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Over the weekend, the New York Times profiled Andrea and Stephen Kondaks, homeowners in Red Hook who, four months after Hurricane Sandy, still have not received enough money from their flood insurance policy to repair their three-story, 150-year-old house two and a half blocks from the water. The sticking point is that the claims adjuster who processed their claim overlooked much of the damage, they said. He estimated they need $49,000 and they estimate they need about $200,000. The couple removed five layers of flooring to dry out the joists so they wouldn’t get dry rot or mold. The joists are still exposed, and they sealed the staircase to the living space above. If they ever get the money, they may design the first floor space as a “sacrificial” area that can withstand flooding in the future. “Our goal is to never make a claim again,” said one of the homeowners. While they are among the lucky ones in that they were insured in the first place, they are not the only ones having trouble getting insurance companies to pay claims. Senator Charles Schumer and Governor Christie of New Jersey have both criticized FEMA and the insurance companies for poor service, according to the article.
Fighting the Insurer Over Hurricane Sandy Damage [NY Times]
Photo of Red Hook flooding via @johnrobb on Twitter


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Would anyone be surprised to know that these issues are not unique to FEMA or the government backed flood insurance policies? It is the standard protocol for all insurance claims and once the mortgage company gets involved the situation will become even more difficult.

  2. I’m not surprised to hear this. My folks’ house had a fire a few weeks before Sandy, their private insurance hasn’t paid up yet either. This stuff is really slow, and I can’t imagine how much slower it is when a national disaster and bureaucracy is involved. It’s frustrating because you can’t rebuild and your whole life is on pause…

  3. Yeah, good question. There is an enormous amount of waste. While we were cleaning out, FEMA sent people door-to-door to find out if we’d applied yet. Then 10 minutes later another pair showed up asking the same questions. The people staffing the FEMA offices (there were two in Red Hook) couldn’t answer any of my questions. The inspector was two hours late- he couldn’t find my apartment- he had been knocking on door to the upstairs unit. He rolled up in a brand new rental car. These people come from out of town and they put them up in hotels. Don’t get me started on the hotel rooms FEMA paid for, but then wouldn’t let us use. Our neighbor got 10K for her car that wasn’t worth more than a few grand. We repaired our own car and got nothing.

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