Posted on 08/31/2005 4:00:46 AM PDT by max_rpf
Even as the insurance industry is expected to pay out as much as $25 billion to cover claims from Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of homeowners and small businesses in areas hard-hit by the storm may end up footing their own rebuilding costs because they don't have federal flood insurance.
In Mississippi, as few as one in five homes and businesses in the areas most at risk for flooding held flood-insurance policies as of June 30, while just less than half of such properties in Louisiana were covered, according to data from the federal National Flood Insurance Program.
In New Orleans, where water levels continued to rise Tuesday, and in surrounding Orleans Parish, the flood-insurance program had about 84,000 policies with face value of $12 billion as of Dec. 31, federal data show. It's unclear just how many buildings were eligible for coverage, but the U.S. Census counted more than 213,000 housing units in 2002 in the low-lying parish.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
How does a person live on the coast or in New Orleans and not have flood insurance?
People know that the government will help them rebuild in a dangerous area -- they don't have to have insurance, all they have to do is go on TV and cry "We've lost everything!" and leave out the bit about "and it's our own damned fault!"
People who live on the Carolina coast and in Laurel Canyon have repeatedly rebuilt at our expense.
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. Matthew 24:38-39
Good question. My home insurance is through a local insurer who insures homes and businesses only in our area.
If my insurance goes up because of hurricane pay-outs I'll be very suspicious.
Are you sure they don't farm out the actual underwriting to a national broker?
How does a person ignore warnings about a killer hurricaine? How does a person endanger their children by not getting them out of a dangerous situation? How does a person try to loot a children's hospital? The situation is unimaginable.
Now you did it KateatRFM.
Very shortly you'll be visited by the New Orleans socialists on FR calling you insensitive for not using taxpayer dollars to rebuild the city.
How in the hell can you mortgage property in NO without flood insurance.
sw
To the best of my knowledge, no. They advertise themselves as a local insurer caterring only to the local community. But you could be right - maybe they are connected to a national broker.
I'm listening to people who were hit from previous natural disasters talk about their coverage. One talked about something called a "use" clause or something that covers the cost of living while your destroyed home is being rebuilt.
It covers the cost of living somewhere while your home is rebuilt. I need to review my policy. Sure wouldn't like camping out in a tent while the home is being rebuilt.
Translation: taxpayer, prepare to fork up some involuntary "charity" again.
They'd have to have their policies re-insured, or they'd never be able to sustain the risk of a local disaster.
BINGO! Anyone who builts in the path of hurricanes and tropical storms, not to mention several feet below sea level deserves what they get. But guess who gets to pay for their stupidity. You and me.
Amen to that. I know. I lived right on the panhandle of Florida for almost 10 years and we always got plenty of notice to go north. One, you must be prepared and two, you must have common sense, especially if you have a family.
Does anyone know what an average house in that area needs to pay for this type insurance?
Probably less than the cost of the 2 and 3 satellite dishes hanging off the sides of the houses.
A few reasons: a) no mortgage (the house/property is paid off); b) insurance rates are so prohibitive that people/businesses take their chances. I've heard at least one of the MS casinos was uninsured, since it's probably cheaper to rebuild from scratch than to insure it, considering the location; and c) the probably not mistaken belief that FEMA will kick in with the bucks, especially in impoverished areas.
When we bought our first house over 20 years ago, it lay in a river flood plain so we were required to buy flood insurance to get the mortgage. The cost was approximately equal to the cost of the also-required homeowners policy.
When the inevitable happened and we flooded up to the 2nd story, the only people in the area to help us for weeks were the American Red Cross. It was about 6 weeks before we could get a flood insurance adjuster to visit the house, and we're talking a very minor disaster compared to the Gulf Coast.
Once we finally had filed a claim, we had to itemize every item inside the house lost to the flood, and either prove its existence or estimate a reasonable value. Every item was prorated by deducting 10% from its value for every year we owned it, so our appliances etc were a total loss.
When we finally got the go-ahead to begin repair on the house, the settlement didn't come in the form of a big check. No, we got authorization to begin repair on the foundation only, and received a small check for that. After the foundation was repaired, we again waited weeks to have that repair assessed and OKayed by the flood insurance folks. Only then could another small check be authorized to replace the floor, then the drywall, electrical, etc. You get the picture.
In the end it took over 9 months to get the house fixed, we lost 35,000 dollars and the house was never quite the same afterwards. It would have been far better if the house had burned down or been bulldozed into the river.
And this is from a relatively small, localized flood. God help the folks expecting to rebuild in NO.
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