I am sure that I am not the only person that is filing a Post-Katrina report, but here goes.
I had a home located over 20 miles form the beach, in north Hancock County, Mississippi. It was hit by a tornado, spawned by Hurricane Katrina. Like many others, I am now in limbo thanks to my insurance company.
Unfortunately, due to financial difficulty after a severe car accident, I was no longer able to pay for my independent homeowners insurance. I called my mortgage company (New South Federal, also a joke) and explained the situation. They placed insurance on my home in case of loss and I paid back the amount in escrow. Granted, the insurance was for the balance of the loan only, but something was better than nothing, right? Wrong.
Katrina came and took almost everything. Luckily, my mother-in-law never lost phone service (a miracle, we had people coming for miles to use the phone) and I was able to notify the insurance company three days post storm. It took until November until an adjuster showed up to what was left of my home. Granted, from the outside it looks habitable, but the inside tells a different story.
I lost my job after the storm, and the adjuster was INCREDIBLY demeaning and told me to "clean up this mess while I had nothing better to do". The house is full of black mold and in the process of trying to "clean up the mess" I have contracted pneumonia. The adjuster made me leave the house sobbing. My husband told him off without mincing words.
We recontacted the insurance company and asked for a second adjuster. It took until February for her to come out. But when she did arrive she was very nice and sympathetic and took detailed notes and pictures. It was like a "good cop, bad cop" scenario.
In March I received a large envelope from the insurance company with their "offer". My home was 3,000 square feet. For rebuilding they allotted me $39,000.in their description, this was to strip the house to the frame and start over. I contacted three contractors (local) and the cheapest estimate I could find was $180,000. Then each contractor told me the structure was unstable and they would not send their workers in in fear that it would collapse and hurt or worse kill one of their workers.
I sent these estimates to the insurance company and was notified that they were going to send a "structural engineer" out to see the house. He came out and my husband met with him. He also took detailed measurements and pictures. He told my husband to give him two weeks to file a report. We called the insurance company to see if the report was received. We were told yes, but it was not going to help us, that the "engineer" thought the house could be rebuilt. Funny, I looked on the MS state Engineer website and this person is not listed as a Licensed Engineer or Surveyor. Curiouser and Curiouser.
Needless to say, we have yet to reach a conclusion with the company and we are still paying a mortgage on a home we cannot live in. FEMA (HA!!!) has given us an unlivable trailer (that is a whole other post) so we are living on a closed in back porch at my mother-in-law's home. I am paying the utilities here, and the mortgage so we can't afford to get an apartment or rental home, what ordinary people could?
I do NOT want sympathy, I just want to warn others to STAY AWAY from Great American. Scrape pennies if you have to to get better insurance. God knows, I have learned my lesson. This company is a FRAUD! I paid my money every month, as much as it killed me. I just want the mortgage paid off, so we can start over!
I did see a lawyer and he said that I had a case due to "Breech of Good Faith", but he wanted over $12,000 that I don't have. I contacted a few other lawyers and their fees were the same if not worse.
I am also trying to find an independent engineer in MS, but every one I have contacted states that they have to be hired through the insurance company, and they are refusing to send out another one.
I admit my own fault that I could not pay for better insurance, and I am not asking them for anything but what I feel that I deserve.
I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone that came here after the storm and helped and for all those that donated to post katrina causes, it is greatly appreciated.
Please remember that it was not only new orleans that was hit!
Thanks to everyone that reads this, and please, any suggestions about what I can do from here are appreciated.
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