Thursday, November 01, 2012

Some Superstorm Sandy Advice from New Orleans

My heart goes out to all of the people on the east coast who are about to be learn that their insurance won't cover their wind and water damage. My advice, after three hard years of rebuilding following the failed levees in New Orleans, is to keep a detailed journal. You will likely have many different insurance adjustors, countless meetings, phone calls, and emails. This will include government agencies as well as your insurance company. Keep a detailed record of the time, topic, and people involved. Insurance companies often times will wait until just prior to the court date and then settle. They are more likely to settle in your favor if you keep arduous records. 

My other advice is that rebuilding takes much longer than you would expect. I very much wish that my father, who passed away in 2007, could have lived another couple of years. He worried about our situation, and couldn't believe what the insurance industry was doing. I really wish I could talk to him and let him know that we made out OK, and we and his grand kids are doing great.


But I'd estimate and hope that most people will be treated fairly by their insurance companies. It's just about 20% of cases that have problems. But that is still way too many of course.