Straight talk about hurricane insurance.

Lawyer jokes and uninformed statements bashing the civil justice system have dogged plaintiff attorneys through golf games, PTA meetings, and dinner parties. When a myth about civil justice rears its head, you need to respond with the facts.

Q: The insurance industry is shelling out millions of dollars in claims to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but everyone is complaining about its response. Don't these companies deserve a break?

A: Katrina was the most destructive storm in American history, racking up an estimated $75 billion in damages. Insurance companies may have taken a hit, but an economic setback shouldn't give the industry carte blanche to cheat policyholders who entrusted it to protect their property.

Big insurance companies maintain that they have settled more than 90 percent of Katrina claims and are using that figure to prove they are meeting their obligations. But many policyholders found themselves forced to accept pennies on the dollar when the insurers cited numerous policy exclusions to reduce payouts. Hurricane victims learned that being a loyal policyholder who's paid premiums on time for years doesn't mean you can count on your insurer to treat you fairly after you've been devastated by a natural disaster.

In Mississippi, some insurance representatives tried to trick policyholders into signing waivers after the hurricane that would later make it easier to deny their claims, according to a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general.

Insurers rejected legitimate claims, insisting policyholders' property was damaged not by wind or rain, which would be covered, but by flooding from the storm surge, which is not.

Trial lawyers are helping policyholders make the insurance industry fulfill its responsibilities. In a Mississippi case highlighted recently by CNN, State Farm told the Nguyen family that their home was destroyed by flooding, not wind and rain. The Nguyens have joined others in a suit alleging that State Farm pressured its staff and contractors into declaring the storm surge solely responsible for damages. The suit also says the company destroyed early engineering reports stating that the damage was caused by wind.

There's certainly no reason to feel sorry for the insurance industry. It turned a $44.8 billion profit in 2005. There's no excuse for treating policyholders unfairly.