On September 11th last year, Rick and I flew to New York City for a planned meeting with Anderson Kill Loss Advisors, and a group of the nation’s top public adjusters at the Manhattan law offices of Anderson Kill. The purpose of the meeting was to meet and discuss current events and future plans for this team of professional adjusters, whom we are proud to be a member.  Little did any of us know what would be coming a month and a half later.  After a nonexistent 2012 hurricane season, Super Storm Sandy rolled up the east coast with devastating results.  The New Jersey coast and New York City with its many Burroughs were ground zero for a catastrophic flood event. While some are calling the end of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season, please remember last year and stay prepared.

The other issue is the proposed change in the National Flood Insurance Program. No doubt Congress was in the process of reviewing this program before Sandy hit but in my opinion Sandy was probably the storm that pushed BW-12 through the Congress without debate or consideration of the unintended consequences.  Now a grassroots effort is underway to repeal or put the proposed changes on a slow glide path to mitigate the great harm that is being reported daily in the print media. Sky rocketing premium increases are hitting property owners who have depended on this insurance to satisfy their mortgage lenders.  Remember, your voice can be heard so do contact your government represntatives.  We need a financially sound flood insurance program, but not one as proposed in the BW-12 legislation.

Finally, am I ready to call the end to the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season?  No.  After years of experience watching the weather reports, internet sites, and blogs, I can remember too many other seasons where storms were few and far between and suddenly there was another hurricane putting someone in harm’s way late in the fall. Stay prepared.

If you have questions regarding any property insurance related issues that Superstorm Sandy may cause please call 800.321.4488 or contact us to submit a question to one of our public adjuster or loss assessor experts.