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Don’t Forget the Insurance Companies, Mr. President
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Statement by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood:
“All that the people have left is hope and I’m not
going to allow an insurance company to wrongfully take that
hope away.”
Office
of the Attorney General
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(Thursday, September 15, 2005) - In a speech to the nation
tonight, President George W. Bush plans to lay out his plan to help
the victims of Hurricane Katrina recover. In light of new allegations
of fraud perpetrated by the insurance industry on hurricane victims,
President Bush should send a strong message that any insurance company
that wrongly denies claims or defrauds policyholders will be held
accountable.
Today the State of Mississippi sued five insurance companies, alleging
that insurance
adjusters have tried to trick hurricane victims out of millions of
dollars in claims.
“Strong steps to protect hurricane victims from insurance industry
fraud and abuse must be part of any presidential relief plan,”
said Ken Suggs, President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
“The people of the Gulf Coast have already been victimized
by our country's worst natural disaster ever. The President must not
allow them to be victimized again by insurance industry deception
and greed,” said Suggs.
“If the President really cares about the hurricane victims,
he’ll use whatever power at his disposal to put a stop to what
at best, is fraud, and could very well be criminal,” said Suggs.
“What we’ve learned so far about the insurance industry’s
response to this natural disaster is troubling,” he continued,
citing the allegations in Mississippi as well the following:
Americans for Insurance Reform has reported calls to its hotline
from policyholders
who were told they would not receive any money for immediate living
expenses until a claims adjuster had inspected their property,
something that would not occur for weeks.
Before anyone from the insurance industry had even visited –
much less inspected – some of the hardest hit areas, the Insurance
Industry Institute was already making broad generalizations about
liability. On Sept. 4, the Chief Economist of the Institute declared
that the insurance industry is not liable for a “majority”
of damage to homes.
The description by some in the industry of the damage from the storm
surge as the “Great New Orleans Flood” and a separate event
from “Hurricane Katrina” is ridiculous, contradicts the
scientific assessment of the National Climactic Data Center, and appears
to be the first part of a “spin” campaign designed to provide
cover for denying claims from victims.
# # #
As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA
promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, defends the constitutional
right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through
education and disclosure of information critical to public health
and safety. With 60,000 members worldwide, ATLA provides lawyers with
the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients
successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice
system.
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