State Farm pulls out of Mississippi

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/14/news/companies/state_farm.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

Like a good neighbor State Farm will leave you. State Farm took a gamble when it insured the good citizens of Mississippi, they figured they could make a few million dollars without too much risk, afterall, when is a Level 4 hurricane going to hit? People paid their high premiums, the money kept rolling in, and everybody was happy. Then one day Hurricane Katrina comes barging in, and now State Farm doesn't want to pay up. What is flooding is wind damage and what is wind damage is flood damage, the excuses and accusations go flying back and forth between destitute homeowners and State Farm. State Farm wants us to feel sorry for them, and have public affairs campaigns to tell us what a great company they are and how many claims they have already settled, etc. They don't have enough money to cover all the claims and might go bankrupt, etc. Honestly, have you ever seen a national insurance company go under?

Now I don't have all the details, but I think if you are paying your premiums and have been a loyal customer for many years, you ought to get your money. If the insurance company doesn't want to honor your claim they should at least give you back all your money you've given them over the years. What is at stake here is greed, corporate greed. The homeowners just want to rebuild their homes, their businesses, and their lives. Now if State Farm doesn't want to insure them after that, that's fine, but at least honor legitimate claims.

Here are some interesting things I found on http://www.insurancejournal.com in the comments section:

http://www.unitedpolicyholders.org/pdfs/WhitePaper_report.pdf