Claims News Service, Aug. 15, 4:26 p.m. EDT — Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company today won the first trial out of hundreds of lawsuits over Hurricane Katrina damage.
U.S. District Court Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled that a Mississippi couple cannot collect damages from Katrina storm surge because their insurance policy clearly excluded flood coverage, yet he did say they could be compensated for water damage that they could prove was a result of high winds.
“Almost all of the damage to the Leonard residence is attributable to the incursion of water,” Senter wrote in his conclusion.
According to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the case could have set a precedent for hundreds of other court challenges to the insurance industry for denying billions of dollars in Katrina claims, had the couple prevailed.
Senter's full report is available here.
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