insurance

Some time ago I wrote about a progressive, Gary Anderson, running for Mississippi state insurance commissioner against an incumbent who favored insurance companies over average Americans. This left many victims of Katrina without recourse if their insurance companies tried to refuse to pay out what the victims deserved. My friend from Mississippi, who knows many Katrina victims, sent me this report on the 2nd anniversary of Katrina's landfall:

Most of the people who DID receive money from the insurance companies received only a fraction of what it would cost to replace what they lost. There was the on going battle of wind vs water issue. That even Trent Lott had to deal with. He sued state farm and they settle out of court kind of quietly... However, when Bush visited the coast he promised Trent that he would rebuild his waterfront house. I think it would be interesting to look into what really happened in that case. No one I talked to was happy with the insurance settlements that they received. Now premiums are so high that many people can only afford the basic coverage. Insurance companies were boasting at how much money they gained last year, mainly because they didn't pay the proper amount of money to the people who lost their homes in the disaster. Also, many people have not had the money to fix or rebuild their house and today is the 2 year anniversary.

Bush and the current Mississippi Insurance Commissioner are trying to tell America that all is well with the victims of hurricane Katrina...our wonderful insurance companies have taken care of all that, right?

Wrong. Most victims of Katrina have still received little help and Insurance Companies are doing their best to keep from paying. Their lives can't get back to normal because many still don't have homes. They are losing what little they have left while hotels and casinos are buying land that used to be homes.

Change may be on the way, but we need to help. Last week was the Democratic Party primary for Mississippi Insurance Commissioner. In this primary there were two candidates. One was heavily funded by the insurance companies while the other, Gary Anderson, is pro-consumer and was funded by people like you and me with the help of Democracy for America.

Gary Anderson won the primary. He now goes on to the general election in November. If he wins, he will try to help Katrina victims recover rather than protecting insurance companies.

Here is a statement from Gary Anderson:

Jackson, Mississippi - Democratic Insurance Commissioner Candidate Gary Anderson responded to George Dale's lies today at the State's Capitol Building. Anderson referenced Dale's latest TV ad in which he claims that 99% of all insurance claims have been settled.

"George Dale is either lying or in denial about the percent of Katrina claims settled. Ask Mississippians in the south if 99% of lives are back to normal, ask Mississippians across the state if they feel they have been treated fairly - they will tell you they have not. Dale is making a desperate attempt to link me to different groups but the truth is he knows Gary Anderson is on the side of Mississippi's insurance ratepayers", said Anderson at the press conference.