While I was away, Hurricane Law Blog observed that some class-action suits have been filed in Louisiana, demanding full coverage under the terms of the state’s Valued Policy law.
Plaintiffs claim that the statute requires insurers to pay the entire amount of loss on any insured structures, as long as any portion of the loss resulted from a covered peril.
That, in my non-legal opinion, sits better with me than do the attempts to bring flood coverage inside the homeowners policy. Both tactics seek to accomplish about the same things, but at least the valued policy route has the advantage that, if the interpretation is correct, coverage always existed, although insurers may not have been cognisant of that fact. The Scruggs strategy in Mississippi I have problems with because it seeks to expand coverage beyond what was contracturally agreed to.
Of course, the valued policy route still has a couple of downsides: First, not every property that experienced flood damage also experienced wind damage. Second, expect the property insurance market to tighten up even further in Louisiana and states with similar statutory language if this does stick.
