Atlanta flooding claims: “A lot of this is not going to be covered.”

[marmar]

More than 14,000 flood-related claims filed in Atlanta area
By Michael E. Kanell and Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


As the waters recede, the insurance claims pile up.

Based roughly on claims tallied so far by the state’s largest home insurer, more than 14,000 claims have been filed on homes damaged by the recent flooding, while 2,000 have been filed for harm to water-damaged vehicles.

Many claims are still to come, said David Colmans, executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service. “They need to get the debris cleared up, and they need to get water out of there.”

And more bad news awaits homeowners and renters.

“A lot of this is not going to be covered,” Colmans said. “The insured damage is going to be significantly less than the total damage.”

Flood insurance is sold by companies but is part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency program, which sets the rates. A policy covers up to $250,000 in damage for the contents of a home and $500,000 for the building itself. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/more-than-14000-flood-145327.html

[Zoeisright]

1. I'll bet a lot of those people did not have flood insurance.

We just got it last year. It's only $200 a year, and well worth it, in my opinion.

[jwirr]

4. Flood insurance is one of the options many people think is not necessary

until the flood waters are at the front door.

[Zoeisright]

15. Yep. We've owned this house for 15 years and just got it last year.

I think a lot of people don't realize flooding isn't covered by homeowners insurance.

[intheflow]

17. Many people are advised by their insurance companies

that they don't need to buy flood insurnace unless they live in a flood zone. The problem is, places that were never flood zones before are flooding because of overdevelopment, particularly of wetlands. That happened in Mississippi during Katrina. Places 10-20 miles inland that had never flooded before suddenly flooded after shopping malls and WalMarts sprung up on what used to be wetlands. And then those people were SOL because they'd been advised against buying flood insurance.

[beyurslf]

2. I have flood insurance because I am in a flood zone. We never have water anywhere near our house.

It rained for a week earlier this summer. Some parts of town were flooding. We barely had any on the street.

And being in a flood zone makes it mandatory insurance and it is not cheap. Mine is close to 1200 a year.

[Broken_Hero]

18. Same here,

and the coverage for flood is pretty weak as well. We have to sustain 60% damage to our home, and the most we can get is 20k.

[beyurslf]

20. Yeah it is not great. But it is required.

I figure the way my house is built (it's solid brick and on a slight hill) that it is not likely to be damaged by rain unless there is a massive flood and half the city is under water.

[targetpractice]

3. I was listening to a CNN producer being interviewed online today...

Her entire neighborhood was like a lake... She did not have flood insurance, and when she called her agent as the water was rising... She learned a lot of sad information. She said the agent told her that she was definitely not covered, and... Most people don't have flood insurance in that area because the insurance companies simply don't promote it because flooding is not considered a risk. Furthermore, the agent told her that many people have been dropping flood insurance recently as part of their way to reduce expenses due to the poor economy.

Very sad situation, and my heart goes out to those affected.

[texanwitch]

5. This is so wrong that the insurance companies were not offering flood insurance.

Any place it rains, it can flood.

The rain just has to stop in once place and dump rain.

[WillowTree]

6. Of course they're "offering" flood insurance.

Did you ever hear of an insurance company (or any other company, for that matter) that just decided not to "offer" their products for sale? Especially when there are pretty good chances that the sale would amount to pure profit because the purchasers would be less likely to experience major claims?

It's mostly a matter of agents not wasting their time by more aggressively trying to convince people to purchase flood insurance if they're not in a federally-designated flood area because they've learned from experience that most people in those areas don't think they need it.

[texanwitch]

7. Maybe this flood will chance people minds about flood insurance.

My house is up on blocks and I still need flood insurance.

[Raineyb]

8. Why should you need separate flood insurance?

You get insurance for the house and floods aren't covered? Then what the hell is covered?

[SoCalDem]

9. Mundane things.. like

pipes bursting and flooding the inside of the house


and of course, fires,

people need to take out their policies and read & highlight stuff they don't understand, because a LOT of things they assume will be covered, aren't. then have their agent fully explain them..

Sometimes they offer a supplemental coverage for an extra fee, on things like jewelry & collections, but you better have a RECEIPT of everything in your house, and expect them to "depreciate" them big-time.

[texanwitch]

10. House insurance doesn't cover floods.

My flood insurance is about $600 because I live in a flood zone.

It would be more if the house wasn't raised on blocks.

In the old days people built their houses above ground.

We are a lot higher here then many of parts of Houston but it can still flood.

In 2001 we had a major flood in Houston, we had 3 ft of water in the yard.

Many homes had water to the roofs.

Houston is the bayou city.

I was surprised to hear that so many people didn't have flood insurance.


Rivers and creeks do flood from time to time.

[MissB]

26. I live in rainy Oregon

But up in the hills. If we flooded, then Noah himself had damned well show up.

If I lived lower, you bet I'd have the insurance. But it would have to look a lot like Waterworld to have water lapping at my door.

Edited to add: I do, however, carry earthquake insurance. Not many folks do, but I wouldn't be without it.

[Quantess]

14. "Any place it rains, it can flood." No.

Maybe that's true in Texas, and other flat regions.
I live in a place that is hilly, and it's Oregon so of course it rains a lot, but the flood happens at the bottom of the hills.

[Chulanowa]

11. There seems to be a vibe in this thread

A sort of "well, that's what you get, silly people without flood insurance!"

Is this just people with flood insurance feeling a schadenfreude vindication for the money they've spent?

[texanwitch]

12. I have to have flood insurance.

Flood insurance is the same as fire insurance.

You buy it in hope you don't need it.

I help tear out sheetrock from walls after the flood of 2001, it wasn't a lot of fun.


The smell wet of wet carpet that has been flooded with bayou water, you never forget that.


We know what flooding is in Houston.


I feel sorry for the people who got flooded out but at least we have a President that will help.

[Zoeisright]

16. My opinion is that it's criminal that floods aren't covered in regular insurance.

Yet another reason to hate insurance companies. I am feeling bad for the people who don't have it and are going to lose everything. The fact that I have it doesn't mean I'm smug. Just lucky enough to be able to afford it.

[Egalitariat]

23. You're crazy. If flood insurance was covered in every policy, every policy would cost $250 more per

year, and 99.99% of that incremental $250 would go straight to the insurance company's shareholders or, even worse, their CEOs because floods are extremely rare.

[Zoeisright]

24. No, I'm not crazy. And I resent you saying I am.

That's not at all nice.

[Zoeisright]

25. Oh, and by the way, you're wrong. Floods are a lot more common than you think.

Again, if you live in a 100-year floodplain, you have 1 percent chance of being flooded every year. Think of how concerned you’d be if you were told there was a 1-in-100 chance of your house burning down every year. The way the math works out, this means that over a 30-year mortgage, there is a 26% chance you’ll have a 100-year flood during that time period (1 - (0.99)30). This is also why most people with home loans in such areas are required to buy flood insurance.

Many people are in 500-year flood plains, which gets people even less worried. “The last flood was in 1909, we’re good for another 400 years!” Actually, having a 0.2% chance of a flood each and every year works out to a 6% chance of occurring at least once over a span of 30 years, or 1-in-17.

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2009/09/100-year-floods-are-more-common-than-you-think.html

And you wouldn't pay an extra $20 a month, or 70 cents a DAY, to ensure that someone doesn't lose their home in a flood? Wow. Just wow.

[Trillo]

13. I guess this will be a show of whether "too little to fail" will become a media

rallying cry, with a push by Congress to spend whatever is necessary to fix problems, and make sure it's voted on "yesterday", and if not then, then the day before.

Hey, it worked for the Banksters.

[librechik]

19. Insurance companies take your money then cut you out? What a shocker!

Because nobody in the United States has ever been scammed by big money types who kick us to the curb when we need it most. That NEVER happens.

[Katya Mullethov]

21. selfed

.

[Katya Mullethov]

22. Flood insurance .....it's a human right

>insert rimshot
www.instantrimshot.com