State Farm to Settle Katrina Lawsuits
State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. agreed Tuesday to settle hundreds of lawsuits by policyholders and reopen and pay thousands of other disputed claims. The landmark deal is potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars for Mississippi homeowners devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The settlement calls for State Farm to pay about $80 million to more than 600 policyholders who sued the company for refusing to cover damage from the Aug. 29, 2005,
storm. State Farm also agreed to pay at least $50 million if not hundreds of millions more because there isn't a cap on the amount, to thousands of Mississippi policyholders whose claims were denied but didn't sue the company.
