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Wind vs. Flood Contract Issue
Insurance was not meant to cover every conceivable loss. Even if it could, few if any people would be able to afford the premiums that would have to be charged for it. Certain events or types of damage are so catastrophic and have potential to cause such far-reaching devastation that it is virtually impossible to price insurance products to cover them – for example, war, nuclear disaster, and flood. Therefore, coverage for these events or causes of loss is often not included in insurance policies. More...

Washington Legal Foundation calls for full investigation of Dickie Scruggs
A press release from the Washington Legal Foundation released in early July called on the federal courts and the U.S. Department of Justice to fully investigate allegations of serious ethical improprieties lodged against Mr. Scruggs. Coincidentally, U.S. District Judge William M. Acker ordered on the day before our motion that Mr. Scruggs and his law firm be prosecuted for criminal contempt for willfully violating the court's Dec. 8, 2006 preliminary injunction in a Hurricane Katrina insurance dispute. More...

Scruggs files meritless lawsuit accusing State Farm of racketeering
Stung by a judge’s criminal contempt charge and evidence that could have him removed from Hurricane Katrina cases, Richard “Dickie” Scruggs’ legal team announced June 20 it has filed federal racketeering lawsuit against State Farm.
Mr. Scruggs is currently under fire for unethical practices from a U.S. district judge and a prominent legal ethicist. Our commitment to all customers was and continues to be handling their claims promptly, fairly and efficiently. More...

State Farm files motion to disqualify Mississippi law firm from Katrina lawsuit
State Farm lawyers today filed a motion in the U.S. District Court in southern Mississippi that if accepted would disqualify attorney Richard F. Scruggs, his law firm, the Scruggs Katrina Group and affiliate firms from representing plaintiffs in McIntosh v. State Farm. Details may also be found in a Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Disqualify. More...

Mississippi Attorney General files suit that threatens to disrupt settlements for Katrina victims
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a civil suit on Monday, June 11, 2007 against State Farm®, alleging a “bad faith” breach of the Settlement Agreement we reached with the attorney general in January. His actions are completely without merit. State Farm responded by issuing this press release. More...

Louisiana Department of Insurance announces agreement with State Farm to re-evaluate Katrina claims
State Farm Fire and Casualty has reached an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Insurance to reevaluate Louisiana foundation-only (slab) claims caused by storm surge to determine if there was also damage caused by wind.

State Farm has handled nearly 300,000 claims from these two storms.

Despite our efforts to resolve them, a few (less than one percent) Louisiana claims arising from these hurricanes remain in dispute.

This agreement was reached in an effort to resolve any remaining questions or differences of opinion in a fair and efficient manner. More...

Summary of State Farm's response
In response to the unprecedented destruction resulting from the four 2005 Hurricanes, State Farm responded as only we can. More...

State Farm agreement with Mississippi Insurance Department
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale announced on March 19 that State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, in cooperation with the Mississippi Insurance Department (MID), has agreed to a process to reevaluate claims for wind damage from Hurricane Katrina for policyholders with properties in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.  More...

Mississippi Litigation
The Broussard Case
A federal judge on May 11 denied our March 9 motion to request a new trial in the case of Broussard v. State Farm.

A verdict in January did not go in our favor, and Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ordered State Farm to pay policyholders Norman and Genevieve Broussard policy limits of $223,272 and $1 million in punitive damages. Jurors originally awarded a $2.5 million punitive amount, but Judge Senter later reduced it. More...

The Williams Case
Michael and Michelle Williams were seeking payment for their Ocean Springs, Miss., home that was swept away by tidal surge from Katrina. Flood damage is not covered by the Williams’ policy. The case was settled within policy limits. More...

The Gemmill Case
A settlement was reached March 15 in the case of Gemmill v. State Farm, effectively ending the case.
The Gemmills had previously been paid $128,000 under their National Flood Insurance Program policy and were offered $5,746.00 by State Farm for roof damage. Earlier in the day, the jury awarded compensatory damages totaling about $66,000, which is nearly 26 percent of what the plaintiffs were seeking. More…

Woullard v State Farm
On January 23, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood notified State Farm that he would terminate his criminal investigation and his civil suit against State Farm.

Proposed Class Action Settlement (Woullard v. State Farm) – On January 23, State Farm presented a class action settlement agreement to U.S. District Court Judge Senter in Gulfport for his review and preliminary approval. On January 26, Judge Senter rejected the settlement “without prejudice,” which allowed the parties to present more information to satisfy his concerns. We looked forward to addressing his questions. More...

State Farm announces Mississippi new business changes
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company has suspended writing new homeowners and commercial property insurance in the state of Mississippi effective February 16, 2007.

We came to this decision reluctantly.  But it is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk in a legal and business environment that is becoming more unpredictable.  When there’s more certainty, we will reassess the situation. More...

Allegations of Pressuring Engineers Groundless
Recent media reports have claimed that State Farm pressured a structural engineering firm to alter reports on Hurricane Katrina claims.

State Farm provided critical details to the reporters who inquired about this story which demonstrated the allegation is groundless. Unfortunately, those details were not used in the stories. More...

Judge dismisses class action, attorney general's motion
U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter, Jr. has dismissed the Woullard v. State Farm lawsuit after an individual settlement was reached on the claim.  The Woullards were the named plaintiffs in a class action settlement brought by the Scruggs Katrina Group.  Judge Senter granted State Farm’s request to dismiss the class action on April 16, 2007 and as part of his ruling, found that Attorney General Jim Hood’s motion to intervene in the case was moot. More...