NEW ORLEANS -- It is a problem potentially affecting thousands of Louisiana homeowners: tainted Chinese drywall.
For months now, homeowners with the drywall have complained about a foul odor and corroded appliances, but have been at a loss on what to do. Their houses were potentially uninhabitable and some homeowners were getting dropped by their insurance companies. They crowded into public meetings and privately wondered what to do next.
"How do we fix the problem?" asked Charlene Hernandez of Mandeville, during a Chinese Drywall town hall meeting in September. "Who's going to pay to fix the house?"
"I guess it's just a waiting game," said Covington homeowner Corrinn Fisher.
Yet, the wait may be over. The state's Department of Insurance is stepping in to offer some assistance.
"This is a limited body of victims who have nowhere else to go," said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.
On Monday, Donelon announced several initiatives designed to bring relief to victims dealing with tainted Chinese drywall. The first deals with a consumer protection law in Louisiana. It prohibits insurance companies from dropping policy holders whose homes have Chinese Drywall, as long as they have been customers for at least three years.
"This statute is unique to our state, no other state has it, companies don't like it," Donelon said. "It's very, very onerous to insurance companies doing homeowners business in our state, but it's the best protection found anywhere in America for consumers of homeowners insurance. It applies in this case under these very extraordinary circumstances."
The extraordinary circumstances are calling for out-of-the-ordinary measures. Donelon also announced that Citizens Insurance -- the state insurer of last resort -- will offer a "Builders Risk Renovation" policy, specifically geared towards homeowners with Chinese drywall.
"It's not a panacea," Donelon said. "They're still going to be paying to insure property that they're not going to be living in, in many cases, but we will make at least this safety net available to those who at this moment are frustrated and concerned that they have nowhere to go -- and a lender who says you must have insurance on that property or we're going to foreclose on you."
The Department of Insurance is also forming a Drywall Task Force, charged with monitoring consumer complaints about Chinese drywall. Donelon also said he plans to appoint investigators to look into complaints from homeowners, who may have been dropped by their insurers because of the tainted drywall.
"There will be no one with nowhere to go," Donelon said.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance said the new "Builders Risk Renovation" policies for Chinese drywall victims will become available immediately.
To file an official complaint with the federal government: Consumer Product Safety Commission
To get a status check involving the multi district litigation (MDL #2047): U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
To file an official complaint with the state of Louisiana: Louisiana Office of the Attorney General or call 1-800-351-4889
To file a complaint about your insurance company rejecting your claim: Department of Insurance Complaint Commission or call (225) 342-5900
To find out about future Louisiana town hall meetings concerning drywall: Senator Julie Quinn, R-Metairie
