The Fine Print – Presented by Insure.com

The annual postcard from my township assessor arrived. At first glance it looked like good news. The appraisal of my New Jersey coast home was lower by almost $60,000, which indicated that this year’s taxes should go down.

Then I thought about it. There was a reason why the assessment was less. Assessments reflect housing values, and my house, like most others in the Long Beach Island area of Ocean County, had been flooded by Superstorm Sandy.

Now we, as homeowners, will be faced with a myriad of new problems and all of them, in some way, seem to involve insurance. My conclusion: it is getting more and more difficult to either repair — or sell — our homes. (continue reading…)

A lot of people are complaining about their home insurance policies. And the loudest cries are from the victims of Superstorm Sandy, who are trying to rebuild on a shoestring budget. These homeowners say their insurance companies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the banks are keeping a tight lid on the amount of money they thought they would get.

Now we can add the victims of sinkholes such as the unfortunate residents of Seffner, Florida, where Jeff Bush was swallowed up whole and his neighbors forced to flee their homes. Florida allows people to obtain sinkhole insurance, which may cover some of their needs, but the restrictions on this insurance have tightened up after tort lawyers took advantage of it.

Earth, wind and fire

The basic premise of home insurance is that events emanating from the earth, like earthquakes, floods, water seepage, and even mudslides, aren’t covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy. The wind that blows your roof off or flings a branch through your window is a “covered peril.” So is fire damage, assuming that you didn’t intentionally start the fire. (continue reading…)

Newspapers and television stations in New York and New Jersey are still covering the sad stories of those who thought that they were insured from the damage done by Superstorm Sandy — until they learned that they weren’t.

One such story appeared in The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. about a retiring couple who insured their beachfront cottage and its contents for $225,000. The house was torn apart, but their insurer gave them only little more than $6,000.

That’s because the majority of Sandy’s damage was caused by flooding, so if you didn’t buy federally sponsored flood insurance, you weren’t covered.

Like hundreds and perhaps thousands of others, this couple is taking their case to court, according to the newspaper, but probably won’t win. The insurance contract that they have with their private carrier is crystal clear: It doesn’t cover flood damage. (continue reading…)

Donald Light is one of the smartest — and busiest — people I know. But even this longtime Celent Research Services insurance consultant makes mistakes. Light was so busy minding other people’s insurance needs this year that he didn’t keep track of his own.

His story came to light when he admitted in an online mea culpa, titled “Why Billing Matters,” that his homeowners insurance policy had been cancelled. So for all of us who’ve lived through the nightmare of cancelled insurance policies, here’s the unmistakable message: Insurance companies don’t care.

Slip and fall

Here’s how it happened. Light’s homeowners policy ends each year on Oct. 8. When Light got the bill in August from his insurer, he thought he had paid it online. But when he returned home from a trip on Oct. 21, Light found out that his insurance policy had been cancelled as of Oct. 8 due to “non-payment.” (continue reading…)

Flammable furniture

I’m a former New Yorker who used to pay big rent for a tiny apartment. So I should have recoiled in horror watching the city’s fire department torch 20 perfectly good homes on Governors Island in the harbor. But I didn’t — because it’s money well spent.

The fire department is called “New York’s Bravest” ever since the 9/11 terrorist attack killed hundreds of their brothers who rushed into the World Trade Center to save lives. And in trying to figure out a way to save more lives, including their own, they stuffed those 20 homes with plastic-filled furniture, probably like the kind which decorates your house, and set them ablaze to see how hot they would burn and the best way to cool them down. (continue reading…)

If I offered to take away your current homeowners insurance policy and replace it with one costing three times as much, you’d say “no.” But what if I did it anyway? And, what if you didn’t find out about it until you got the bill?

This is a position in which thousands of homeowners find themselves. They’ve been saddled with costly property insurance policies at a time when they can least afford it. These annual premiums, often totaling thousands of dollars, could force them into foreclosure and precipitate the loss of their homes.

I find it ironic that at a time when insurers are competing aggressively to offer you car insurance at lower rates, a small sliver of somewhat obscure insurers are racking up huge profits right under the noses of supposedly vigilant regulators. It’s a result of an incestuous relationship between these insurers and the banks or lending institutions with which they deal, coupled with the financial weakness of their victims. Unfortunately, it lets them gang up and prey on homeowners. (continue reading…)

Hurricane season starts on June 1, and it’s time we the people took control — of naming them. Almost every year, these bad boys and girls have been storming up and down our coastlines, leveling Florida homes, tearing open New Orleans levees, floating Vermont pickup trucks and generally causing havoc.

So what can we do about them? Well, we can’t stop ‘urricanes from ‘appening, to paraphrase Eliza Doolittle; they have international passports. Hurricanes often form as dust clouds in the African Sahara, soak in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and then languish on exotic Caribbean islands before crashing onto our shores like texting drivers.

So if we can’t beat ‘em, can we at least name ‘em? (continue reading…)

The tornadoes that tore through the Dallas area in early April may have seemed unusual for the area – but were they?

New research from CoreLogic, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based analytics company, says historical data shows tornado risk is more widespread than commonly believed. Rather than being confined to the Midwest, the risk extends to most of the eastern half of the United States, according to the firm’s report, “Tornado and Hail Risk Beyond Tornado Alley.” In fact, among the top 10 states with the most tornadoes from 1980 to 2009, only three — Kansas, Oklahoma and Illinois — are actually in Tornado Alley. At least 26 states have some area facing extreme tornado risk, and almost every state east of the Rocky Mountains faces at least moderate risk for hail damage.

Last year’s storms were notable for their severity — more than 100 people died and hundreds of others were injured in Joplin alone — and for the places they hit. The so-called Tornado Alley includes the Great Plains states and surrounding areas — Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois. But last year, tornadoes spun from Texas to New York, wreaking havoc in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Virginia. (continue reading…)

After a recent flight to New York, I was delighted when my homeowners insurance company reimbursed me for my lost luggage.

You’re probably thinking, “What a lovely insurer.” But while it is lovely, it wasn’t a surprise. At least not for me.

Throughout my adult life, I’ve regularly been well-insured. Once, as I was walking through my burnt shell of a house, I was tapped on the shoulder and presented with a beautiful debit card for my hotel bills. Even windshield-repair men frequently shoo my credit card away when I try to settle my glass bill — I have full auto glass coverage. (continue reading…)

The glare of publicity is now on George Zimmerman, who, as a Neighborhood Watch captain, admits shooting Trayvon Martin to death in a Sanford, Fla., suburb on the night of Feb. 26.

But attorneys and insurers see wider implications in the case. Was Zimmerman representing The Retreat at Twin Lakes community, where he lived and patrolled? Was his effort to keep the community “safe” supported by its property manager? And was he operating with the approval of the Sanford Police Department, which communicated with him?

These questions are sure to be raised when the Martins almost certainly files civil suits seeking damages for the death of their son. And these actions could force the Twin Lakes community into bankruptcy or even cost residents their homes. Ultimately, all of this will raise questions about how we protect ourselves, and at what cost. (continue reading…)