Two trial lawyers' associations issued a report stating insurers in the past have used questionable tactics to deny homeowners claims and said they have launched a petition drive with hurricane victims urging carriers to put policyholders above profits.

Insurer group representatives called the report a "sour grapes" response to an unsatisfactory decision last week in a major flood claims case brought by plaintiffs' attorneys in Mississippi.

The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America said their 13-page report issued yesterday illustrates the industry's practice of denying claim payments to policyholders.

Titled "Pattern of Greed: How Insurance Companies Put Profits Over Policyholders," it lists a number of incidents during past disasters where it says individual companies were accused of falsely denying claims to customers.

It also asserts that the insurance industry, shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit, began promoting the storm as a flood incident, calling the event "The Great New Orleans Flood."

It says the industry's surplus of $427.1 billion for 2005, according to financial information assembled by the Insurance Information Institute, further illustrates the industry's greed.

"While the insurance industry enjoys record profits and CEOs bulging bank accounts, too many residents of the Gulf region are left waiting for the settlements they deserve to help them get back on their feet," said Ed Zebersky, president of AFTL, in a statement.

He added, "Whether it be an earthquake, tornado or a hurricane, insurance companies have engaged in questionable tactics over the years to delay or deny the payment of justified and fair claims. That is why we are urging the insurance companies to clean up their act and pay fair and just claims once and for all."

The Florida Insurance Council, in a statement issued by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said the attorneys' association's report is totally without merit.

"While the insurance industry is busy helping hurricane victims reconstruct their lives again, the trial bar appears to be hell-bent on deconstructing the insurance industry," said Sam Miller, executive vice president of the FIC.

"It's an apparent act of sour grapes after losing lawsuits in Mississippi that they had hoped would garner millions of dollars for themselves," said Mr. Miller.

In an Aug. 15 ruling, U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter ruled the majority of damage to a Mississippi home was due to flooding and was not covered by a policy written by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company with flood exclusion language.

The FIC's statement noted that the industry has settled close to 95 percent of homeowners claims in Mississippi and Louisiana, totaling nearly $15.5 billion. The industry, it added, will pay more than one million homeowners claims totaling $16.4 billion from Katrina.

The petition, to be found at HYPERLINK "http://www.peopleoverprofits.org/"www.peopleoverprofits.org, calls on insurance industry CEOs to make the industry "clean up its act and pay fair and just claims without delay."

The site, which bills itself as a grassroots campaign, also has a petition directed to Congress objecting to changes in rules and awards in medical malpractice litigation. The site advocates against what it says are acts by the courts, legislators or business that are not in the best of interest of the general public.

Special Reports /

Attorney's Group Says Insurers Greedy; Launches Petition

Related Stories

Recommended For You