alabamagal
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 23, 2010 11:30:29 GMT -5
Posts: 8,118
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Post by alabamagal on Sept 4, 2017 16:19:39 GMT -5
How much of Houston was flooded? When I read that 80% don't have flood insurance, but if those were in places that didn't flood they are fine. The estimates I've seen are around 10% of structures (30% of landmass). That is what I was thinking. So the 80% who don't have flood insurance maybe a large portion do not need it. There will be uninsured that have to be dealt with. What FEMA provides is not that much for those who are uninsured (temp housing and loans to rebuild). When I was in a city that flooded 50% of the housing was impacted. Granted it was a much smaller area so the total number of people impacted was much less.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 28, 2024 17:26:05 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 17:53:58 GMT -5
Well, we can get ready for Round 2. Hurricane Irma is headed for the East Coast.
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zibazinski
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 16:12:50 GMT -5
Posts: 47,865
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 4, 2017 18:38:19 GMT -5
Isn't it still a week away? A lot can happen in a week.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 28, 2024 17:26:05 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 19:07:31 GMT -5
Isn't it still a week away? A lot can happen in a week. Yes, a week. But FL's governor is telling you guys to get prepared.
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milee
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2012 13:20:00 GMT -5
Posts: 12,344
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Post by milee on Sept 4, 2017 19:23:04 GMT -5
Isn't it still a week away? A lot can happen in a week. Yes, a week. But FL's governor is telling you guys to get prepared. Agree. No matter where it "lands", every model I've seen shows Florida receiving heavy rain and wind and a strong possibility of storm surge on the east coast, even if it doesn't make landfall there. I brought home the extra gas cans from work today and will fill them tomorrow. Also stocking up on some bottled water and checking the rest of the supplies. I'm on the west coast, so don't think our area will get a direct hit and will probably not get the storm surge, but flooding could still be an issue, power outages could still be an issue and with gas already impacted by Houston refinery closures, gas will almost certainly be an issue.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 28, 2024 17:26:05 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 19:28:39 GMT -5
Yes, a week. But FL's governor is telling you guys to get prepared. Agree. No matter where it "lands", every model I've seen shows Florida receiving heavy rain and wind and a strong possibility of storm surge on the east coast, even if it doesn't make landfall there. I brought home the extra gas cans from work today and will fill them tomorrow. Also stocking up on some bottled water and checking the rest of the supplies. I'm on the west coast, so don't think our area will get a direct hit and will probably not get the storm surge, but flooding could still be an issue, power outages could still be an issue and with gas already impacted by Houston refinery closures, gas will almost certainly be an issue.Gas has gone up 50 cents a gallon at most stations around here. I will go to Costco and fill up tomorrow morning. Their price increases are slower than most stations because they only go up on "new" gas, not what they previously have. I think gas prices will get ugly. Fortunately, I live close to school and has a gas-efficient car (Corolla). But it is worrying.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 28, 2024 17:26:05 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 19:47:55 GMT -5
No, requiring a universal set of coverage for the consumer doesn't mean everyone has to pay for that insurance. Those in the higher risk area can simply be charged more. Here is my gripe with the insurance industry. It is terrible for the consumer. Now that doesn't mean we need to "force" coverage on people that don't want it either (like ACA for healthcare), but why can't our stupid government figure out that regulation can be simple. The federal government can create a standard "all included" insurance policy that the insurers then price as they see fit. As a consumer I can remove the items I don't want if the cost is to high, but that would also highlight to me the risk I might be taking (also make it easy for me to realize I have chosen to decline coverage). Currently, I want policies like my umbrella, it covers everything for liability as long as my act is non-criminal. So simple, basically a 1 page policy. The problem with my homeowners, is I have to "know" to ask for the special rider since the fine print, in complex legalese doesn't cover the storm water back-up is different that the sewer back-up event because one is an act of god, but I bought sewer back-up which as a consumer seemed like anything back-up via that pipe should be covered. Gee, what you describe sounds pretty much like what we have today. Voluntary purchase of insurance. Cost based on risk. Options based on your needs or desires (the fine print). In Houston, many, many homeowners opted not to purchase flood insurance, even though they were aware it was available. The homeowners chose to assume the risk associated with flooding, rather than shift that risk to an insurance company. It sounds like the fine print that you complain about is a function of two things. Insurance buyers who do not ask the basic question "What options/riders are available and what risk does each option/rider insure against?". Not a difficult question to ask. And a question that doesn't require much knowledge about insurance products in order to ask it. The second element of your fine print complaint seems to be lack of adequate information and coaching from insurance sales people. Shopping multiple providers is a simple way to combat gaps in agent provided information. All-in-all, I suspect that many consumers spend more time and energy researching the purchase of an $800 TV or a $25K car than they do researching the insurance that protects the hundreds of thousands of dollars they have invested in their home. No, not really, I would buy rental reimbursement with my car insurance if they offered a clearer product. Here is their advertising: So if I choose a Full Size SUV (which is what I drive) and PAY for that until I need coverage, then when I go to make the claim, they limit their out of pocket to $X/day if their preferred supplier doesn't have a full size SUV available. So on something so simple like I need a full size SUV, I can still get stuck with a sub-compact car. My policy is littered with fine print that is legalese. You missed my point, many of us want a "full coverage" product, that we can apples to apples price between companies and not have to be a lawyer to figure out that simple basis point to start from. Then I want government oversight to prevent sales of products (like the rental car in my quote above) that are just not enforceable by a court of law. Think about Harvey, they can't guarantee what rentals are available in that market place, as such people really will just have to accept what they can get (understandable based on the situation), but that is not an equal contract, as they collected premiums for a higher class for years. Worst part is you can't even get your premium for that returned when they can't deliver. How am I supposed to do any research? I can research all I want but once we get to court the legalese in the policy is what will be used, not the marketing material, and definitely not anything some employee told me. Am I supposed to hire a lawyer to try and figure it out? Even then they won't know as that is why there are so many lawsuits over claims. I'm not sure that is a true statement. Many people believe flood insurance is only available if you live in a flood plain (that was my understanding for ~15 years until I learned about "special districts" through FEMA). Others have many professionals (Title Company, Mortgage Lawyers, Insurance Broker, etc.) all tell them it is NOT required since they don't live in a flood plain. Ironically, most people don't realize that even those with Flood Insurance in Houston, you can only get your claim processed if the area is declared a Flood event by the government, so if your house is insured for flood but sits across the street from the county line and your county isn't included in the declaration you don't have flood insurance, even though you paid for flood insurance and it filled with water. A complex mess.
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milee
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2012 13:20:00 GMT -5
Posts: 12,344
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Post by milee on Sept 4, 2017 19:52:17 GMT -5
I filled my tank when I saw where Harvey was headed and have been choosing to drive less to conserve since then. Gas prices here are also up 50 cents a gallon. But I think I'm OK with paying that extra to top up my tank and the gas cans which will mean I know we have enough that we won't run out. We have three vehicles (yes, that's a big luxury) for the three drivers in our family. Two of the vehicles get low gas mileage but one - a Honda Accord with manual transmission gets IMO great mileage. So if things got really bad we could consolidate down to one vehicle (the Accord), siphon the tanks of the gas guzzlers and make the gas last a long time.
Unless our area gets a direct hit, I think we only need to be prepared for potential shortages for the next 2-3 weeks.
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weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 4, 2017 21:51:43 GMT -5
Our gas went up by over a dollar a gallon.
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vetswife
Established Member
Joined: Jun 21, 2016 10:59:25 GMT -5
Posts: 310
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Post by vetswife on Sept 18, 2017 9:25:29 GMT -5
The last I heard was that about 120,000 buildings have flood damage, that includes schools, city buildings and offices. Most of the people I know about have already heard from their insurance companies and had mold remediation done, but there is still a lot of repair work to do. This is going to take a very long time to recover from. The smaller towns are really suffering down south of Houston.
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