Category: Coastal Cowboy

Wind Claim Dumping on the Flood Program: The Mechanics

Folks, Sop used actual photographs to explain the concept of claims dumping on his earlier post on the topic, the visual account of which set a site visit record for our little corner of the Internet. Now this Cowboy is gonna explain how big insurance did it, dumping their contractual wind obligations of the U.S. taxpayer. In a whistle blower lawsuit filed over New Orleans way the public adjusters projected that if the error rate they found held true, us taxpayers were bilked out of over $9 BILLION dollars by big insurance. Some examples found by the public adjusters include:

“a group of four-plex apartments in eastern New Orleans were compensated for flood damage with taxpayer money even though they experienced no flooding. Each building in same complex was paid only a pittance for severe wind damage on its regular property insurance policies. American National Property & Casualty Insurance Co., or ANPAC Louisiana Insurance Co., paid the owner of several buildings in the Versailles Gardens subdivision on Alsace Street about $95,000 in flood damages, or about half the value of each property’s individual $200,000 flood policy, even though no flood waters got inside the buildings.”

Over here in Mississippi, State Farm used faulty and on occasion even altered engineered reports to dump their wind obligations on us. Take a look at these two engineering reports, the first one authored by engineer Paul Monie and verified by him as his work product. The second one was altered to let State Farm off the hook without his knowledge or consent. After Steve helped Mr. Beckham track down Paul Monie and it was brought to light that State Farm and their lackeys at Rimkus engineering had no problem defrauding a 70 year old man guess what happened next? You got it folks, State Farm experienced a Come to Jesus moment and paid Mr. Beckham. In fact they paid him so much money he can’t talk about it any more. This Cowboy can talk about how them crooks tried to steal from an old man though and he just did. 🙂

In fact, thanks to Congressman Gene Taylor we got us a whole list of examples of how crooks in Gucci suits and their scalleywag corporate lawyer enablers tried to screw the good folks on the coast who lost their houses out of big money. We started with ole man Beckham cause Steve knows him but he ain’t the only one by a long shot.

Gene Taylor in his Own Words

Folks this final installment of our Gene Taylor Youtube series is courtesy of Kdreporter, a news intern with the ABC affiliate in Santa Barbara California who interviewed Gene last summer. So lets climb on in the FEMA trailer and hear Gene on Katrina, FEMA and Multi-peril insurance in his own words.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-YpGgR2KVw]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EylfwpqNB0]

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Tish Williams on the Impact of the Insurance Crisis on Small Business

“Small business were simply left out”, said Tish Williams, executive director of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce to the assembled congressional delegation gathered in Bay St Louis. She told story after story of long time small business owners fighting to stay open, some living off their savings so their employees could be paid. She also recounts the horror stories of businesses unable to fully insure their risks due to the high costs.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd-fNRmElrE]

Wind Pool Board Member David Treutel on Multiperil Insurance

“We are all affected by catastrophies, even if we are not in affected areas”, explained Mississippi Windstorm Association vice chair David Treutel as the costs of reinsurance impacts all who buy insurance. Dave goes on to explain the many ways events here on the Mississippi coast have changed the insurance equation in far away places like Rhode Island and how this issue literally impacts everyone in the country.

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George Schloegel of Hancock Bank on the Insurance Crisis in Mississippi

“The status quo of doing nothing is absolutely not acceptable”, said George Schloegel, Chairman and CEO of Hancock Bank, to the assembled members of Congress on our insurance crisis. Banks will not lend on projects that aren’t insured and the lack of insurance options on the coast has killed many otherwise economically viable projects.

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Dave Dennis on Insurance

“For the average person it is fundamentally not working…” said Dave Dennis, owner of Specialty Contractors and current board member on the New Orleans Federal Reserve on the insurance market in Mississippi, specifically the Gulf Coast. This issue is not about liberal or conservative, republican or democrat as all of us here on the coast are suffering the proverbial boot to our throats applied by big insurance and their Mississippi based scallywag enablers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CKZ-M5T66k]

Update: Today the Sun Herald ran this story on Dave Dennis and his retirement from the New Orleans Fed:

“For many people, the Federal Reserve might be a mysterious board that deals mainly with interest rates. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Fed helped South Mississippians and New Orleanians in a very concrete way. And a Coast businessman can be credited with helping make that possible.

Dave Dennis, president and CEO of Specialty Contractors & Associates Inc., in Gulfport, has served on the New Orleans branch of the Federal Reserve Board of Directors since 2001 and was appointed by the governors. He is retiring from the board when his term expires this month.

“He has been an outstanding director,” said Bob Musso, senior vice president and branch manager of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, New Orleans branch. “And he’s been an outstanding ambassador for the Federal Reserve.”

HR3121 News Out Today

Folks, when Gene Taylor isn’t fighting us here on the Coast he is looking after our Mississippi boys serving in Iraq, this time bringing them 50 gallons of Tony Trapani’s best seafood gumbo for a special Christmas Eve dinner in Iraq. Now Gene is not some tin horn chicken hawk content to send other people sons and daughters to fight George Bush’s war as his own flesh and blood is on the wall for us in Middle East. God bless Gene Taylor and his service to all of us here in the Mississippi 4th congressional district.

There are two stories out today about the status of HR3121. Some local background is in order as it was clear to me back in August at Gene’s town hall meeting that the assembled democratic leadership (which included Jim Clyburn and Nancy Pelosi) saw our nation’s coastal insurance problems as a potent campaign issue. Gene may have taken the first shot today at a now locally famous GOP corporate water boy, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama.

“The Senate bill was sponsored by banking committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Taylor said he can understand Dodd’s objections because of the insurance interests headquartered in his state. “Shelby is the one I keep scratching my head over,” said Taylor, who thought the senator would support the measure because of his constituents in coastal Alabama.”

Now it appears the AP story picked up by the Clarion Ledger derives from Anita Lee’s story at the Sun Herald but contains a few paragraphs (the last two in this excerpt) not found in the Sun Herald piece:

“Taylor, D-Miss., who represents south Mississippi in Congress, said Wednesday that people won’t build back on the Gulf Coast until they are able to buy insurance they can depend on.

Critics of multiple-peril insurance say such a program would be financially unsound, leading to more debt on top of the $20 billion NFIP incurred from Hurricane Katrina.

Taylor said it would be better to spread hurricane risk among coastal states rather than have individual states assume those risks. Mississippi, for example, offers wind insurance for six coastal counties. Florida and other states also have wind pools.”

To date this Cowboy is not aware of one shred of evidence these “critics” have presented to support their assertion that HR 3121 would be financially unsound. Also the critics the story quotes leave out the unpleasant fact that it has been alleged that as much as $9 BILLION dollars of wind claims may have been dumped on the taxpayers via the flood program.

Down here folks when someone intentionally spreads a half truth it’s called, “pissing on your leg and saying it’s raining.” When it comes to the debate on HR3121 and it’s unnamed critics, it’s best to come to the hoe down equipped with an umbrella.

Merlin Law Blog

Folks, this Cowboy has been letting the totality of this mess sink in and then I read this comment on David Rossmiller’s blog that appears to sum things up well:

“For those scoring at home:
1.Maria Brown blew the whistle and sued Nutt & McAlister of SKG, alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and mentions N&Ms failure to turn over records to Judge Acker.
2. Scruggs and Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Groney have filed suit against State Farm, Nationwide, Allstate, USAA, and several engineering firms for overbilling the federal government for Hurricane Katrina damage.
3. Jones, Funderburg have sued Dickie Scruggs, Don Barrett, Scruggs law firm, Barrett law office, Nutt & McAlister, and Lovelace law firm over payment of disputed funds. Jones and Funderburg have asked to court to take control of SKG assets.
4. United States of America v. Dickie Scruggs, Zach Scruggs, Sidney Backstrom, Tim Balducci, and Steve Patterson for attempting to bribe Judge Henry Lackey.
5. Balducci blew the whistle against Scruggs & Co, and pleads guilty to bribing Judge Lackey.
6. Jim Hood, AG, sued State Farm for breach of the settlement agreement.
7. State Farm sued Jim Hood, AG for breach of the settlement agreement.
8. State Farm sued to disqualify Dickie Scruggs from Katrina cases.
9. E.A. Renfroe & Co sues whistleblowers Cori and Kerri Rigsby for violating the Alabama Trade Secrets Act and breaching confidentiality agreements.
10. Judge Acker appoints special prosecutors to prosecute Dickie Scruggs with criminal contempt related to the E.A. Renfroe suit against the Rigsby sisters.”

Except this post really sums up nothing about the real insurance issues or insurance law. Notice folks the implied threats against the Rigsby sisters, who by all accounts have had no involvement with the allegations against Scruggs. Most of what makes the so called insurance blogs these days is either old news, or half the story as Mr. Rossmiller himself pointed out in an rare moment of balanced commentary.

Well folks, here on the Mississippi Insurance Forum you’ll get just insurance talk; straight talk in fact, the kind that even a Cowboy can understand without a bunch of frue-frilly legal double talk. That’s probably why this Cowboy-farmer enjoys reading Mr. Chip Merlin’s insurance law blog. While the talking heads sit in places like New York City and Portland Oregon ole Chip was over New Orleans way at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals listening to the actual arguments. He presents an analysis of the recent Broussard arguments that you won’t find anywhere else and he makes it understandable. I highly recommend it.

In his reply to me there he summed up why you can’t trust a carpetbagger with this issue. Like in most cases it’s what these talking heads don’t tell you that matters most. Remember folks, State Farm threatened the engineers with termination because they found 2 instances of wind rather than flood in over 90 reports. Whadda you think the “boxing glove” hands people would do to a lawyer that doesn’t tote the company line?