The Power of Persistence

psneeld · Apr 23, 2015

One issue that seems to have blossomed is the term "named storms" and yet just recently even winter lows seem to be named storms in some cases.

I guess I could look it all up but it doesn't affect me...just a whole load of people who think they are protected from one year to the next and they really aren't.

Flooding is just one issue and storm damage seems to morph quicker than the average joe realizes.

BandB · Apr 23, 2015

psneeld said:
One issue that seems to have blossomed is the term "named storms" and yet just recently even winter lows seem to be named storms in some cases.

I guess I could look it all up but it doesn't affect me...just a whole load of people who think they are protected from one year to the next and they really aren't.

Flooding is just one issue and storm damage seems to morph quicker than the average joe realizes.

Doesn't effect us either, ironically, as we have no mention of named storms in our policy other than to say "There are no exclusions for named storms."

psneeld · Apr 23, 2015

My comment was more for landowners but I guess it applies to some yacht policies too. As one friend pretty much said...I went with hurricane insurance for my business thinking that it was more likely to have greater coverage and that a hurricane coming ashore no matter if downgraded or with a scientific name change would negate coverage.

Me, my boat is my home and pretty much all I own...so a rain squall gets my attention for protecting her and her contents. Yacht insurance for me is so I can buy some clothes and make first months rent on an apartment. Worth knowing what it says but no big deal.

Wxx3 · Apr 25, 2015

Thanks B&B for the explanation.

I know there were a lot of folks in the NJ and NY, Staten Island and Brooklyn, in particular that lost their houses, but insurance didn't pay.

What's amazing is that as b&b mentioned, they constantly hype storms that end up doing nothing, but during Sandy, they ignored the damage done Staten Island and Brooklyn, while showing the Ferris wheel of Asbury Park ad infinitum.

BandB · Apr 25, 2015

Wxx3 said:
Thanks B&B for the explanation.

I know there were a lot of folks in the NJ and NY, Staten Island and Brooklyn, in particular that lost their houses, but insurance didn't pay.

What's amazing is that as b&b mentioned, they constantly hype storms that end up doing nothing, but during Sandy, they ignored the damage done Staten Island and Brooklyn, while showing the Ferris wheel of Asbury Park ad infinitum.

I don't care where you live, you better be sure you have flood insurance. That's where the insurance battle comes, not from the naming or strength of the storm. So much of the damage from Sandy was water entering the homes from the ground. Knock the roof off and let rain fall in, you have storm damage. Roof stays on and water comes in from the streets and it's flood damage.

One part that truly bothers me is all the persons who are not properly advised by their homeowners' agents. If they're advised and say no, that's one thing. But a lot have never had floods mentioned to them. I saw this happen in Charlotte NC where adding flood coverage would have cost most homeowners very little. Creek runs through a beautiful park. During storm the culverts get blocked so water rises outside the banks. Water crosses street and seeps into home.

twistedtree · Apr 25, 2015

Yes, it's well worth reading your policy carefully regarding "floods". As B&B says, the most probably watering events are typically NOT covered.

Re flood insurance, we live on the water front but are NOT in a flood zone. Regardless, insurance was extremely difficult to get with only 3 companies writing insurance for water front homes; Chubb, Ace, and AIG/Chartis. All of them reflect "yacht" pricing. None of the more commonly used companies will write insurance for a waterfront home regardless of flood zone, despite teh fact that the house has stood for 125 years, and despite the fact that no storm has ever reached it.

I also looked at flood insurance to fill the gaps in the normal policy. It was a complete waste of money. Yes, it provides coverage for the events not covered by homeowners, but the catch was the cap. The max it would pay out is $30k. That might rebuild the garage and dock, and is less than the deductible for the homeowners insurance for a named storm.

twistedtree · Apr 25, 2015

Wxx3 said:
What's amazing is that as b&b mentioned, they constantly hype storms that end up doing nothing, but during Sandy, they ignored the damage done Staten Island and Brooklyn, while showing the Ferris wheel of Asbury Park ad infinitum.

Irene was similar. As I recall, everyone was pissed at the media because it didn't impact NYC as predicted. Most people saw the storm as a flop. But ask anyone in upstate NY or VT or Quebec if it was a flop. It left major appliances wedged in bridge abutments 30' over the normal river level. People are still rebuilding today.

BandB · Apr 25, 2015

twistedtree said:
Yes, it's well worth reading your policy carefully regarding "floods". As B&B says, the most probably watering events are typically NOT covered.

Re flood insurance, we live on the water front but are NOT in a flood zone. Regardless, insurance was extremely difficult to get with only 3 companies writing insurance for water front homes; Chubb, Ace, and AIG/Chartis. All of them reflect "yacht" pricing. None of the more commonly used companies will write insurance for a waterfront home regardless of flood zone, despite teh fact that the house has stood for 125 years, and despite the fact that no storm has ever reached it.

I also looked at flood insurance to fill the gaps in the normal policy. It was a complete waste of money. Yes, it provides coverage for the events not covered by homeowners, but the catch was the cap. The max it would pay out is $30k. That might rebuild the garage and dock, and is less than the deductible for the homeowners insurance for a named storm.

Often the separate flood policies are very limited and, if one can, getting the insurance from their regular insurer is best. The other option if your carriers can't provide it or won't is to go to a surplus lines carrier for your homeowner's insurance.

Not surprisingly the companies you find willing to write insurance for waterfront homes are the same ones insuring boats and yachts. All three companies you mentioned above are major yacht insurers in the US.

The Power of Persistence

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