What Damaged My Castle?

By: George "Sonny" Hoffman

The Hurricane Man

In no way affiliated with anyone doing anything, receiving no money from any enterprise, still offering my unbiased, self-proclaimed, expert opinions on a commercial-free website, the master of my domain.

For many homeowners, hurricane recovery involves insurance settlements. That is when they find out that their homeowner's policy excludes any damage caused by flooding. Water that falls is covered. Water that rises is not.

In fairness to the insurance companies, they all go to great lengths to make sure the insured understands this. Every new policy holder receives information about the National Flood Insurance Program, and those in qualified flood plains get an extra hard push.

In some areas, zoning requires NFIP coverage or the lender does. Despite all the pleading and pushing, in few areas do more than half of the property owners participate in the expensive supplement. The Mississippi Gulf Coast has one of the lowest, barely cresting one third. Some clearly elected to assume the risk, but some were thinking their homeowner's policy covered the primary threat posed by hurricanes. Hurricanes are, after all, windy things.

In the past, the insurance carriers didn't nit pick, but Katrina made flood zones out of vast tracts of Mississippi that never had been. Those homeowners had certificates to show lenders proving they were in a no-flood area and this saved them the added NFIP expense. Now, they deal with an insurance industry under claim seige, nit picky like an old hound infested with new nits.

Arguements ensue and distill down to wind or water, what did the damage, and if water, did the water rise up or did the water rain down. By FEMA's rules and regs, they can't help you if you do not have NFIP coverage. You'll need to apply for an SBA loan. Failing that, beg a grant, so no-NFIP homeowners are fighting mad and securing a fighting mad attorney to go after the insurance company.

There is currently a plethora of fighting mad attorneys on both sides, all due to become filthy stinking rich again. Wherever a major hurricane lands, there too shall land planeloads of mad litigators. One might think we would decide once and for all the wind/water issue and end the madness, but our lawmakers are mostly temp employed lawyers. Fat chance they will kill this cash cow in your or your child's lifetime. They would sooner kill you and your child.

If I am held down with my feet in the fire until I pick a side to get on, I'll pick wind. The wind did it all. In a private conversation in the courthouse mens room, just you and me, no feet seen under the stalls, nobody washing hands before returning to work, I will tell you in a whisper to your ear, "Lady, the wind alone can blow shingles and awnings off, break windows, and blow things into and onto your house, but to destroy a house, bring up the water. And I do apologize. I honestly thought this was the mens room."

I can live with myself for siding with those who say wind destroys and the water washes away the debris. That is sorta true. In most cases, gradually rising water won't destroy a structure. Wind driven rushing water with waves destroy. In those cases, wind put the water up to it just as wind puts a tree or a trash can up to it. We don't require homeowners to supplement with tree and trash can insurance, so there is no rational for obtaining flood insurance if hurricane flooding is the only flooding the home is facing. Even the gradual rising flood water is there due to wind.

Hurricanes are an atmospheric event that unleash great energy on many forms of matter, water being one. Classic flooding is brought about by inadaquate drainage or plugged drains or busted dams, or broken levees. Except for annual Spring thaw river flooding, if there is a flood, there is someone to blame and sue. The flooding brought by hurricanes is God doing an act. Insurance companies offer to insure against those, because you can't sue God.

Many years ago, they wisely got out of the business of insuring homes that are built in hurricane surge zones. The Feds unwisely got them to get back in it by extending NFIP to any potential flood area, thus allowing the insurance companies to write policies that exclude what they know to be an unreasonable risk. They have every right to feel suckered in and now abandoned to the pack of legal beagle wolf pups who are again feasting upon the carcass of a cash cow lured into the kill zone by the fat cats who control the Feds.

If the Fed government doesn't do the right thing, which is step in and assume the hurricane flood risk, then end forever the wind/water madness, we will see the death of a great and very needed industry, at least for our hurricane prone coastal areas. We will no doubt witness the birth of a new government insurance program, NIP, that is sure to make NFIP look great, simple, and cost-effective.

When you realize what a terrible idea NFIP was, the idea of a bigger better one is terrifying. We must nip NIP in the nipples, but we will beg for it like a junkie whore with a bad itch.

I doubt it'll come to that. Congress will always find a way to keep that cash cow on life support. This tired-assed idiotic question will go unresolved until there is a conflict of interest law banning lawyers from making laws and serving as judges. That won't ever happen while the majority of voters routinely and roboticly cast votes for slick, sharp, silver-tongued, well-financed, establishment-entrenched, lobby owned and operated incumbent lawyers.

Until the lambs grow brains to go with the balls they will need, get a good lawyer or live in a home that needs no insurance of any kind. I refer you to my articles, Building Smart and Building Dumb. and EPS, ICF, and Tilt-up homes.

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