The Slasher is Coming!!! By Ana RadelatGannett News ServiceWASHINGTON -- Wesley McFarland said Hurricane Katrina "blew up" his home in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and washed it away. But his insurance company refused to reimburse him a cent.

"I think that two weeks after the hurricane, all the big dogs said, 'We don't have the money to pay for this, so we won't,' " said McFarland, 83, a retired doctor.So he took the company to court, becoming one of thousands of Katrina victims suing insurers over storm-related damage.Those lawsuits have sparked a debate in Congress over whether the government should play a more active role in regulating the politically powerful, multibillion-dollar insurance industry.Two of the lawmakers in the debate -- Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. -- themselves lost homes to Hurricane Katrina and are suing their insurance companies.Taylor and others say insurers' refusal to pay off on storm-related claims is largely to blame for the slow pace of recovery on the Gulf Coast and New Orleans.Despite such strong condemnations, it's unlikely lawmakers will move to take control of the industry away from the states and put it in the hands of the federal government.The industry's lobbying clout is one factor, watchdog groups say.According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the insurance industry is among the top political donors to federal campaigns, giving more than $21 million in contributions this year.But there's talk in Congress about changing some aspects of the insurance industry where it still exerts control.One idea would reduce the tax breaks the industry gets and create a new disaster insurance program modeled after the federal flood insurance program.Another would change the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act that exempts the industry from certain federal antitrust laws.Neither proposal has been turned into legislation.Julie Rochman, spokeswoman for the American Insurance Association, said the exemption is narrow, and she noted that the insurance companies still must abide by state antitrust laws.Rochman also said criticism of the industry -- which has paid about $15 billion in Katrina-related claims -- is unjust because homeowners should have been aware of exceptions, exclusions and limits on their policies.A proposal introduced by Lott that would force insurers to write policies in plain English hasn't gone anywhere.

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