I think these people simply had bad insurance. I've dealt with multiple home-owners policies over the years including one claim for a hurricane-powered tree br

I think these people simply had bad insurance. I've dealt with multiple home-owners policies over the years including one claim for a hurricane-powered tree branch piercing completely through the roof & window of a bedroom and one case of a complete under-foundation water main break resulting in a "write-off" flood of the basement and parts of the foundation. In both cases, there was an explicit clause related to "re-build as-new to extant code" and, though it took time, everything was re-built as new--including to new code related to water-main piping, electrical grounding, and foundation cement sealants. I concur that having terrible baseline building codes and dwelling underwriting is long-term lose-lose.