Wind or flood?

As insurance adjusters went to work in the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Best's Review sent Rick Cornejo to Mississippi to report first-hand the difficulties they faced. What he found were miles of tangled debris where houses and businesses once stood and adjusters searching for water marks, stripped roofs, points on a surge map--anything to help them determine whether the damage was caused by wind or flood, a critical distinction because many people did not have flood insurance.

"Searching for a Cause," our cover story this month, describes the pain, frustrations and hopes of adjusters and agents in Mississippi, some of whom lost their own homes to Katrina.

One producer's hope is that the lack of flood insurance along Katrina's path will spur changes in the national flood insurance program. Federally backed mortgages require flood insurance for properties in a flood plain, "but they define flood plain only in terms of falling rain," said Bill Lockhart, a producer with Advanced Insurance Underwriters in Hollywood, Fla. "Rain has nothing to do with storm surge." Storm surge is a dome of ocean water created by low air pressure at the center of the hurricane and strong winds pushing against the ocean.

"We need to redefine flood plains, taking into account the possibility of storm surge," Lockhart said. "Then, instead of having a separate flood policy, it should be an endorsement to the homeowners policy." Insurers would pay the claim and then be reimbursed by the federal government. "It takes the burden off the homeowner and puts it on the insurers, but they have the expertise to deal with it," Lockhart said.

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Sally Whitney is editor. You may reach her at (908) 4392200, Ext. 5340, by writing to A.M. Best Co., Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858, or by e-mail at [e-mail]. The e-mail address for Best's Review is [e-mail].