If you want to be added, please FReepMail me.
Posted on 09/08/2004 8:35:31 AM PDT by I still care
It seems to me that faithfully paying premiums for years and years without any hurricanes should give you a little bit of grace once you get some, but hey, what do I know.
I can't imagine why all those people retire and move to Florida - who wants to deal with hurricanes every year? If you want warm weather, retire to Arizona or New Mexico or California.
"As a Floridian, I am really concerned what will happen to the insurance rates around here."
It's not just your insurance rates that suffer. In my case I have to have flood insurance even though there has never been a flood recorded here. Apparently it's one of the ways insurance companies cover their costs. Luckilly I think we can drop the flood insurance when we make our final payments on the house.
I am tired of paying for other peoples desire to live on barrier islands.
Well, as I said, there haven't been any hurricanes in the Tampa area for years. Perhaps someone could look it up for me, but people here remember very few.
Florida has it's virtues. Hurricanes are not one of them. Personally, I've always worried about sinkholes more.
That's about it for my predictions for 2005. Bet I'm 100% correct!!
I'm also predicting hurricanes in Florida in 2005. Surprise!!
Flood insurance is a federal program - insurance companies are not involved. Second, we had a tropical storm a few years ago near the big bend in Florida, which caused major flooding and damage in areas which were considered non-flood zones. So, one never knows.
Guess what Steve? Over the weekend a friend of ours told us he has read the newest, best place INSTEAD of Florida is now.......drum roll, please......the Pacific Northwest!!!
I live ABOVE a dam in the irish HILLS area of Michigan. unless the river backs up from lake Erie there will be no flood.
Insurance is going to be interesting, for sure.
The guy who wrote this piece will be fired by sundown. Isn't he aware that it's against the policy of the Miami Herald to publish anything bad weather- or climate-related news without blaming George W. Bush?
Or keep it simple and live in the truck.
Hurricane Preparedness
We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological points.
1) There is no need to panic.
2) We could all be killed.
Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one." Based on our insurance industry experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:
STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.
STEP 2: Put these supplies into your car.
STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.
Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Florida.
We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:
HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:
(1) It is reasonably well-built
(2) It is located in Wisconsin
Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss.
SHUTTERS: Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:
Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap.
Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.
Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.
Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.
Hurricane Proofing your property: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc... You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately).
EVACUATION ROUTE: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "Florida," you live in a low-lying area). The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.
HURRICANE SUPPLIES: If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Florida tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:
23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that when the power goes off, turn out to be the wrong size for the flashlights.
Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so GET some!)
A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)
A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators.
$35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.
Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.
Good luck, and remember: Its great living in Paradise.
That's it. I'm moving to the desert.
And the reason(s) for this. . .
A. Evil white, heterosexual males
B. The mean-spirited Republican Congress
C. Greedy corporate CEOs
D. George W. Bush
/sarcasm
Funny that Richmons is getting so many tropical events.
I hope that also is not a new trend.
Take care, be safe, think more deeply. The world is about to change.
When I lived in Miami and, later, Key West, we expected a couple of hurricanes to hit every year. So things are back to normal.
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