Once again, the blame game rears its ugly head. Can\’t anyone take personal responsibility anymore? Why couldn\’t they rebuild their homes without this money? Could it be they were UNDERINSURED because they were too CHEAP to pay for full insurance? So, here we go again, bailing out stupid people at the expense of all of us. That money will have to be replenished somehow, so my guess is a few types of taxes will go up.
Compman is right on target about home owners intent on living in risky locations, expecting the rest of us to subsidize their choices. They pay big money for their elite locations, then grind their insurance reps for rock-bottom property insurance premiums and inadequte coverage.
I went to the slightly smoke-damaged home of a client a day after that fire roared through the area. My client\’s home survived nicely because of good brush clearance. While there, a neighboring family was walking in shock through the ashes of their own 4000 sq ft home burned to the slab. They were not insured with me. They also had next to no brush clearance.
My client introduced the people to me, and finding out I was an insurance rep they began to ask me questions about what to expect in the days ahead. They explained how elaborately made their home was, and offered that they were insured for $250K. I said very little, other than offering condolences and assurance that their insurer would quickly open a claim file. Meanwhile I knew the probable $200 per sq ft reconstruction cost for the home meant they probably should have been paying for $800K of coverage.
Where some other homes around them were rebuilt within a year, that home was not. In fact, it stayed a bare slab until now, which tells me this family that didn\’t \’believe\’ in insurance to value was one likely of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Knowing they\’d eventually get their pay-day by waiting long enough, they probably still don\’t \’believe\’ in insurance any more than the day before the fire. And the rest of us get to pay for their irrationalilty, thanks to our liberal activist legal system. Personal responsibility has gone the way of the dinosaur.
A little edit to my prior comment. I meant to type in the next-to-last paragraph:
In fact, it stayed a bare slab until now, which tells me this family that didn\’t \’believe\’ in insurance to value was likely one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
I should add that after legal fees, I doubt they will have enough funds from the net settlement to make up the $550k estimated coverage shortfall. Their next probable step is suing their own attorneys for failing to get a big enough settlement. The mindset is all too predictable and disgusting.
You forgot their other avenue, to sue their insurance agent for not selling them enough coverage. And unfortuneately, there are agents out there who aggressively underinsure in order to write the business. They are no better than the homeowner\’s who buy it from them because it is cheap. Thanks for your comments though, it is always nice to see my beliefs backed up by real experience.
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Once again, the blame game rears its ugly head. Can\’t anyone take personal responsibility anymore? Why couldn\’t they rebuild their homes without this money? Could it be they were UNDERINSURED because they were too CHEAP to pay for full insurance? So, here we go again, bailing out stupid people at the expense of all of us. That money will have to be replenished somehow, so my guess is a few types of taxes will go up.
If I paid a claim on one of those homes, I would look into subrogation based on this settlement…ouch.
Compman is right on target about home owners intent on living in risky locations, expecting the rest of us to subsidize their choices. They pay big money for their elite locations, then grind their insurance reps for rock-bottom property insurance premiums and inadequte coverage.
I went to the slightly smoke-damaged home of a client a day after that fire roared through the area. My client\’s home survived nicely because of good brush clearance. While there, a neighboring family was walking in shock through the ashes of their own 4000 sq ft home burned to the slab. They were not insured with me. They also had next to no brush clearance.
My client introduced the people to me, and finding out I was an insurance rep they began to ask me questions about what to expect in the days ahead. They explained how elaborately made their home was, and offered that they were insured for $250K. I said very little, other than offering condolences and assurance that their insurer would quickly open a claim file. Meanwhile I knew the probable $200 per sq ft reconstruction cost for the home meant they probably should have been paying for $800K of coverage.
Where some other homes around them were rebuilt within a year, that home was not. In fact, it stayed a bare slab until now, which tells me this family that didn\’t \’believe\’ in insurance to value was one likely of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Knowing they\’d eventually get their pay-day by waiting long enough, they probably still don\’t \’believe\’ in insurance any more than the day before the fire. And the rest of us get to pay for their irrationalilty, thanks to our liberal activist legal system. Personal responsibility has gone the way of the dinosaur.
A little edit to my prior comment. I meant to type in the next-to-last paragraph:
In fact, it stayed a bare slab until now, which tells me this family that didn\’t \’believe\’ in insurance to value was likely one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
I should add that after legal fees, I doubt they will have enough funds from the net settlement to make up the $550k estimated coverage shortfall. Their next probable step is suing their own attorneys for failing to get a big enough settlement. The mindset is all too predictable and disgusting.
County Line,
You forgot their other avenue, to sue their insurance agent for not selling them enough coverage. And unfortuneately, there are agents out there who aggressively underinsure in order to write the business. They are no better than the homeowner\’s who buy it from them because it is cheap. Thanks for your comments though, it is always nice to see my beliefs backed up by real experience.