May 29, 2006 issue - Nothing was left of John Hadden's $600,000 beachfront house when he returned to Bay St. Louis, Miss., three days after Hurricane Katrina hit. But Hadden didn't despair: the 45-year-old financial adviser had insured his home for nearly $700,000 with State Farm Insurance. But in January, Hadden received a letter from the insurer denying him any benefits whatsoever. Now the father of three teenagers is suing the insurer.

　　Thousands of families who lost everything to Katrina's fury last August are now facing a second disaster: their insurers won't pay them a dime. The homeowners say they were led to believe they'd be covered when they signed up for their policies. The companies insist they're off the hook because of exclusionary clauses that distinguish between damage caused by wind (covered) and water (not covered). The courts will decide who's right: hundreds of homeowners have sued their insurers, among them U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, who lost a house in Pascagoula, Miss., and Congressman Gene Taylor, whose home in Bay St. Louis was destroyed.

　　“风”“水”之争

　　据《新闻周刊》5月29日的一期报道，当约翰·海登在“卡特里娜”飓风袭击过后三天回到密西西比圣·路易斯湾时，他那价值60万美元的面向海滩的房子已经荡然无存了。但是45岁的海登并不绝望。他是一位金融顾问，已经在“州立农场保险公司”为他的房子投保了约70万美元。然而1月份，海登收到了保险公司的一封信，拒绝了他的所有权益。现在这位三个孩子的父亲正在起诉保险公司。

　　去年8月在“卡特里娜”飓风的狂风暴雨中倾家荡产的数千家庭正面临第二个灾难：保险公司分文不付。房主们说，他们以为只要签过保险单，就会得到理赔。而保险公司却坚持它们是免责的，因为排他性条款的规定“风”造成的损失是受保的，而“水”造成的损失则不受保。法院将决定谁是谁非。数以百计的房主们已经对保险公司提起了诉讼，起诉者中包括美国参议员特伦特·罗特，他失去了位于密西西比帕斯卡古拉的房子；另一位是国会议员津尼·泰勒，他位于圣·路易斯湾的房子被毁了。