From the Daily News:
Queens residents who live near a body of salt water could face a jam when looking for homeowners insurance if their policy is dropped - and pay a higher premium when they do find coverage.
Since Hurricane Katrina, coastal cities like New York have been reevaluated by insurance companies and are considered high-risk for storm damage.
A handful of factors contribute to what companies consider the most potential hazards, but a lot of weight is put on a home's proximity to salt water.
In some cases, homeowners were unable to renew their policies because they live too close to a shoreline.
One Flushing native, who lost his 50-year-old Allstate policy last month, said shopping for a new policy has been difficult.
"You call them, but they give you a real song and dance," said Robert Drum, 74, who is currently working a deal with a midwestern company.
Many agents told him that he lived too close to the Long Island Sound to be considered for a new policy, Drum said.
"I never heard of this garbage," he said. "It's a crock."
3 comments:
I want to buy a home on the waterfront sited in the middle of a toxic brownfield and right next to a powerplant and down the block from a housing project.
Don't you?
As far as Queens goes, if you were dumb enough to buy a home on land that was either [a] on a sandbar (rockaway) or [b] on reclaimed swamp land (jamaica, college point, flushing), you are fucked.
And, rightly so.
As far as Queens goes, if you were dumb enough to buy a home on land that was either [a] on a sandbar (rockaway) or [b] on reclaimed swamp land (jamaica, college point, flushing), you are fucked.
And, rightly so.
It's not just that, or just in Queens. My mother on the south shore of LI lost her policy when it came up for renewal (not a single claim in 40 years!) and now had to go with an out-of-state carrier and a non AAA rated company, and at a higher premium! All because of Katrina and fear mongering.
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