Ms. Russell, I am happy and relieved to hear that you are finally being helped.

This was originally written with the intent to be posted with the first Citizens Journal story regarding the FEMA flub....

It is absolutely heart-breaking that some could read this story and then call the citizens of Mississippi and Louisiana idiots, lazy, stupid, etc…. You should be ashamed. Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to treat other people? I would tell anyone who knows you (all of you who responded this way) to beware- self centered egotist only interested in furthering themselves no matter what happens to everyone else.

As for those who gripe about insurance- I want to know exactly where you got your information. What makes you think these people do not have insurance? Do you really think that the rest of the country has homeowners insurance, but that for some reason Mississippi and Louisiana are anomalies? Places where the norms of society got passed by? That everyone is backwards there? Well you know what, I know people who do think like you. That way of thought comes from a sheltered upbringing and parents who taught their children that everyone else is trying to drag them down so be the first to do it. Why don’t you just come out and say what you thought when you saw this unfold on the TV. You saw a bunch of black people whose culture you couldn’t understand so you called them ignorant and a bunch of white people that you think must be white trash if they chose to live among said black people. You look down upon them and actually think they are lower class citizens and that is why you assume (wrongly) that they had no insurance. Hell, Babs herself said they were used to living like that, right? It is somewhat entertaining that the rest of us whose minds aren’t closed can sit and read you entries and laugh about the fact that you talk of insurance when you really don’t even know how it works- my friends and family have loved to laugh at your posts over the past couple of days. To you I say, I hope you don’t get into a car accident while driving and try to get your insurance to cover it when you know you shouldn’t drive it on the street where there is a higher chance of it getting hit and then the whole country’s insurance premiums will go up as a result of you- you stupid lazy idiot. Does that make sense to you? You don’t have to write back and tell me I’m wrong because I know I am not. I heard it from many peoples mouths right after the hurricane hit and it just is sick and sad.

As for the “not my tax dollars” bloggers out there. I WOULD rather have my tax dollars pay to rebuild the homes of my fellow citizens. Where else would I want it to go? To decorate the White House Holiday Tree (and although I am Catholic, I am purposely call it a holiday tree as the lines become more blurred between church and state under this president). Why don’t you worry about the waste of your tax dollars known as the president? His salary is paid with your money. You should be mad as hell that they are wasting your tax dollars on someone so incompetent that he would place an inexperienced idiot into a job that directly affects millions of Americans lives. It was a serious error that resulted in the death of many people. How does that not bother you?

And lastly, for the “don’t blame bush” group, answer me why I should not in a way that is convincing and I might be able to find some respect for you. Do you honestly think he can lead a country to democracy that has been a site of utter turmoil in a region of the world which demonstrates time and time again that it is not ready to behave and play nice, but that when it comes to our own people he’s powerless? Come on. He is the god dammed president and if he wanted he could find a way. Period. Impeach. Impeach the president for putting the welfare of other countries and special interest groups before that of Americans. I think it is treason to aid another country when your own is suffering. Had we not been in Iraq, we would have had more resources to dedicate to the South and the whole mess would have been handled better from the beginning. Impeach the president for his refusal to help Louisiana because the governor did not form her letter seeking aid in the proper form. Every death that occurred as a result of people being trapped that could have been helped had her letter not been refused is on his head.

As an aside, it is well known and can be proven statistically that religion played a major role in the election of G.W. As for you who elected him based on religion I ask, is someone who is a true follower of Jesus willing to let anyone die? Would a true follower have gotten out of their helicopter and walked with the lowest- the most poor and suffering there? Would they be more concerned with helping the poor (the Bible does say they will inherit the earth so obviously God thought it was pretty damn important to take care of them)? Or is it all about homosexuality and abortion to you and you actually don’t have to do anything else that being a good Christian requires? I learned my religion, I didn’t find it, nor did I have to be born again since I never had a drinking, gambling, drug, screwing, etc… problem in the first place. What I learned is that above all we are to love. We are not to judge because God does that. We are not to use religion as a political tool because it degrades the good that we were taught. Our relationship with God is personal and although we may celebrate it in a community, we are not to impose it on a community. Congratulations religious voters. You got a president who is very good at pushing his views on everybody else, BUT THAT IS THE ONLY THING HE IS GOOD AT. HE CARES NOTHING ABOUT TAKING CARE OF THE SUFFERING, OR HIS HELICOPTER WOULD HAVE BEEN FERRYING PEOPLE OUT AND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE GROUND HANDING OUT AID. HE WOULD BE PRESSURING THE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO PROCESS THESE CLAIMS QUICKER.

Now, Miss Russell I am sorry for using this blog to get out all my feelings about the current president. This forum was probably not the best choice, but I wanted what I had to say to be read by Republicans and Democrats alike. As you can guess, I am a Democrat and I am sick of being spoken about like a whiner with no real substance. Anyone who reads this can see I have substance. And if you listen closer, it’s not whining, it’s crying. Crying because this country is suffering and half of it doesn’t even care.

I know for a fact that Insurance companies are very slow when it come to paying out claims, they take your payments each month on time, and you have to spend hours on the phone getting no were, I wish you the best.

I agree with Colleen from Chicago. It is mind-boggling to me that there are people in America who are so uncaring. The real divide is not red states / blue states but those who care about others and those that don't. Unfortunately, some of our politicians fall into the "don't care category" as well. Most have enough sense of responsibility and concern about image to not let their non-caring be blantantly displayed, but the attitude is there and - mixed with general incompetence - costs lives.

I'm a senior and truthfully...I think many of the N. O. residents who could have evacuated, didn't & this made it twice as hard for the really needy people. I also think the local government dropped the ball.

Ms. Russell, I'm so glad that you replied to self-righteous, selfish, mean spirited people who are so quick to judge and begrudge. FEMA is a total waste of our money. Better to do without FEMA altogether; the money could be better spent. Colleen of Chicago is right also. God will judge, and that goes for Republicans, too. They can lie to us, but they can't lie to Him.

You mention the insurance companies with no insurance company names. Wouldn't you see the money faster if the name was used. Probably would get their attention. Especially if it's one of the companies who spends millions on advertising to get your trust!

Colleen from Chicago,
You are 100% right!!!! As a Louisiana transplant, I am so proud of you for saying what needed to be said. Now to all the wonderful WASP in this country, that gave negative remarks. You people have got to be the most ignorant, prejudice(admit it, you really are.) people on the planet. Do you really think families like ours did not have Insurance? I am lucky, my husband is a commercial Airline Pilot and has a job.. We have money in the bank.. we are college graduates and are healthy and yet some idiot thinks because we live in Louisiana we must be some kind of bums waiting for Fema to set us up?? Good grief, the next person who writes such an ignorant response should have a PHD, at least you will be just 1 step more educated then us and I might be able to be open minded with your opinon. If you really are just a 50 year old High School drop out that has a confederate flag hanging from your trailer making ignorant remarks go back to the swamp. If you are a Holy Roller type shame on you for not being Jesus like and keeping your negative mouth shut. and if you are a conservative Rush (drug addict) Limbaugh fan, I just want you to know that Christmas is around the corner and I can't wait to spend all of your tax dollar money.

I think your wrong Rozita. We do need FEMA. The idea of having someone there to organize, help in distributing supplies, coordinating relief effort, providing monies, clean up effort, organizing evacuations, helping rebuilding infrastructure and all around helping hands in peoples time of needs is an exellent one. THAT'S what we need. This is an organization that is riddled with people that need direction, can't think ahead of whats needed(even though thats their business) and said they were "waiting on local officials to make a move or ask assistance, placed under a newly formed government agency(and we know how efficent the government can be) which has huge responsability to our country as it is. Put that with the insurance industry which too many people know that they love to give any reason in the world NOT to pay out on claims and make mistakes, but never give an appropriate apology if/when they acknowlege their mistake. To be stnding on a slab of concrete that used to be your home and reading a letter telling you that you didn't sustain enough damage to warrant a clain is criminal. How many people are going to be held accountable for the mistakes made after this is all over and people have rebuild their lives??? Not many, you can bet on that...

as many comments your first got even FEMA is not so dumb to not notice....good for you!!!!

Yea for Colleen! I am a PhD and supposedly don't live in a flood zone. My property survived Camille with no damage and no water and my insurance agent told me I didn't need flood insurance. My house had over two feet of water and inches deep mud after the storm surge, yet my home owner's insurance and my "wind and hail" insurance won't cover the thousands of dollars of ruined contents.

FEMA sent me $5,200 to "repair" my home. That was enough to give me appliances and dry wall--no bed, no furniture, no rugs, no computer. Yet I feel that I am blessed because most of my friends lost EVERYTHING! They also had insurance, but cannot begin to rebuild because FEMA hasn't released the new height requirements and Waveland cannot issue building permits until FEMA does.

To those of you who say we are whining: try living here. It's not easy! We fight daily for our survival, our insurance settlements, our depression, and the mud. Those of us who are strong, are trying to rebuild our homes and our town. How dare you judge us!

Colleen has it so right. How can our government pay to rebuild another country and not the states in our own? I wonder if it's because HAlburton (sp?) wouldn't make enough profit with citizens watching them.

As a worker that has come here to help rebuild, I hear countless of times per day, that people have had an adjusters by but that was months ago and nothing has been done since. Insurance will drop us when we are more than 30 days late, but they do not get checks out to these people in all this time. If the government does anything, they should make these ins companies respond promptly to the service we have bought and paid for over years and years. Now that would be a worthy government investigation panel. Find out just how much money ins. companies make everyday they can manage to stall paying out on these claimes. I am convinced that everyday they hold their money is another day of interest they make. While the gulf coast continues to live with water runing in there roofs, and in tents. If there is a crime or neglegence committed down here it is in how the insurances companies are not acting promptly. I have also noticed that fuel prices here are out of sight. Which begs another question. Why, is fuel so much cheaper in, the mid west when the refiners can be hit with rock from here. hmmm? Can't be the high cost of trucking it in.

Angela is right. Name insurance companies!

Best of luck. My circumstances aren't as bad (only 90K in damages to the house), but I am getting the same run around. You spend your days wondering if enough time has passed so you can call the insurance company again. And if you've tried to deal with the "SBA Part" of the FEMA process, ai yi yi, that's even worse.

All I know is I am sitting here with holes in the roof, moldy sheet rock, and it keeps raining. I'm paralyzed to get anything done until such time as SOMEBODY steps up to the plate.

Do I think the Feds owe me a hand out? Nope. But I do resent the billions spent elsewhere in the world, when 60% of south louisiana is still without electricity, and 50% of the houses in my own town are uninhabitable.

And wait until the time comes when/if you have to get NEW homeowners. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Colleen, Kate,..
You espouse many christian principles with which I strongly agree! However, the anger and intolerance which you display is distinctly not christian!

Ms. Russell, I read your first post and it didn't dawn on me that you had insurance, cause you didn't mention that. I agree you should be writing about your insurance company's (by name) failure to assist you, instead of FEMA's. I feel you misdirected a lot of people with your first post. Was that your intention?

The insurance companies plan to get rich off of this disaster. The Omaha World Herald newspaper carried an article a few weeks ago about all the money Berkshire Hathaway was going to make off raising premiums on reinsurance using Katrina as the reason. They also have $40 BILLION set aside in reserves for claims from previous profits. For those not familiar with Berkshire Hathaway it is the holding company for Warren Buffett, the first or second richest man in America who gives virtually nothing to charity; they on Geico and a large re-insurer which was involved in the AIG insurance fraud scandal you may have read about.

FEMA is responsible for paying flood claims but are not paying even on adjusted claims according to the news.

I'am glad to hear that something good came of this, way to go. I beleive that FEMA should be made to prove they are doing anyone any good...it's sound's like they need to fire everyone and start over.

I completely understand people's frustration with the speed of response, but these blogs seem to be just another opportunity for Bush Bashing by like-minded Bush haters. Complaining about the President serves no purpose.
There is an organization called FEMA. It is staffed by people that do little until there is an emergency and then are overwhelmed when there is an emergency. This is not surprising; it makes no sense for us to keep a staff sufficient for a Katrina-like event in reserve. At this time there are probably a million people asking for help. How many people do you think are answering the phone?
When faced with limitless need and limited resources, you have to pace the response. In medicine it's call triage. Those with the greatest need come first. If all you have is a grievance with your insurer, get an attorney. There are people living in the street who have no water. (Compassion appears to only need to come from without.) Getting the water and other infrastructure in place allows contractors to get to your home so that it can be rebuilt. Cities get the most attention since more people can be helped faster. Reality is, that people hit last year by hurricanes still live in FEMA trailers. Why do you expect not to? They've been waiting longer.
I live in an area thankfully free of recent disaster. Here it takes more than a year to get a house built. Why should it be faster after a cataclysm? There simply aren't sufficient materials, laborers, insurance adjusters, or building inspectors to rebuild today.
I'm sorry for people's frustration, and for the losses they've suffered. I can't even begin to understand adequately. However, Bush and his adminstration didn't create the hurricane. Bush and his administration did not build the inadequate flood control infrastructure. Bush and his adminstration did not create FEMA. Yes the upper management of FEMA has Bush appointees, but the people on the FEMA staff most people are dealing with are life-long public servants.

Bush is one man. And even Jimmy Carter-with the support of Habitat for Humanity-takes months to build a house. Usually just one at a time, on a street that doesn't need to be cleared of hazardous waste, repaved, with new sewer lines, new power lines, and new phone and cable service.
If you are going to bash people for being religious, why do you think the President has the god-like power to answer everyone's request by creating miracles overnight?

Well I see that Rich from Dallas also has the "stay the course" mentality. Now this woman isn't after our tax dollars, she nefariously didn't mention that she had insurance. I'll bet she was hoping her house would be destroyed just to bug you, Rich.

I wonder what FEMA is for? - if they cannot perform the funtion for their very existence - then what good is the organization?

I love Colleen from Chicago! I wish I could say it as well as she did.

Rich, FEMA IS THE FLOOD INSURANCE! There is no flood insurance available except through the Federal Flood Insurance program. So, no, Maria was not misleading anyone and you and your insinuations have been beyond the pale. Why don't you leave your comfortable home in Dalas and come spend a few weeks down here helping pull out drywall and insulation or hanging new drywall and insulation ... or shoveling off the debris off of slabs, which is all many people have left. Or better yet, why don't you refrain from making such inflamatory statements of which you seem to know nothing about! Maybe when you have walked a mile in the shoes of us down here, then you can make your snide remarks, until then, why don't you go soak your head in a bucket of Katrina water ... I still have some I will be glad to send you! Oh, but better go get your tetnus shot first!

Ditto on naming the insurance companies. Then we can edit the company's motto, to make it more accurate:

"You're in Good Hands With Allstate, except when something really bad happens."

"Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There. But not here, where you need them"

"Nationwide is on Your Side. But never on Your Site."

I could go on.

I am from New Orleans but I have had a similar experience with FEMA. My home is one block from the London Avenue Canal breach. It has been totaled by insurance and SBA but FEMA has not approved rental assistance for me due to "insufficient damage." We still have no power or gas at our residence and there is so much mud and sand surrounding it (6-8 ft dunes) and downed power lines with yellow caution tape surrounding it, that we have not been able to get in and get the contents and sheetrock etc. out. We are displaced in Georgia and have returned to New Orleans twice with no luck. Will be going "home" for Christmas but it doesn't appear anything has changed. And yet, FEMA says I am ineligible for anything past the original $2000. Go figure.

Anybody who lives by the coast is stupid and deserves to get a hurricane. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat a shrimp dinner and plan my next beach vacation, using products brought to me via the port of the US's main artery.

I am about to renew all my insurance policies. It would be a huge benefit to many Americans to know what insurance companies are the culprits in this scheme of slow response. FEMA got your message - did not take long for them to contact you. If all the residents along the Gulf Coast would name their insurance companies and rate their effectiveness, I guarantee the consumers can win this battle!

FYI REGARDING FEMA’s 1.5 MILLION in-WASTED MONEY!!!

FEMA set up three additional work locations in southern California to help take initial registration calls. I was an agent hired by a local employment company, as were some other three thousand people. We worked at Tele-Tech in North Hollywood where we witnessed an EXTREME amount of waste! Despite the people flown in from Washington State, and other parts of the country, FEMA was paying us telephone reps an average of seventeen dollars an hour. So you do the math. 3,000 people at $17 p/h for an 8 hour shift for three shifts a day for THREE days!!!! Like stated before that does not even include the overhead of the operation. To blow your mind even more there were two more centers, one in Pasadena and another in San Diego. Yet I cannot state whether they experienced the same miss management as we did in North Hollywood. We figured the math to be about 1.5 million a day in wages for the three shifts. It was very saddening to experience this and seventy percent of us hoped that once we did take calls we were really making a difference in someone’s life. Who is to really know? FEMA has never released a press statement about this operation nor its success.

To the magnificent residents of the Gulf coast,
I hope that you all overcome your burdens, re-build your homes, businesses, and lives
And I will look forward to your response when the rest of the land locked morons come to their senses, specifically when they are in need of FEMA or their insurance companies, and realize how wrong they all were.
Ms. Russell, please keep up with your posts, there are some people who read these diaries to get an idea of what you are all going through, and try to find some way to help you and not to berate you and all those who post here with their empty soapboxes.

Peace and love to you and yours, Happy Holidays

To Chuck in Omaha - Thank you for that info. Sounds like the insurance companies have been watching and taking notes as to the oil industry's behavior with regards to gas prices. Any excuse to raise them. To Colleen in Chicago - Just so you know, I'm neither Republican or Democrat. I prefer to vote on issues and elections without regard to party lines. However, with regards to your response, you said it ALL.. You said it respectfully, tastefully and most important...TRUTHFULLY. To Ms. Russell, I can only wish you the best and a hope that 2006 will be a much better year.

FEMA did a lot under the Clinton administration and James Lee Witt. I know, I was in Iowa during the 93 flood -- where, miles from any river or brook, my 'garden' apartment flooded 6" ruining most of my needleart design business inventory.
FEMA absolutely CAN be of assistance, the professionals not the appointees know what they are doing. Believe me, Clinton was hit with impeachment due to his foolishness, but no one died. Insurance companies are making high profits -- and now they have to honor their committments -- or maybe not as they drag their feet and claim being overwhelmed.
My heart goes out to LA, MS and AL -- I say get Netherlands to start the levee and have them send a statement to the White House.

As insurance adjusters working in this area, we totally understand what you're going through. Please do not blame your adjuster - we are mostly independents, and have no control over what the companies do. We have worked long and hard to get your claims paid. Unfortunately, the companies are working long and hard to avoid paying. You should definitely name the company - they need to be shown for what they are - lousy!

I’m from Pensacola Florida which was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan in Sept. 2004. I live in a subdivision that is close to the Gulf where over half the homes were destroyed. In comparison to Katrina, it was nothing … but yet it was still devastating.

I feel so much for the people affected by Katrina, because I know what they are in for; dealing with insurance companies, dealing with FEMA, dealing with local government, dealing with no material, dealing with no contractors, dealing with expensive contractors, dealing with unscrupulous contractors, dealing with substandard construction work.

My neighbor paid thousands of dollars in insurance each year and when his house was destroyed, he felt confident that he was covered. Flood provided policy limits but the wind insurance told him that there was no evidence of wind damage and therefore there was nothing to claim! Since flood does not pay for housing assistance, he went to FEMA for housing assistance. I could go on for pages about his dealings with FEMA, but suffice it to say that FEMA is completely dysfunctional! But I agree that the insurance companies should be investigated!

My neighbor was just one of around 21 houses destroyed in our neighborhood, and he moved into his new home last month, which is encouraging. What is discouraging is that the other 20 houses that were destroyed are not even close to being finished and it has been around 15 months since Ivan hit!

So New Orleans and Mississippi – I know what you’re going through – but hang in there and just take one day at a time!

It is a shame that the Insurance companies take so long to pay you what THEY THINK THAT THEY OWE SOMEONE....I think that the Congress should take action and began an investigation into the payment process. Good luck and God BLess You I know how you feel Hurricane Rita kicked our butts also thank God we are trying to recover we have not a dime of insurance.... we will to continue to pray for all the hurricane victums.

Naming companies with bad payment records is paramount to making them pay their dues. After all these people paid theirs whether it was monthly, quarterly, or annually. How they can let these people suffer like this is amoral. I want to know so I can be sure none of them are my insurance companies!!!

I'm here in Waveland, and had been keeping track of these happenings on MSNBC...but finally, I got so disgusted by the ignorant statements the armchair disaster experts were spewing forth with...that I decided to quit reading. Now, a week later, I see that nothing much has changed...except I have to sincerely compliment Colleen...I bow at your feet. I had absolutely no use whatsoever for George W Bush..never voted for him, never will. He is an inanely ignorant dilettante who has no clue about anything except everlastingly clearing brush at his ranch (how much brush can a freakin ranch have?) and riding his bicycle. He reads no newspapers, watches no news, and is fed information by his staff (think people like Brownie, King of FEMA) When family members heard he was coming to Hancock County, they locked me in my camper. To watch him is to realize, with frightening clarity that the Leader of the Free World is a boneheaded idiot. What kills me is now his poll numbers are in the 30's...why??? He is the same wind-up idiot now that he was the year before the election. Only in America would people vote for someone..and then, a year later realize that all the information THAT WAS OUT THERE BEFORE THE ELECTION is TRUE. During the weeks after the hurricane, the only thing that kept me going, after losing everything we have ever owned, was that the Valerie Plame incident might finally bring down the Smirking Chimp..now it seems he is knee deep in that stuff that is probably all over his ranch. One thing is for certain..I am really wanting to get out of Waveland for a breather...and I am seriously thinking about taking my daughter for a trip to Crawford at Easter time so we can join Cindy Sheehan and her group.
As for FEMA....it is necessary...although it was a dumb idea to hook it to Homeland Security, but we all know where that brainiac idea came from (Cheney/Halliburton). As for old Brownie...watch how quickly people will hire him to manage disasters...the same idiots who voted for Bush, of course! Stupid is as stupid does!

What an impressive performance our government at all levels has shown with the Katrina hurricane disaster. First, FEMA sends trucks loaded with ice all over the nation at a cost of millions, has a director who should not be running a dog-show let alone the national disaster response program; The news reports today that the La. Governor was not available to take a call from the Director of Homeland Security because she allegedly was napping, the Mayor of New Orleans does not utilize the city school busses to evacuate people who are then trapped and the busses are buried in the flood. If that isn't enough now FEMA cannot pay flood insurance claims (they are the only provider of this insurance) because Congress has not allocated the money yet (they of course have been on a Thanksgiving break for two weeks) and people are still living in hotel rooms and on cruise ships that is until next month when they get thrown out -- which was going to happen just around the holidays until someone got smart in the government for a change. None of that addresses people trying to get flood insurance checks who can't get past the red tape even if FEMA did have the money at the moment. If all of that isn't enough to convince you that your tax dollars are hard at work in Washington now comes the revelation that FEMA might not have trained their go teams as well as they should have because they didn't have the money. The confidence to react to a crisis shown by federal, state and local governments is to say the least is not overwhelming.

http://www.fema.gov/library/stafact.shtm
Not to disagree with anyone, but has anyone reviewed the Federal Law (Stafford Act)?

Hello and this e-mail is for everyone that has been affected by the aftermath of Katrina. My children and I don't live nowhere near the coast although this has affected our lives mentally.Unfortunately in my case my children can't understand how such a thing has taken place, I know that this is nature.(they have seen all the graphic pictures unfortunatly) Although My boys don't, and their like afraid to even travel and go any where outside of Michigan. I have never seen my children so depressed and afraid to watch television. Before all this had taken place my children and I had plan to move to either Mississippi or Lousiana just for a change and a greater education. Although all this has definitely changed the thought of such, just on their behave. But as for myself I am willing actually to do so and help out I any way I can, to help rebuild these people lives and their in any way possible. I am just tryng to reassure my children that things can happen anywhere. I have prayed for so long for the people of these states after all of this,and I also pray that everyone understands how no body was really prepared for such a catastrophic event not even the Government...We all got caught slipping if you ask me. To the coast who ever your God may be; keep praying to him and asking him for the strength to get over all this...God Bless America...

For the person who suggested naming names, I will say that my husband and I are not in good hands with Allstate. It has been three months since we initally filed our claim and about six weeks since we were allowed back into our home in New Orleans. Our home was not flooded (we are among the lucky), but did sustain substantial roof damage and subsequent ceiling and wall water damage. Despite repeated requests, we have been waiting for almost a month to be assigned our fourth structure adjustor after our third adjustor quit. We never spoke to adjustor #1 and #2 since they never returned our calls and then we were assigned to someone else. Adjustor #3 did come to our house and made a report. When we recieved the report there were several errors, which shouldn't be that big of a deal to straighten out but we cannot get them resolved since we can only resolve them by speaking with our adjustor and Allstate seems unable or unwilling to assign us a new one. I have called their call center two to three times a week for several weeks and each timethe person in the call center is unable to find any evidence that our request for a new adjustor has been processed. It is so very frustrating, and of course no one in the call center can transfer to anyone who can actually help you with your claim (I don't blame the people in the call center, since they are only answering the phone for the company, except for the guy who told me that if it made me feel any better he knew of some customers who were on their tenth adjustor and so having four was not that bad). In the meantime our house still needs a new roof and everytime it rains we wonder how much additional damage is being done to our home. We had decided to pay for a new roof and not wait for the claim to be settled, but were informed by Allstate that it would be better to wait, since the new adjustor will have to see the condition of the damaged roof in order to make an assessment. To further add to the confusion we also have separate adjustors for mold, losses incurred inside the house, and for displacement expenses - not shocking that none of these claims have been settled yet either. Someone told me that I need to be patient since this was such a big storm that Allstate was having trouble keeping up with the claim. I'm sure that before all this happened, if I had called Allstate and told them that I was having a tough month and that I couldn't pay my premium and could they be paient, they would have been totally understanding......right.
It's been almost three months since the storm hit, Allstate continues to give us and thousands of other customers like us the run around. Despite what their commercials promise, the company doesn't seem to care about their customers. With all the stress and anxiety that we are dealing with living in New Orleans and wondering about the future of the city that we love so much, I could do without having the insurance claim from hell to deal with.

I have set aside what little cash assistance the government has sent me (damage from Hurricane Rita) knowing they will ask for it back, or at least will tax me for ‘our’ taxes as income.

What a blessing for that phone call after a huge blow from the FEMA letter. Yes, people not directly affected by Katrina will begin to get numb from the disaster news and images, if they haven't already done so. It's a sad fact. Just ask the millions affected by the tsunami. But here's the thing. If people like yourself don't speak up and let the world know the truth about the relief efforts, then all we know is what we see or hear on tv or, sadly, from the government. While everyone "up top" is playing the name game, victims like you and your family continue to live in uncertainty. Keep telling us your story and tell us who these crazy insurance companies are so that we don't get our insurance from them!!! By the way, I'm a meteorologist in graduate school studying hurricanes. Yes, living on the coast, obviously gives you more of a risk for hurricane strikes, but Katrina was the BIG one. There's people all of the US who live in areas vulnerable to nature. It's a fact of life. You can't escape the weather no matter where you are. People that say it was your fault for living on the coast should just be ignored. Who knows, maybe they live in a trailer in tornado alley, or on a hillside in CA or next to a flood-prone river or even where snow can bury everything along with destruction of power grids and bursting pipes. I think that covers just about every geo region in the US...unless everyone wants to live in AZ...but then again, it is a fact that heatwaves cause the most weather related deaths!!! God Bless you and all those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Maybe, this year, we'll be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas through this tragedy.

Good to read intelligent comments. Perhaps some good will come of the horror of Katrina, but it won't be coming from the government or their friends the insurance companies. Federal tax dollars have bailed out airlines, Chrysler, New York City, the list goes on and on. I hope the idiots who spewed so much of their closed minnded hatred are happy in their warm homes (kept warm by federally subsidized heat) smoking a cigarette (made from federally subsidized tobacco) and eating hamburger (made from federally subsidized meat on a bun made from federally subsidized wheat).
I can only hope that my tax dollars are going to the Gulf Coast.

What those who were not affected by Katrina need to understand:

1. Of course, many of us had insurance.

2. If insurnace companies do not pay the forty billion in claims, then taxpayers everywhere will be footing some of that bill.

3. It is easy to see why the U.S. runs a deficit and Insurance companies have a surplus.

4. You might want to read this letter:

http://www.vstretch.net/a_little_help_in_mississippi.htm

My hart goes out to all the victims. And that is the correct term, VICTIMS! Between FEMA and the insurence companies there are no excuses for not taking care of the people...

...it just makes me sick.

Sometimes one has to wonder if it is better to have insurance or to place the money one would have paid in insurance in a savings account or other ACCESSABLE investment fund. No insurance adjusters, no serious hassle in accessing your money, no denial of claim (its your money). Perhaps instead of working on a retirement investment accounts in relation to Social Security, we should be working on Personal Owned Insurance Accounts.

I'd love to know what insurance companies actually stood up. Did the right thing and paid out!
I assure you. Information makes a difference. If not one does business with dirt bags like allstate, state farm, national and the like then they would be out of business. Speak out for god sake! Who did a good job & who did not!

Great Job! As a former Mississippian and current Floridian I have had the misfortune to see what these storms can do on both of my homefronts. I also am in agreement with the many others that have contributed to the comments placed by what sounds to be a very ignorant population of individuals. It is insulting and embarrassing to read that anyone would cast blame towards the many that have suffered and continued to suffer from this event by saying this is part of their own doing because of neglect of not carrying insurance coverage. Their comments are as ignorant as the minds that are producing them and are not worthy of any further response. I have also been disturbed of the media's forgetfullness of the devastation in Mississippi and the lack of support to the needs of affected individuals in my home state. From afar it seems as if the natinaol media's total focus and only care has been New Orleans and New Orleans only. New Orlean's problems are many but were created by the governing of that city and their complete lack of forethought of what a Hurricane threat truly means. I'm not sure that at this point blaming he and she is the best approach but I am in accordance that accountability (local and federal gov., insurance co.) should be established to remedy the situation and prevent this situation from replicating itself in the future. It is also disappointing to hear the casualness of insurance companies to commnicate to policy holders who have lost all of their possessions that their loss is not applicable for assistance, and then give them the run-around to again get away without having to pay what is entitled. I applaud you Maria for your strength during this ordeal and your sense of urgency to document and tell what is really going on in MS.

I don't know if this information is of any help of not but the Department of Insurance in IL handles all insurance issues and oversees the operations of insurance agencies. I'm not sure if it works the same there but maybe if you contact them, it will help expidite your claims. My issues were usually resolved within 30 days as soon as they were contacted by the Dept of Insurance they got very cooperative. To my knowledge, every state has a Dept of Insurance so if anyone else out there is having insurance problems, this is where you will get results (I hope).

Insurance Department of—
Health Insurance Consumer Services—
1702 N 3rd St., Baton Rouge........................................................800 259-5301
Life and Annuity Division (Claims and Complaints)—
1702 N 3rd St., Baton Rouge........................................................800 259-5300
Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP)—
1702 N 3rd St., Baton Rouge........................................................800 259-5301
Investigation Division Emergency Hotline—
1885 N 3rd St., Baton Rouge...........................................................800 488-2770

COLLEN

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU MR. PRESIDENT ISNT WORRIED ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO WAS DEVASTATED BY HURR. KATRINA. I FEEL THAT IF HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO WAS TRAPPED IN NEW ORLEANS AFTER KATRINA HE WOULD HAVE SENT AS MANY HELICOPTERS THAT HE CAN GET TO GET THE PEOPLE WHO WAS TRAPPED OUT OF THAT CITY. NOW THAT IT IS TIME TO BLAME SOMEONE HE WANTS TO POINT THE FINGER AT GOV. BLANCO AND MAYOR NAGEN IT NOT THERE FAULT THEY ONLY CAN DO SO MUCH IT IS THE JOB OF THE PRESIDENT WHO HAS ALL THE POWER TO HELP.GOV. BLANCO I DONT BLAME YOU, YOU DID ALL THAT YOU WAS SUPPOSE TO DO IF PRESIDENT BUSH WOULD HAVE STOPPED FOR ONE MINUTE AND STEPPED OFF OF HIS HIGH HORSE THERE WOULD BE ALOT OF PEOPLE STILL ALIVE TODAY.LIKE COLLEN SAID PRESIDENT BUSH IS TOO BUSY WORRIED ABOUT DECORATING THE WHITE HOUSE THAT IS MONEY THAT COULD BE USED TO REBUILT HOUSE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING IN TENTS.
BUT WITH THE BUSH FAMILY ITS ALL ABOUT "I" THEY DONT CARE MR BUSH MOTHER STATED THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THE ASTRO DOME DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING I THOUGH THAT WAS VERY SELFISH OF HER TO SAY THAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING THEY HAD I MEAN THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO ARE NOT RICH BUT THEY ARE BLESS BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL ALIVE THE INSURANCE COMPANYS ARE JUST LIKE FEMA A BUNCH OF BULL SHIT YOU PAY ALL THAT MONEY A MONTH FOR INSURANCE FOR THEM TO SAY THAT YOU DIDNT HAVE THE RIGHT COVERAGE OR THE INSURANCE YOU HAVE DONT COVER FLOOD OR HURR DAMAGES THEY DONT CARE NEITHER DOES FEMA.DO YOU REALIZE THAT IT TOOK THE PRESIDENT DAYS TO RESPOND TO KATRINA BUT MINUTES TO RESPOND TO THE TSUNMI I DONT UNDERSTAND THAT BUT IN THE END PRESIDENT BUSH AND ALL OF THE REPLUBLICANS WILL HAVE TO ANSWER TO THE MOST HIGH ONE,GOD AND BELIVE ME WHEN I SAY GOD IS NOT PLEASED WITH THE PRESIDENT AND ALL WHO HAD THE POWER TO DO SOMETHING WHEN KATRINA HIT THE CITY OF NEW ORLEAN BUT DIDNT. ITS ONE THING TO TALK THE TALK BUT ITS ANOTHER THING TO WALK THE WALK LIKE I HAVE BEEN TOLD FOR SO MANY YEARS ACTIONS SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.THE SLOW RESPONSE OF THE GOVERMENT CAUSED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO LOOSE THERE LIVES I AM GLAD WE DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT PRESIDENT BUSH AFTER HIS TERM IS OVER TO THE PERSON WHO PLAN TO TAKE HIS PLACE PLEASE DONT BE WORSE THAN HIM TO ALL YOU BUSH LOVER GOD WILL JUDGE YOU ALSO. GOV. BLANCO I SUPPORT YOU THIS WAS NOT YOUR FAULT AND THE GOD KNOWS YOU DID ALL YOU COULD DO TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS IF YOU DECIDE TO RUN AGAIN YOU HAVE MY VOTE!!! GOD BLESS YOU GOV. BLANCO KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!

I am a resident south of the tracks (beach side) in Waveland. I have nothing but a slab left. Yes, I had flood insurance (not in a flood zone) and Homeowner's insurance. I received full settlement from my flood insurance and currently am waiting to hear from the MWUA about my wind and hail policy, but, from what I have heard, they are paying claims at least half to full policy amount, and I have hope that they are going to do the same for me. Considering the magnitude of this disaster, common sense would tell you that just processing all of these claims is a monumental job and I hope that the insurance companies will take care of their policy holders including myself. We just have to have some patience. As to all of you naysayers, I have a few words for you! No. 1, my family has lived here for generations. We could move anywhere, but it wouldn't be home. No. 2, what even gives you the right to say where we live? No. 3, If we shouldn't live here, then all coasts of the United States should be closed and everybody living there should be moved inland. Better yet, lets close all coasts of the world, so there are no hurricanes, tsumnamis, typhoons or anything of the like that might disrupt your everyday existence. Of course that would be kind of hard to do considering how many land masses are surrounded by water. No. 4, if we do close all of the coasts in the United States, consider this, no more gas, no more seafood, no more petroleum products, the list would go on and on. So sell your SUV's, get all electric houses and eat more chicken. NO. 5 and the most important of all is that you don't have a right to say where we live and we choose to live here because WE LOVE IT HERE AND IT IS OUR HOME!! As for Colleen, a lot of what you said is right, but to blame one person, that person being the President is a bit ridiculous. I shudder to think what John Kerry would have done in this situation. It seems like everybody has to blame somebody for this disaster. The President, FEMA, SBA, Red Cross, Insurance Companies, even GOD. Mother Nature caused this, none of the above deserve the blame. Could things have been done better, you bet, but can you honestly say all of the above are not even trying. Give me a break. Never has there been a disaster of this magnitude. There was no manual on what to do in a situation like this. Hopefully we as a nation will learn from this and be better prepared to take on a challenge as this has been. I won't argue politics, its obvious you are a liberal democrat and I am a conservative republican, which means anything Mr. Bush would have done would have been wrong, but the last time I checked, we are all americans and need to work together to get us all back on track. Blame never solves a thing. A nice note from ground zero - The citizens of Waveland received a letter from Santa asking what we would like for Christmas. Our response was "a cleared lot so that we can put a temporary trailer in and rebuild our house and our lives". Well lo and behold, my lot was cleared 2 days ago. Thanks a million COE. By the way Colleen and all of the other Bush bashers, the Corps of Engineers works for Mr. Bush! They have been the most wonderful people you could possibly imagine. They actually take the time to call you before they clear your land to ask if there is anything they can help you retrieve before they being the clearing process. Its amazing what these small acts of kindness can do for you. Its what keeps us going. To all of the people from all over the country that have been here to support us and everyone else who has contributed to the rebuilding effort here, we don't know how to thank you enough. One last note for all of the naysayers! Tonight when you climb into your nice warm bed, plese remember the people still living in tents, gutted out houses and mud, and thank your lucky stars or God above that its not you living this nightmare and remember, the next time it could be YOU!!!

As I said NITA, you can't blame anybody for this disaster. First of all Katrina didn't actually hit New Orleans. New Orleans got the "clean" side of the storm. God help N.O. if it would have gotten the full effect of the storm, it would have been obliterated. Also, it might interest you to know that officals over and over and over again tell us when we evacuate to take at least three days provisions with them. Don't people listen!!!! Some people expect that everybody needs to take care of them. Grow up. People do need to have some responsibility for themselves. Like I said earlier, did Mr. Bush do everything right, no he didn't, but to blame him for everything is downright stupid. It was stupid for all of the buses to go underwater in N.O. as well. Where was Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin in that debacle? But thats right, I forgot, its only the president's fault. As I said before, we all need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, be the strong southern people we are and rebuild our lives. We need to quit whining about who didn't do what and whose fault it is, because it doesn't change anything. The storm still hit and we all have to pull together. By the way, politics should have nothing to do with all of these discussions. We as Americans have a responsibility to help each other regardless of whether we are democrats or republicans and no, NITA God will not judge me and others for supporting our President. Instead of blaming him for everything, have you ever thought about saying a prayer for him. He is, after all a human being, the same as you and me. God bless us all and give us strength!!

Marybeth,
You're right. The president is a human being. A human being who took it upon himself to run for leadership of this country. He wanted this job, knowing what it entailed. I have yet to see him lead. And yes he is one person, one person with the authority to appoint the head of FEMA. He chose the wrong person for what reason- to make his friend happy! And I hate to break it to you, but politics has everything to do with how Katrina was handled. Your own political party even believes this is true, or else the House committee (who runs the House?) investigating the hurricane response would not have issued a subpoena to Rumsfeld to turn over all his related communications. Now, I didn’t feel I needed to acknowledge that there is a chain of command that trickles down from the President, to Brown, to the management level below him, to their inspectors, to the secretaries, to the customer service reps, etc… and that there were people to be blamed at every level. I guess I should have since some of the responses that directly pointed to me mentioned this. I would be foolish not to think that the inspector who was directly responsible for inspecting Ms. Russell’s house was to blame for the “Insignificant Damage” rating. The reason I place the blame on the President was for his handling of the situation as a whole, just like investors would blame the CEO of a company if their investment was plummeting. Ultimately, things got screwed up because his appointment of Brown was not well thought out, and cronyism beat out qualifications.
Last night, as I watched the President, I saw him try to convince the nation that this war is truly noble and that when we claim victory, we will also be able to claim that we are safe from terrorism. How can anyone truly believe you can wipe out terrorists? There are just way too many people on this planet to accomplish that. Call me a defeatist, call me what you want, but it is the truth. The problem with this all? The longer our money gets funneled to solving the problems of the world, the less comfortable it gets to live in America. For how advanced we are, we still can’t manage to help our own before helping others. If our President can spy on Americans without a warrant, why can’t he respond to a natural (and national) disaster without having to go through all the red tape? The truth is he does what he wants when he chooses, and sorry Louisiana and Mississippi, he didn’t choose you.
Now, because of my honesty of which party I affiliate myself with, you think this is empty bantering, no substance, angry writing with no purpose but to claim my hatred for Republicans and their leader. Truth is, I don’t even equate the current administration with what I always believed were Republican standards. He is not fiscally conservative and he favors government interference with the privacy of its citizens. Wow- two big Republican no-no’s. I am friends with and can find respect for many Republicans. Of course I will always believe I have a superior view of how things should run, and so will they (and no, that does not say that we will always believe our PARTY has a superior view). Since the onset of this current administration, they have ripped the Republicans and Democrats of this country in two instead of using both their weaknesses and strengths to keep striding towards a better way of governing, and the hurricane victims became caught in this game he started of spin and lies and favors and truly got the raw deal because we as a nation can’t pull it together to accomplish anything good for our citizens. We can’t get along, and while we fight, those who need help will continue to go ignored.
He was one man that has made this country go from being a wonderful place to be, to a country full of people that hate each other. Amazing how much power one human being has.

Oh, and there is a difference to blaming someone for a hurricane and blaming someone for the response to a hurricane. A huge difference. I have not confused the two, so just stop with the Bush didn't cause the hurricane rhetoric. I am a biologist who does environmental work. I know how a hurricane is formed.

Once again politics determines whether or not people like Ms. Russell will get the help they need. A defense appropriations bill that has money earmarked for flooding victims of Katrina also calls for drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, so they have basically put democrats back up against the wall with the option to destroy the environment and help the victims of Katrina, or to vote against the bill and be labeled as the bad guy in this situation. If the Republican controlled legislature really wanted to help, they would have introduced a bill that covered the hurricane ravaged area solely and I am sure it would pass without incidence. Another example of how dividing the country comes at the expense of its citizens.

Colleen,

First let me say that I didn't disagree with everything you said. Some of it was right on. Mr. Bush didn't do everything right, and I don't think even he would say he did. But, unless you have been here to see the utter destruction of everything we know, its hard to grasp the magnitude of it all. Its obvious that you are not fond of Mr. Bush the same way its obvious that I am. Does that make us both wrong, no, it makes us Americans. I don't hate anyone, liberal or conservative. But, it doesn't mean that we both don't think we are right. What I have a problem with more than anything, is people not taking responsibilty for themselves and thinking the government is going to take care of them. Better yet, that the government owes them something. Take for example that mandatory evacuations were given. Officials told everyone repeatedly to take at least three days provisions with them. Obviously people did not heed their warnings. I understand that there are poor people who don't have vehicles, so why not blame the governor and the mayor (in Louisiana). They had hundreds of busses that went underwater that could have helped thousands. Is that Mr. Bush's fault? Well of course not. That should come from the state level. They knew in New Orleans that people would flock to the superdome (which by the way is not even supposed to be used as an evacuation center). Why didn't they provide essential provisions? Why? Because people were told to bring their own. There were thousands and thousands of people there. Do you realize how many helicopters it would have taken to remove them all, while at the same time they tried to pluck people off of their roofs? Not to mentioned the utter destruction here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast where we needed help as well. The task was, in my opinion, too overwhelming for anyone to comprehend. But, blaiming the governor and the mayor, who by the way could have also done things differently, as well as the President isn't going to change anything. You have no idea how we felt in Mississippi. All of the news was about the poor people in New Orleans who were flooded. There was hardly any mention about we who literally had lost everything. Not just flooded, GONE! You didn't hear us whining either! We helped each other out. We shared what little we had with our neighbors until help came, which by the way was two days later. WE TOOK CARE OF OURSELVES AND OUR NEIGHBORS. We didn't wait for the government to take care of us. Sorry for the sermon, but it is so frustrating!! We do all need help, Louisiana and Mississippi and it appears that Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, Trent Lott and Congressman Gene Taylor are doing just that. And yes, two of them are republicans and one of them a democrat. My point being, we all need to quit the blame game, learn something from it and move on. Republicans and Democrats need to work together to help this situation, as well as all of our citizens taking some responsibilty for themselves. One last thing, if you know how hurricanes are formed then you also know we have ample to time to evacuate from one. God bless you and the President, and give him wisdom.

352 billion for Iraq/Afganistan.... 29 billion for the Gulf Coast.

To Rich in Dallas, Texas: Why did it not dawn on you that Ms. Russell had insurance? Don't you have insurance? Why shouldn't she? I think that you just didn't understand how the whole process works with FEMA and that is why you were so unpleasant. I don't think it was anybody else's fault, it was yours. Own up to it. And apologize.

I am from the Bay St Louis area and was there during the storm, I have contacted FEMA several times to find out the status of my application. No one there seems to know anything. I finally got a call 1/15/06 from the inspector and she did the interview and said FEMA would contact me in a couple of days. Well this morning I checked the status of my application online and saw that it had been DENIED, because of INSUFFICIENT LOSSES. How much do you have to loose to be elligible for assisstance? I am only 23 years old and just moved to BSL in June of '05 and then turn around and loose everything I own. Where is all the money going that the government is handing out. I also applied for a FEMA trailer a couple of months ago and still no word. As of right now I am living with my girlfriends monther in florida, I would like to be back in MS! Can anyone help me??