The hurricanes of 2005 had a devastating effect on the life and livelihood of Gulf Coast residents, and could be having a negative effect on the insurance industry. Recovery from the tremendous damage wreaked by Hurricane Katrina will cost unprecedented amounts of money: the U.S. government's most recent budget estimates spending for hurricanes Katrina and Rita at more than $100 billion. Recently, the Bush administration asked Congress to approve another $18 billion in aid, still far short of what's needed, according to insurance industry analysts. Tensions among the key players--federal, state, and local governments, disaster and relief agencies, the insurance industry, and hundreds of thousands of policyholders--seem unavoidable.
