This weekend is as good a time as any to prepare your family, home, business and/or property for hurricane season. Our blog has featured various tips on how to be ready in the event of a hurricane and what steps you can take to insure you are on solid footing in the aftermath of a storm.
Simply go to the Storm and Hurricane tips section of this blog to find out more information.
The Louisiana senate move forward with changes for Citizens insurance that will hopefully help home and property owners with their coverage and recovery in the event of a hurricane or natural disaster. NOLA.com reports:
The state-run insurer of last resort should have new guidelines to set rates and possibly slow the increase in premiums to homeowners, the Senate decided today.
Approved 30-2, Senate Bill 130 by Sen. Troy Hebert, D-Jeanerette, goes to the House Insurance Committee for more debate.
While stories have been popping up progressively in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike, one interesting development has been the efforts by lawmakers and citizens for preparedness should an unpredictable catastrophe befall their hometown. States along the Eastern Seaboard have been taking action instituting insurance measures and local disaster drills should an unexpected and devastating hurricane knock on their doorstep.
New Jersey is one of those states, taking it as far as to create a fund that would help make sure homeowners would be protected in the event of a cataclysmic storm:
Today, the Legislature will begin hearings on how to best protect New Jersey homeowners from the devastation of major hurricanes or other natural disasters. This is an important and timely step; the Atlantic hurricane season begins in less than a month and New Jersey is both exposed and vulnerable to those storms.
A notable news item for victims of Hurricane Katrina and those who keep an eye on hurricane litigation, today’s civil suit against the federal government for the failure of levees to protect inhabitants will bring national attention to this issue.
NEW ORLEANS — A groundbreaking civil suit begins in federal court here today to consider claims by property owners that the Army Corps of Engineers amplified the destructive effects of Hurricane Katrina by building a poorly designed navigation channel adjacent to the city.
The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a 76-mile-long channel known locally as MR-GO and pronounced “Mister Go,” was completed in 1968 and created a straight shot to the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans. The suit claims that the channel was flawed in its design, construction, and operation, and that those flaws intensified the flood damage to the eastern parts of New Orleans and St. Bernard parish.
Per The New York Times, “After the 9/11 terror attacks, thousands of people faced a weighty and uncomfortable decision. Congress had created a special fund to compensate survivors and victims’ families, but said that those who received compensation from it could not sue airlines or airport security firms, among other entities.”
While many families who lost a loved on in the attacks “sought compensation from the fund” a “new court report suggests that the small minority who went their own way and sued made out better financially: 93 of the 96 claims have been settled, for an average of $5 million, or more than twice the average payment from the special fund.”
This correlation can be found now in settlement struggles between people still fighting with their insurance companies with Ike and Gustav hurricane claims who did it without legal assistance. Insurance companies very often “lowball” or under-appreciate the value of homes and property damaged in incidences. With legal assistance, experts and courtroom litigants, individuals run a much better chance of receiving higher compensation. While, in this case, it was the government pressuring settlement, insurance companies have a proven trackrecord of manipulating and exerting pressure on their clients to accept their offers rather than pursue legal assistance. However, in the event your property or home is damaged under insured events, seek a legal expert who can get you the financial settlement you deserve.
According to a recent study run by researchers within New Orleans has found that, since Katrina, a significant number of heart-related emergencies and interventions have occurred.
NOLA.com reports
Researchers say chronic stress related to Hurricane Katrina has contributed to a significant increase in heart attacks in New Orleans.
The Chicago Tribune, so graciously, pointed out the corruption in politics the great state of Louisiana is facing in the wake of Blagojevich by pointing out, while Illinois may have corrupt governors, they are nothing compared to us.
The beleaguered residents of Illinois may be squirming over their newfound visibility in the pantheon of corrupt states, thanks to the extravagant malefaction allegedly committed by the recently ousted governor, Rod Blagojevich.
But for genuine, savory, infused-in-the-gumbo style public venality, Louisiana still has Illinois, and most of America, beat. Ranked according to corruption convictions per capita from 1998-2007, Louisiana is No. 3, well ahead of Illinois at No. 19. (Only Washington, D.C., and North Dakota ranked higher—and in North Dakota’s case, the results were skewed because of its extremely small population.)
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