Insurers in the Gulf Coast received more bad news when another Katrina-related negative verdict was announced in a case that involved a Louisiana homeowner and insurance giant Allstate.
According to an article appearing on BusinessWeek.com, a federal U.S. district court jury awarded more than $2.8 million to Robert Weiss, who lost his home to Hurricane Katrina. Allstate had claimed that most of the damage was due to storm surge, an event not covered in most homeowners' policies.
But according to BusinessWeek writer Michael Kunzelman, the jury disagreed, finding that Weiss was owed $561,600 for wind damage to his home and its contents, plus another $2.25 million in damages and penalties for not paying the claim quickly enough. Weiss is reported to have had a federal flood insurance policy in addition to his Allstate homeowner policy. According to Kunzelman, the Allstate policy had limits of $343,000 for the dwelling and $240,100 for personal property. Allstate reportedly attributed most of the damage to storm surge and paid just over $34,000 for the loss, which included additional living expenses.
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