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Natural Disasters
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6/3/2006 2:30:00 AM | Allstate cuts quake coverage 
=(0) Allstate Insurance will discontinue earthquake insurance for over 400,000 policies in the US, and no longer offers new optional earthquake coverage for property insurance. The company has made similar decisions about hurricane policies in Florida and New York. It is part of Allstate's policy of reducing the company's exposure to high-risk disa...
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6/1/2006 7:57:00 PM | Last year's hurricane season yielded unexpected health problems =(0) Doctors in Houston, Texas, who treated many patients who were hurricane evacuees last year, report a high incidence of heart problems and that heart attacks suffered were especially severe, immediately following the disaster. Several factors contributed to this, they believe, including failure to bring along, or take, medication, and extreme s...
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5/31/2006 10:56:00 AM | St. Bernard council opts out of class action suit =(0) The Council of St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana has decided to opt out of a class action lawsuit against Murphy Oil U-S-A. Twenty-seven pending lawsuits were consolidated into the class action which claims damages to homes as a result of a crude oil leak from an oil refinery immediately following Hurricane Katrina. Those opting out of the ...
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5/27/2006 10:38:00 PM | Couple Gets $13M in Tornado Damage Suit =(0) In a case that could be seen as encouraging to last year's hurricane victims, a couple won a $13 million judgement against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. in Oklahoma for tornado-related damages. It was part of a class-action suit claiming that State Farm intentionally underpaid policyholders after tornados destroyed their homes in 1999. A...
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4/29/2006 8:07:00 AM | Report urges disaster planning =(0) An independent agency, the Little Hoover Commission, warns that California lacks a plan for a catastrophic emergency. The report, sent to the State Government, outlines the problems and suggests solutions. Disaster preparedness is spread among different agencies throughout the state, resulting in disorganization and overlap, the report s...
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4/26/2006 5:31:00 PM | Hoeven asks Congress to improve crop insurance programs =(0) North Dakota Governor John Hoeven wants crop insurance legislation to become part of the next six-year farm bill, with changes designed to improve compensation to farmers affected by weather disasters. He is also asking the Senate for $4 billion in agricultural disaster assistance because currently available farm insurance programs are inadequ...
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4/26/2006 6:12:00 AM | Insurers canceling coastal policies =(0) Many insurance companies are canceling or refusing to sell policies to homeowners all along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. In Florida, more than a half million homeowners policies are in jeopardy, while in Mississippi, premiums are expected to rise by 400%. A combination of recent and forecast hurricane activity and in...
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4/4/2006 10:52:00 AM | Flirting with disaster =(0) Many companies are resorting to "aggressive improvisation" to bring their companies back to operations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In fact, with smart disaster recovery process in place, tactics like this can be completely avoided. Disaster recovery, or DR testing and procedures can save any company thousands of dollars by planning for Hurric...
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4/4/2006 1:14:00 AM | Foti to probe Red Cross fraud =(0) After claims of fraud and theft against several volunteers with the American Red Cross Hurrican Katrina relief effort, Attorney General Charles Foti Jr. has been called to investigate. Evidence suggests that several red cross volunteers were fraudulently selling supplies for profit...............................
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3/30/2006 2:11:00 PM | Red Cross turns Katrina fraud findings over to FBI =(0) An internal investigation headed by the Red Cross into its Hurricane Katrina relief efforts has yielded information about Red Cross supplies being illegally stockpiled and sold and Red Cross kitchens ordering uneeded supplies. The investigation is now moving forward under the Senate Finance Committee and the FBI......................
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3/27/2006 7:54:00 AM | Federal Judge Rejects Allstate Request to Dismiss Hurricane =(0) A lawsuit against Allstate will continue in Mississippi, according to a judge's ruling. Allstate had wanted the case dismissed. At issue is whether the home, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, was damaged by wind or floodwaters. The homeowners did not have flood insurance because they were told by their realtor when purchasing the home that it wasn't ...
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3/27/2006 12:10:00 AM | Sen. Lott Wants Insurance Company Hearings =(0) US Senator Trent Lott has become personally involved in the battle between Gulf Coast homeowners and the insurance industry. He has filed a lawsuit on behalf of hurricane victims who feel unfairly compensated by insurers. The Senator also plans to hold federal hearings on the issue and suspects that some companies have been fraudulently denying cla...
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3/26/2006 12:45:00 AM | Windstorm pool pushes for bonds =(0) The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association recommends legislation that would approve $800 million in bonds to fund areas vulnerable to hurricane devastation. The association is underfunded at present...................
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3/25/2006 6:13:00 AM | Allstate loses Katrina ruling =(0) An Allstate Insurance unit has lost a ruling to dismiss the lawsuit brought by several victims of Hurricane Katrina who allege that their insurance claims were denied in bad faith. Although merely a ruling on a specific part of the case, this may be a harbinger of things to come in the cases of many Hurricane Katrina victims who have water damage t...
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3/23/2006 6:19:00 AM | Suit accuses State Farm of fraud =(0) A Mississippi couple is suing State Farm Insurance Co. for denying their claim after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It is one of many disputes over whether the home was destroyed by wind (covered by insurance) or flood water (not covered). In this case, two conflicting engineering reports surfaced and the insurance company acted on ...
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3/16/2006 6:50:00 AM | Two plead guilty to false FEMA hurricane claims =(0) Two Georgia men await sentencing after pleading guilty to filing false disaster relief claims for Hurricane Katrina victims. The men were not living in the area at the time of the hurricane, as they claimed, but received relief money because of their fraudulent claims...................
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3/7/2006 1:22:00 AM | Newspaper companies join in on FEMA fight =(0) More newspaper organizations are joining the legal battle against FEMA. At issue is FEMA's refusal to disclose the names and addresses of those who received disaster aid after the four Florida hurricanes in 2004. FEMA claims it's a privacy issue; the newspapers say that the information is needed to monitor the government's use of public funds.........
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3/6/2006 6:21:00 PM | Insurance Trade Group Sees Storm Brewing in Texas =(0) The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is inadequately funded, according to insurance industry spokespeople. With predictions of another active hurricane season, worries are that the fund, already depleted after Hurricane Rita, would have to dip into the Texas General Revenue Fund to cover claims. The Association calls for changes in legislation...
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