State Farm Looks Again At Katrina Cases

Mike Simon

Contributor

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As part of a deal with the Mississippi Insurance Commissioner, State Farm has agreed to reexamine 35,000 claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina. The agreement includes claims that are in mediation, those that already in lawsuits, and those that already have been settled.

Under the terms of the deal, State Farm will make a minimum of $50 million available to settle the claims.

Not all viewed the announcement as favorable. Attorneys handling a class action suit against State Farm recently withdrew their request that the court where the case was pending approve the settlement. The request was withdrawn because the parties could not come to an agreement to finalize the deal. According to the attorneys involved in the class action, State Farm's deal with the Mississippi Insurance Commission is a watered down version of the proposed settlement of the class action suit. Moreover, those attorneys believe that the deal could lead to the claimants still receiving low offers from State Farm, and then having little to no recourse.