ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Hurricane Sandy

Technically it was a post tropical cyclone but if you were on the south Jersey shore it was a Cat 1 hurricane.
The real issue was the surge tide. When you have winds gusting in the 70s and a rolling surf several feet high in your yard even a salty old dog like me will say that is a hurricane.

Greg:
The hair splitting over hurricane or trop storm is from the insurance companies I believe.

I hear it was a hurricane when it hit the coastline and then was downgraded to a TS. It had many names, 'Frankenstorm'; 'The Perfect Storm'; 'Super Storm' and many more that I can't post here.

That may just be a New Jersey thing but here, as soon as it is a named storm, it stays a named storm as far as insurance goes. We are all hurricane junkies here and our news guys get very specific when they talk about storms. Sandy technically stopped being a "tropical storm" when it interacted with the cold front and the configuration of the eye wall changed but if you are in it, there is really no difference.
I agree it is also splitting hairs to talk about the difference between 74 MPH wind and 75 MPH wind. Again, when that 2x4 is whizzing by your head, it looks about the same.

Greg:
Radio debate this AM is related to the insurance co's using a 'hurricane deductable' on the homeowners coverage. Sounded like a clause that increases a deductable on HO insurance if the storm is "hurricane".

Our famous govenour has made it illegal supposedly.

The nuances of reading & understanding an insurance policy!!

Like I said, it must be an New Jersey thing. If it was Florida (law) that was a "named storm" and hurricane rules apply.
Here you actually need wind storm coverage to be covered in a named storm (about 2x the price your regular HO policy with a much higher deductible). You also need flood but that is federal. That costs about as much as HO here too so the total bill for $180k of building coverage is about $5k a year with a $10k deductible on the wind.

I don't have wind and flood.

As to the named storm thing, someone named the nor'easter of last nite "Athena"??

Heard it was a weather channel thing.

The real answer is going to be in the language of your homeowners policy. That is the contract you signed.

One word of warning about governors strong arming the insurance company. Jeb Bush tried it and all the major carriers simply canceled all of their Florida policies and stopped writing homeowner's here. We all now deal with companies nobody ever heard of that only write Florida insurance.

Yes, I know the homeowners insurance situation. I tried to do a little shopping around to see a better rate. Ha!! As soon as you give your zip code...they all said 'sorry, we do not provide coverage in your locality'.

Concensus is that if you are within 1/4mile of water, don't think about HO insurance shopping.

Flood insurance premiums will be going up next renewal for sure.

The nor'easter turned into a snow event, some areas got 12".

Hotline, let's not confuse apples with oranges, or the solution with the problem!

Ignore the tempting siren song of "the evil insurance companies ...." They're often the only ones telling you the truth when they decline coverage or charge high rates.

If they won't insure along the water ... that should be a real big clue that they're pretty sure something bad will happen, and soon. That little detail ought to drive prices WAY down- not up.

Flood Insurance is another animal. It's not insurance at all - it's a government welfare program. Like 'crop insurance,' it's a political bone tossed into a situation way to uncertain for even the gamblers of Lloyds' to wager on.

Again ... if you need flood insurance, you probably ought not be building there - at all.

The other 'big lie' is the continuing power problems. That there are problems, I don't doubt. What's being left out of the reporting is the way the storm affected a run-down, unmaintained, out-of-date, outgrown grid. The reasons for the inadequate utility operation lay squarely at the feet of every 'public citizen' advocate, who has spent decades demonizing and undercutting the utilities' attempts to do their jobs. Most utilities are no longer able to invest in 'infrastructure' anymore; they can only fix stuff as it breaks.

There are places that flood every 100 years or so and that is where flood insurance is a reasonable deal for everyone involved. If it is a barrier island, the taxpayer is being screwed and if you are paying a ridiculous price for a place that hasn't flooded in recorded history, simply based on the survey, the customer is being screwed.

I chose to drop it because I am in one of those places and I am prepared financially to pay if I do get wet.

I feel the same way about the wind policy, even more so.
A $10,000 deductible on a CBS house that costs $3k+ a year is not worth doing in my opinion.
Maybe if I get too old to do it and we lose all of our contacts with the necessary subs, I might change my mind.
I do have a 100x50 poly tarp in the shed, in case I do lose my roof but the trusses are strapped and I beefed up the nailing schedule on the decking when I got my new roof.
(actually using deck screws).