When hurricanes hit coastal areas, property insurers often breathe a sigh of relief when much of the damage appears to be the result of storm surge and flooding – losses that aren’t covered by most homeowners’ policies.
But after Hurricane Katrina slammed the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2005, hundreds of lawsuits vehemently disputed that reasoning. In the case of a historic, 130-year-old Ocean Springs home designed in part by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and insured by USAA, the circumstances were complicated by the fact that the home was elevated to a degree, the height of