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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,787
Registered: ‎02-20-2017

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

There have to be insurance people on the scene dealing with their customers.   You might not ID, important documents, account numbers - it's so overwhelming.    

 

 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,035
Registered: ‎06-29-2015

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

I've also been wondering about all the talk about 'rebuilding' homes & businesses.

But how many carpenters, electricians and plumbers can there be???!

 

An amidst such a tragedy, will questionable repair people descend on that area w/ the intention to scam?

Muddling through...
Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,045
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

ITA Missy and bri.

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,517
Registered: ‎06-17-2015

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

GAP insurance came in handy for us in one situation with a car. 


Don't buy it from the dealer, though.  Get it through your bank/credit union.

"" Compassion is a verb."-Thich Nhat Hanh
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,882
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

I think it should be mandatory to have flood and/or earthquake insurance if you live in a state prone to these circumstances.  There also should be better zoning (Houston was sorely lacking in this area) to prevent people from building in areas very prone to flooding or fire.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,475
Registered: ‎03-14-2015

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey


@sabatini wrote:

I've also been wondering about all the talk about 'rebuilding' homes & businesses.

But how many carpenters, electricians and plumbers can there be???!

 

An amidst such a tragedy, will questionable repair people descend on that area w/ the intention to scam?


 

 

 

 

 

@sabatini

 

 

 

 

You can count on scammers taking advantage of this tragedy.

 

 

Just like there will be bogus "charity" scams.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,789
Registered: ‎06-26-2014

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey


@patbz wrote:

I think it should be mandatory to have flood and/or earthquake insurance if you live in a state prone to these circumstances.  There also should be better zoning (Houston was sorely lacking in this area) to prevent people from building in areas very prone to flooding or fire.


We're offered earthquake insurance once a year. It's very expensive and the deductible alone is almost $100,000. Thanks but I budget for damages.

 

However, if I lived in a flood zone, I'd definately take out flood insurance. What I heard on the news is that Houston was not considered a flood zone, thus not many people had it. I think it's purchased directly from FEMA, not by an insurance agency.

 

My great goal is still to live by the beach and I'll insure the hilt out of the property should I be lucky enough to attain my dream.

Contributor
Posts: 21
Registered: ‎03-24-2010

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

Been living in the New Oreans area, well before Hurricane Katrina and this is what we learned the hard way: All your utilities want their money: Electric, water, gas, cable, and so on.  You will get a bill to pay up to the day of the fooding.  They will find you when you do an address change.  The federal flood insurance program is way under funded so, some people with flood insurance are going to be screwed.  That will be a first come basis sadly.  If your home got water up to the ceiling and the insurance considers it a total loss (all this can take months to a year before you get things finalised) and if the government steps in, you wont get much money but you MIGHT not have to pay the mortgage off and might not have to go through bankruptcy.  Some people will end up filling for bankruptcy, some will get enough help from FEMA and some other organizations that they will be able to repair their homes.  But, because soo many homes, apartments and bussnesses throughtout Texas and Louisiana got flooded, there will be a back log for places like Home Depot and Lowes and other places that carry wood and home repair items (flooring, dry wall,etc).  The sooner you get started the better.  Some items it took us 1 1/2 years before we got because so many people had the same demand for it at the same time.  As for cars, most will be a right off, but it depends on the bank you got the loan from.  A lot of those cars will be cleaned up and resold without the buyer knowing it was flooded.  Life will go on, but very slowly.  And a lot of people that lived in those hard hit areas will have some form of PTSD but most will never seak help for it.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,139
Registered: ‎04-16-2010

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

What I do know:

 

*Depending on who you have insurance with, you may be required to build your house EXACTLY where the last one once stood else, you get nothing. I know this as my cousin and her husband had their home destroyed (well, 1/2 of it still stood) when a tornado ripped through PA many years ago. Neighbors on both sides of them were killed; their infant daughter was found alive in a tree 1/2 mile away. My cousin was terrified to live there but if they refused, they walked away losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. They rebuilt, sold and moved to Vermont. 

 

*Our home flooded and we live 4 HOURS away from the Eastern Shore. We did not live in a flood plain; we did not live on "flat" ground. But the power went out for a huge part of the state due to high winds, lightening hitting major sub-stations and our sump-pump stopped. Where I live, to purchase flood insurance when you don't live in a flood plain is VERY expensive. The area we lived in was built in the early 1800's; this was the first time it flooded.

 

*If you have a boat, you have insurance. That said, my in-laws insurance clearly states that if you don't dock your craft in a hurricane harbor when one is going to hit, your insurance is null and void. Everyone did and their boats were STILL destroyed. You can do all the right things but Mother Nature is fickle and can never be controlled.

 

I believe if you live near water, you should have flood/hurricane insurance. The thing is, the cost can be prohibited especially if it's happened before. I wonder how many people who were flooded due to Harvey even lived in a known flood plain? Is ALL of Houston considered a flood plain? What were the odd that this kind of flooding would ever have happened that far inland? It stinks....it just...stinks. I feel for everyone going through this nightmare and nothing will be easy for them; for anyone dealing with it.

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 34,519
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: So I have been pondering about life after Harvey

We have and DD has friends there and in this situation,

Who knows unless one is there?

I worry that they stayed since they, in particular, were dry. (Gratefully)

But they seem to be moving slowly as if in a trance.

 

I admire their courage but are they fantasizing about there being "life as usual" in a few days? I am thinking it will not happen this way at all.

 

Someone mentioned going to areas of devastation after  "recoverey" and almost feeling the "ghosts" of the places as they had looked before.

 

I felt this way after Katrina -- visiting New Orleans. The other was Key Biscayne. Can't get used to it.

 

 

~Have a Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit~