“Buy a house at the beach!” They said. “Build equity! Score a ton of surf!”

Subway

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Dec 31, 2008
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yeah that will end up being what i do. Just got off the phone with insurance company again, and my $9400 "catastrophic windstorm" deductible does in fact apply whether or not it was a hurricane, tropical storm, or unnamed storm. so yeah, fuck the new roof, i'm just going to have the guy fix/resurface that one section, and just pay for it out of pocket.
 

elcalvo

Michael Peterson status
Mar 16, 2004
3,314
436
83
NE
yeah that will end up being what i do. Just got off the phone with insurance company again, and my $9400 "catastrophic windstorm" deductible does in fact apply whether or not it was a hurricane, tropical storm, or unnamed storm. so yeah, fook the new roof, i'm just going to have the guy fix/resurface that one section, and just pay for it out of pocket.
You need a new insurance policy.
Any storm strong enough to cause wind damage could be called a "catastrophic windstorm".
In effect, the language in this deductible eliminates coverage for any wind damage.
 

Surfdog

Duke status
Apr 22, 2001
21,768
1,988
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South coast OR
Unfortunately, hurricane insurance is mostly for catastrophic damage. It's expensive to add on, and like you're seeing, deductibles can be high.

But, it seems you may have some inclusion of wind-storm damages already, and maybe you don't have that extra "hurricane" insurance coverage some add on? I would imagine on the EC it's an expensive rider on coverage and deductibles are in the 10's of $1000's at least. So only worth claiming if you have fairly significant damages.

I had the option of adding it to my Kauai condo coverage, though I passed. It was expensive, high deductible and only really worth having for covering interior damages. The condo assoc. hurricane coverage would pay for roofs and exterior damage, but not interior damages. I didn't have that much inside worthy of paying for it every year.

Kind of like getting earthquake insurance in So Cal. It's kind of expensive, and deductibles are high. Knock on wood, I never added it. It would need to be a major quake very close by to do enough damage to be worth it. Some areas of So Cal, with high home values it might be worth it.

One of my concerns, is if we did end up with a major earthquake that did wide-spread major damages to a million homes in So Cal, most insurance companies would likely go belly up anyway.

But, we (inland O'side) don't live that close to any major faults, so I think we're good. I figure, if Mission San Luis Rey survived fairly intact the last 220+ years thru some fairly major quakes in So Cal (San Juan Capo 1812, 6.5-7.9, Tejon Pass 1838, 7.9, and others in the high 6/low 7 range since), then my home location is fairly safe too for my stay on earth.

If l lived in some LA/OC areas near active faults, I might consider it, but like I said, it's expensive and if we did have a big one with a million claims, good luck. If you live in So Cal and own a home, it might be wise to check out the quake fault maps.

SF Bay area is a whole other animal. They're living on fault city up there as much or more than LA metro. San Andreas goes right thru the middle or it.
 
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Subway

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You need a new insurance policy.
Any storm strong enough to cause wind damage could be called a "catastrophic windstorm".
In effect, the language in this deductible eliminates coverage for any wind damage.
i agree, except in a case if like a huge chunk of our house was destroyed, a $9400 deductible wouldn't seem so bad for $100,000 worth of repairs or whatever. The high wind deductible is also likely VERY much a factor of living on Long Beach specifically.
 

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
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West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
I was unscathed from the tropical storm but a significant tornado did a lot of damage about 5 miles away. For me this morning's thunderstorm was worse than the tropical storm. It was a doozy that flooded the whole neighborhood.

Occasional storm damage is a small price to pay to live at the beach. Been in my house since the mid 90s and I've mopped up flood waters many times. Sandy was the worst with chest deep water inside the house. Took 4 years of fighting to get paid up on the insurance but it all worked out.

I still wouldn't want to live inland.
 
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Sharkbiscuit

Duke status
Aug 6, 2003
26,270
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Jacksonville Beach
sh!t started changing after Hugo/Andrew about 30 years ago especially with respect to building codes, then in the mid-2000s, Frances, Jeanne, Katrina, Ivan, there was another change on the building/insurance side, and since Sandy, it seems there's been another bump.

Some places, the insurers straight up say no. Others, it's expensive as hell, and things like pool screen enclosures etc. wind up omitted.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I rather enjoy everyone from Jalama to Port Angeles coming out the woodwork to write off their spots.

Don't worry. I tried claiming the **** out of Indian Summer Central California to my friends. It didn't work.

Sharkbiscuit: "YEAH, IT WAS INCREDIBLE. CALIFORNIA, WITHOUT THE CROWDS! JUST WALK DOWN THE BEACH AND IT'S ALL YOURS! NO CROWDS, AND NOT A CLOSEOUT-FEST. GROOMED FUN ONES GALORE."

*sound of drool droplets hitting floor; sound of person working out how to breathe, speak, and slobber out of mouth simultaneously, giving up, and alternating between the three*

Friends: "DUHHHHHHH, WUZ IT COALED? I HERD ITZ COALED"

Sharkbiscuit: "Well, you know how it's cool in the mornings in the West, and the water requires a wetsuit, but IT WAS INDIAN SUMMER OFFSHORE WIND 24/7 WARMING UP TO ALMOST 80 DEGREES WITH BLAZING SUN. IT WAS FINE IN A 3/2, BOOTIES, AND GLOVES IF YOU'RE NOT A PUSSY"

Friends: "WET SOOT? BOO TEEZ? WHAT IS A GLOVE?"

Sharkbiscuit: "It's this thing. It's magic. It keeps away all kinds of Brazzos, Izzos, Floridiots, and all other manner of abhorrent Southertry and OC-dom. The lineup's IQ about doubles. You put it on your hands so you don't do that pussyfied thing you all do in 67 degree water where you're tucking your hands in your armpits, blowing on them, and generally being a cold-soft pussy."

Friends: "WET SOOT! WET SOOT! WHAT ABOUT CHEST HIGH CLOSEOUTS IN KO STUH?"

Sharkbiscuit: "I give up."
 
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mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
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i agree, except in a case if like a huge chunk of our house was destroyed, a $9400 deductible wouldn't seem so bad for $100,000 worth of repairs or whatever. The high wind deductible is also likely VERY much a factor of living on Long Beach specifically.
Dont blame it all on living at the beach, it could happen anywhere. In my area the beach was fairly unscathed while inland with all the big old trees got hammered.
 

Sharkbiscuit

Duke status
Aug 6, 2003
26,270
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Jacksonville Beach
Dont blame it all on living at the beach, it could happen anywhere. In my area the beach was fairly unscathed while inland with all the big old trees got hammered.
True enough from the damage standpoint, but in general, insurers aren't getting that fancy on the actuarial side. Beachside = up the backside with no reachside.
 
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Subway

Administrator
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Dec 31, 2008
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yeah after Sandy, I'm surprised anyone even insures our LB homes at any price lol
 

Ranga

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 31, 2008
1,682
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when you file a HOI claim you're on the blacklist for like three years and rates are worse. They don't like it when you use their insurance . . .
 
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Random Guy

Duke status
Jan 16, 2002
32,009
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when you file a HOI claim you're on the blacklist for like three years and rates are worse. They don't like it when you use their insurance . . .
Yeah, I had mine canceled after a 3rd claim in around 12 years
 
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ElOgro

Duke status
Dec 3, 2010
31,867
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For Hurricane Sandy here in NY North of the city I had no power for about a week - after the first day I found Propanecarbs.com and for $175 got a kit to convert my gasoline 5,300 watt Briggs and Stratton Storm Responder generator to natural gas or propane. Gasoline, propane and natural gas engines are all constructed the same and are relatively cheap compared to a diesel engine which is expensive to build. The conversion is so simple, you slide the air cleaner off of the front of the carburetor, screw on lengtheners for the two threaded studs then slide the new gas ring up against the carburetor then the air cleaner back on. You also have to mount about a 6" diameter gas regulator onto the generator (If you only have a plug in electric drill make sure to drill the holes before you shut your power off and take the generator apart :socrazy: - I strapped a wood board onto the generator temporarily and hand screwed into the wood).

I had a natural gas connection for a BBQ so I connected to that. It's 3,412 BTU's per KW so 5,300 watts is 18,083 BTU's - about 1/2 of a 3 burner grill. That gets me 20 amps of 220v or two 120v 20 amp circuits however you want to slice it. My boiler is like 80,000 BTU's and I can run that and a say 36,000 BTU BBQ at the same time so there's plenty of capacity in my service.

So to run on natural gas instead of gasoline you shut off the gasoline petcock while its running, run it out of gasoline, get it running on natural gas then adjust the fuel mixture screw on the regulator until the RPM is the highest - smoothest. Then I went a little rich just to drop the RPM a bit and know that I'm on the rich side - lean can hole a piston. For propane you would just adjust the mixture again. There's no timing change, no spark plug change - no nothing to do really, its so simple. Even though natural gas does, I think, burn cleaner than gasoline there are other chemical byproducts of natural gas combustion which also contaminate the motor oil so the oil change interval of 50 hours stays the same. So there it is - Tri -Fuel for $175. They sell them that way new also. Last year I ran on generator 24 hours a day for 6 or 7 days and my natural gas bill that month was only $60 higher - amazingly cheap compared to gasoline.

So if you have natural gas or propane Tri-Fuel is a great choice. For a remote place with a permanent mounted in place generator I think that Propane is the best choice because there are no fuel aging, water in the fuel, fuel jelling in the cold (diesel fuel) problems. And, although fuel stabilizer for gasoline is nice - dead dry I think is nicer - 5 years during which I didn't need mine at all went by fast.
I’ve heard of doing that. We’re off the grid so our backup power needs aren’t emergency only. I agree, propane is way more desirable, the storage of gasoline and diesel is a PITA in a humid area. The stuff we have with small gasoline motors (both 2 & 4 stroke) gets used or at least run once a week, but yeah if it’s gonna sit for a month definitely drain it.
Thanks for your response!
 

ringer

Tom Curren status
Aug 2, 2002
11,341
612
113
Huntington Beach, California
Someone above asked about earthquake insurance in California. My situation (from memory) is it is about $660/year for $400,000 coverage, but they don't pay anything if the damage is below $40,000. It's basically publicly subsidized coverage if your whole fvcking house gets whacked, through the California Earthquake Authority. I pay the premium every year, for peace of mind.
 

grapedrink

Duke status
May 21, 2011
25,945
14,735
113
A Beach
Someone above asked about earthquake insurance in California. My situation (from memory) is it is about $660/year for $400,000 coverage, but they don't pay anything if the damage is below $40,000. It's basically publicly subsidized coverage if your whole fvcking house gets whacked, through the California Earthquake Authority. I pay the premium every year, for peace of mind.
I have earthquake coverage and it's definitely not that much. I think it's around $200ish a year. Although I'm starting to wonder if I need it, because I'm probably 40 miles as the crow flies from the San Andreas.

Although what you said above is more or less true for flood coverage. FEMA administers it and fixes the rates, with your price based on risk. I'm up a hill and well above any kind of creek and it's $400ish a year. Fook dat, I'll pass. I have a friend with a house right with a creek in his backyard who pays $1200 a year. Ouch!
 
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