Katrina-Suit Witnesses Testify That Agent Misled Them

By William Murphy

Published on July 13, 2006

Police Lt. Paul Leonard and his wife Julie brought the suit after Nationwide paid only about $1,600 toward extensive Katrina-related damages to their Pascagoula home. They are seeking about $158,000 in the suit. Nationwide contends floodwaters damaged the home and that the Leonards' policy did not cover flooding.

The Leonards stated earlier in the trial that Nationwide agent Joe Fletcher assured them their house was fully covered against storm damage when they purchased a home owner's policy more than 10 years prior to the August 2005 hurricane.

Glenda Foster, one of several Nationwide policyholders to present testimony on July 11, testified that when she asked Fletcher about her policy prior to Katrina, he assured her that it had "all the bells and whistles." When she confronted Fletcher after the storm, Foster said, he dismissed her by saying that she had not purchased flood insurance.

Cecil Tillman testified that he asked Fletcher about flood insurance after seeing the damage caused by 1998's Hurricane Georges, but Fletcher downplayed the need. Tillman said that when he spoke with Fletcher after Katrina, Fletcher denied telling Tillman not to buy the insurance.

Nationwide spokesman Joe Case said that if the Leonards had read their policy, they would have known they didn't have flood coverage. He said that policyholders have a responsibility to know what is in their policies.

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