Washington–Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., has filed a lawsuit againsthis insurer in a dispute over water damage to his Gulf Coast homeand said he may not run for re-election because of it.

The senator lost his home in Pascagoula, Miss., when HurricaneKatrina ravaged the area in late August. Sen. Lott, in an interviewwith the Sun Herald, a southern Mississippi newspaper, said hislosses totaled roughly $400,000 after taking flood insurance intoaccount, roughly half of his net worth.

Sen. Lott is suing to have his home insurer State Farm pay hisremaining loss, which the carrier is denying on the grounds that itinvolves flood damage, which is excluded by policy language.

State Farm said it could not comment on the litigation, but, "wehandle each claim on its own merits and we pay what we oweaccording to the contract," commented spokesman Phil Supple.

The senator filed his lawsuit through Richard Scruggs, aplaintiffs' attorney who has previously taken on cigarette andasbestos manufacturers, and is now bringing suits to compelinsurers to reimburse homeowners for hurricane damage arguing thatthe product they sold should have covered it.

Mr. Scruggs is also the senator's brother-in-law.

In the interview, Sen. Lott said that he filed the lawsuitdespite his Republican disdain for the work of the plaintiffs' bar,noting that he told Mr. Scruggs, "I don't believe in what he does,those big plaintiffs' suits, but how can insurance companies say wedidn't have any wind damage from this storm?"

"From a personal standpoint, I need a little more income. Butthe people I care most about, those on the coast, are hurting andneed help," he said.

Mississippi's attorney general, Democrat Jim Hood, has filedsuit on behalf of the citizens of the state to force insurancecompanies to pay for wind-driven water damages and tide surge thatthe insurers have denied saying they are subject to flood exclusionlanguage.

The state's Republican governor, Haley Barbour, has said heprefers to negotiate with insurers to provide more for those whohave lost their homes.

Insurance industry groups and their member companies havestrongly opposed Mr. Hood's lawsuit, saying that a ruling in hisfavor would effectively eviscerate contract law by requiringinsurers to cover damages specifically excluded for their policiesand force insurers to cover damages for which they have notcollected premiums.

Sen. Lott had harsh words for State Farm, noting that thecompany's chairman "really made me mad."

"I talked to him after I had been dealing with them for solong," Sen. Lott added. "He said he would look into my situation. Itold him I didn't want any special consideration; I wanted them todo what was right for everybody."