Think of the poor insurance companies!

As they struggle to survive the arrogant homeowner's demands for justice:

NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday against Hurricane Katrina victims who argued their insurance policies should have covered flood damage caused by levee breaches that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans during the 2005 storm.

The case could affect thousands of rebuilding residents and business owners in Louisiana. An insurance expert had said a ruling against the industry could have cost insurers $1 billion.

"This event was excluded from coverage under the plaintiffs' insurance policies, and under Louisiana law, we are bound to enforce the unambiguous terms of their insurance contracts as written," Judge Carolyn King wrote for a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

As a result, she said the panel found those who filed the suit "are not entitled to recover under their policies."

So tell me again. Just why is it we buy and pay yearly on insurance then?

Update: This comment (number 41) was taken from Crooks and Liars' post on the court verdict on Katrina's insurance companies:

concernedmom Says:

As a resident of south Louisiana, I am seeing the results of the insurance debacle first hand. Prior to Katrina, Louisiana was ranked near the top for citizens who took advantage of the national flood insurance program. Sadly, many who had both homeowners and flood insurance are still getting screwed by these companies. The homeowners policy won’t pay for water damage, even if the house didn’t flood but the roof was ripped off causing water to enter the house. The flood policies won’t pay because the house didn’t actually flood but was inundated by water after the roof was damaged. Those whose homes actually flooded and had flood insurance are finding that even though they held a policy that policy is not coming anywhere close to paying what it costs to clean up the damage from having several feet of vile and toxic water sitting in their homes for weeks. And their homeowners policy won’t pay for any of it. So, unless they are wealthy enough to pay out of pocket for repairs while fighting to get what they paid for, they are stuck. Two years later, there are still areas of the city that look like they did two years ago. And I am not only referring to the 9th Ward, but also Lakeview and the entire parish of St. Bernard. And make no mistake, the damage was not from the hurricane, but from the negligence of the COE, and they have admitted such.

So here we are 2 years later, the promises Bush made from Jackson Square still unmet, and now the water resources bill, currently under consideration in the House, is headed for a veto by Mr. Bush. This is a bill that would help with coastal restoration and hurricane protection. This morning’s Times-Picayune carried an article regarding this bill. It states that all of our state reps have vowed to vote against the veto should it come. Rep. Baker (R), suggested that the Senate wait till after the August recess to keep Bush from issuing a pocket veto, but the Senate will likely pass the bill before the recess. Any takers on a bet that the pocket veto is exactly what will happen? A large portion of the fuel needed to run America passes through or is refined in south Louisiana. It seems that this administration can find trillions of dollars to throw down a rathole in Iraq, but when it comes to protecting American citizens, infrastructure and keeping promises made, well, it’s just too expensive.