to use the courts to the actual benefit of the states’ residents and take on the ‘big boys.’ Let’s hope so.
Hopefully changes will come in the form of legislation to close some of the no-payment loopholes and lack of standardization among policy definitions. It is also imperative that voters remember Ida when election time comes for state insurance commissioner. But neither of these will provide solace for the ongoing suffering that is now.
Stay strong, because Ida has shown us that, in fact, we do indeed have ‘some good neighbors’ in our communities and we should all be thankful for that.
