8 Ways Your Hurricane Sandy Flood Insurance Settlement Likely Fell Short

Over the past two months, I have been hearing of more of our neighbors' Hurricane Sandy flood insurance claims being settled at WAY less than what it cost them to repair and rebuild.

I reviewed my Estimated Proof of Loss, which details what the insurance adjustor calculated as the flood settlement should be. The payments for cleaning and painting, as well as replacements, were broken out, room by room. I found several areas where my flood insurance claim settlement fell short.

Here is what I discovered and what you should look for:

1. Insulation: The stuff between the walls, which sells for about $45 for 13 linear feet of coverage (2x4 squares). Check your drywall measurements, it should be the same square footage. My POL completely omitted insulation.
2. Electrical: If you got a couple of feet of water, chances are your electricals were ruined. While a lamp plugged into the wall would not be covered by flood insurance, your wires and outlets will be covered. My POL completely omitted electricals.
3. Other electrical components: Sprinklers switches and valves, alarms, intercoms, elevator mechanicals should all be covered.  My POL completely omitted electrical components destroyed by the flood water.
4. Drywall: All exterior walls should be double drywall. Did your claim include double what the adjuster measured? My adjustor not only failed to realize what is building code, but also got the width wrong. I had photos to prove otherwise. My POL was off by 75%.
5. Heater, furnace, and other non removable fixtures, including toilets and sinks are and should be covered. My POL omitted some.
6. Carpet: Carpet allowances vary from $1.50-4 per sq feet (their calculations are in sq yards). There is a step up overage for installing carpet on stairs. My POL underestimated carpet cost.
7. Allowances: Did you check the allowances on a per unit or per square foot basis for paint, drywall, disinfecting, air mover, flooring, carpet etc? Mine magically decreased year over year.
8. Contractor overage: Finally, the cost of labor. I have no idea what the adjustors' idea of fair labor costs in our area is. Ours were 1000% higher than what they gave us.

 

You can appeal your claim. Or complain to FEMA. The second really helps expedite things.

 

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Good luck!