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May 5, 2006 8:10 pm US/Eastern
Hurricane Season: Do You Have Flood Insurance?
Are You Prepared For The Big One
(CBS)
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Are You Prepared For Hurricane Season?
CBS
From the suburbs to the beach, it's a move long overdue for Queens couple Ron Johnson and Denise Shane. But even these city slickers were taken back when they ponied up for flood insurance at 17-hundred dollars a year.
"Buy it," said Shane, "and even if the price is a little high who is going to rebuild your house for the cost of the premium."
But if a Katrina-like hurricane hits Long Island, which forecasters said isn't a question of if, but when, there may not be enough insurance money to go around.
Congressman Steve Israel said a major hurricane would exhaust the national capacity of the insurance industry to cover those losses.
"If a major hurricane hits and the federal government hasn't figured it out and hasn't passed legislation that the insurance companies can pay those claims, you're going to see catastrophic economic loss," said Congressman Israel.
Which is exactly why some major insurers have stopped writing homeowner's policies on Long Island.
For the homeowner, should a hurricane make landfall, it's what's not covered on your insurance policy that should have you concerned. And it's not what you think, seeing that most homeowner's policies include windstorm and hurricane coverage.
More Weather Updates From WCBSTV.Com"But what people don't have is flood insurance," said Denis Miller, an insurance broker in Long Beach. "They don't carry a flood policy in Smithtown, they're not expecting to get water. In Woodmere they got a lot of water during the October rains. These people need to carry flood insurance because it's excluded on their homeowner's policy.
Denise Shane said she's not worried about not being re-imbursed, should the worst case ever play out.
As she notes, living on an island is worth the risk.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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