The Pellissiers have already piled up plenty of losses - for starters, their $350,000 three-bedroom house in Lakeview, a pricey neighborhood near Lake Pontchartrain. A rental house they own in East New Orleans (and now live in) also suffered floor-to-rafters damage.
Even though they had insurance on all their properties, payments fell about 30% short of their losses, not including their personal belongings.
Dealing with Travelers, his home insurer, was a much more frustrating chore. Mark spoke to 23 different adjusters, explaining the full story from scratch each time. In January 2006, Travelers sent a check for $12,000. A more substantial check for $200,000 took another 18 months to arrive. (A Travelers spokesmansaid that the unprecedented nature of Katrina led the insurer to use more than one adjuster in New Orleans butthat it rarely used more than three.)
The only mercy shown them - a three-month moratorium on their New Orleans house payments from Countrywide - turned out to be less than compassionate (though it was typical of the payment relief offered to Katrina homeowners). At the end of three months, the lender insisted on getting three months' payment in a lump sum.
Tallying the damage
| Darryl and Jennifer Hazelwood are giving their home another chance. (more) Why progress on rebuilding is so slow and how businesses and former residents are coping. (more) Photojournalist Stanley Greene has been documenting the aftermath of Katrina since the day it struck. (more)  |
