Follow The Rules and Pay 300% Above Average for Flood Insurance

FEMA says the average annual flood
premium is less than $1,000

By Mark E. Ruquet

You would think that when you do everything asked of you by authorities you would be rewarded. For one Midland Beach resident rebuilding her home devastated by Superstorm Sandy, following the rules has led to a flood insurance charge of more than 300 percent above the average.

First, let’s review what the Federal Emergency Management Agency promotes as how inexperience flood insurance can be. On FEMA's website (click here) under FloodSmart.gov, the agency says some homeowners may qualify for a low-risk policy for as little as $129 premium for home and contents. That provides $20,000 building coverage and $8,000 content. On that same page FEMA says the average flood insurance policy costs $650 a year. That sort of underscores what some residents in Midland Beach, Staten Island, N.Y., are finding when they get their flood insurance bill: the rhetoric does not meet reality.

Case in point: a neighbor who lost her home to Superstorm Sandy. Gerri had to tear down the house and rebuild from scratch, a two-family home that she said is being built back better than what she had. That includes eight blow-out screens for the flood exposed level and the upper floor that exceeds FEMA's requirement of three feet above flood stage for the lowest rate.

To her surprise, when she received her flood insurance quote, the price she thought she would pay — a reasonable $660 a year — instead came in at an astonishing $3,000. Flabbergasted and angry, she sought an explanation. The Write Your Own carrier servicing the policy told her that the home was not built high enough — which she said her engineer disputes.

The home, which has cost substantially more than the Small Business Administration lent her, and required additional mortgaging from a bank, is nearing the end of construction. But before the contractors can finish she needs to pay them and that requires one last installment from the bank. Her dilemma is the bank will not release the funds until she has the flood insurance certificate. And she cannot get the certificate today until she pays the unreasonable rate FEMA is charging. Until this situation is resolved she is stuck.

Gerri said she has gone to a new agent who is working to get her the rate she said she should pay. However, she is encountering another hold-up. FEMA is scheduled to release new guidelines for the insurance program. Until those guidelines are released sometime in April no agents want to obtain a quote.

"We followed everything by the book," she said. "It's all nonsense."

Have a similar story? Contact me at enquiz2001@gmail.com.

    

New York One of the Worst Places to Retire

Bankrate.com rates best and worst states for retirement. New York
did not fare well. Photo from Bankrate.com

I heard this on the news tonight and knew I had to get this out there for all of you -- especially those of us considering retirement at some point in our lives.


Bankrate.com released its ranking of the best and worst states in the country to retire. The ranking is based on several criteria that Bankrate says "combines a variety of statistics important to those who want to relocate to retirement."



The list includes:

• Cost of living
• Crime Rate
• Health care quality
• Weather
• Well-being

So according to Bankrate.com guess where New York ended up -- 49th. Our neighbor New Jersey fared only a little better coming in at 45. And if you were thinking of moving down South avoid Arkansas. It came in at number 50.

Thinking about Connecticut or Pennsylvania? Connecticut came in at 39 and Pennsylvania number 21.

Number one on the list? Wyoming.                                  

Check out the entire list and rankings at Bankrate.com by clicking here.

Insurers May Ground Harrison Ford

From the entertainment front. If you thought you had insurance issues read this about Harrison Ford getting grounded.

You can read the story here.

Two Days Left To Comment -- Put Your Two Cents In

Councilman Steve Matteo swears in Midland Beach Civic Association board.
 Build it Back Executive Amy Peterson spoke, giving an update
on the state of the program. 

By Mark E. Ruquet

This Sunday appears to be a good day for sitting at home, maybe taking in a football game with the miserable weather outside. We should not waste the day indoors. If you are one of the thousands of New Yorkers still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, you might be interested in Proposed Action Plan Amendment 8.

The amendment fully funds Build it Back with the entire $4.21 billion grant from Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funding covers residential housing, business and coastal resiliency, and infrastructure and other city services.

For those of us still waiting for help, the allocation would provide funds to all applicants in the program “regardless of priority levels;” fund assistance to “all eligible homeowners who must vacate their homes for at least 30 days during construction,” and support the hiring of professionals to expand design and construction capacity, according to NYC recovery Website, .

At this month’s meeting of the Midland Beach Civic Association, Build it Back Director Amy Peterson said the funding means the program will now help everyone who needs help. With the added money, Peterson said the push would now be to get more projects on the drawing board, move forward with expanding repair and construction projects and reach out to individuals who have dropped out of the program to understand why and reengage them in remediation projects.

“We want to get in and get this work done,” she said.

While residents work through the red tape, Peterson informed attendees that anyone in the program who needs help with heat or hot water should visit their local Build it Back center for assistance.

The additional grant money is subject to a public comment period that ends January 19, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Interested residents can go online and review a summary of the proposals. There is an online form – which can be filled-out in English, Spanish, Chinese or Russian. If you prefer, you can mail in your comments to the address on the site or just call 311.

While I’m not suggesting this would or could happen, I do not think anyone wants to see any allocation changes made because some government official gets it in their head that there is a lack of interest. It seems that they are most impressed and attentive when a proposal receives numerous comments. Just to play it safe, it would be advantageous to all those affected by Sandy to make themselves heard – even if it is to say they support the plan. Numbers and words always catch official’s attention. I’m putting my two cents in. There are two days left – and you really weren’t planning to do anything Sunday, were you?  

To review the proposal, and how to submit a comment, please click here.

Happy New Year, let’s hope. 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! My Christmas Video

Like many, I use this space to put my two-cents in about events happening around me. Usually, it is something critical, but Dec. 25 is a day where we try to put all our angst aside and focus on fun, merriment and joy. So in keeping with - or trying to keep with - the tradition of the day here is my little Christmas gift to those of you who have taken the time to read my rants.

Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy this video. Please click here to view.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0C4f7XpyX4&feature=youtube_gdata


Mark Ruquet

Thanksgiving Reflections: An Ode to Gluttony

Old news flashes across an electronic sign outside a
local middle school. (Photo: Mark Ruquet)

By Mark E. Ruquet

After celebrating our annual day of gluttony I thought taking a walk around the block would be an effective way of helping my digestion. Passing the nearby middle school, an electronic billboard sitting in front of the building announcing the school’s fall schedule caught my eye. It was not updated and I was amused to see the announcement of school closure for Election Day on Nov. 4. I soon found myself reflecting on the results of just a few weeks back and on what has happened since that day when the Democrats took a drumming and Republicans found themselves no longer in the position of the opposition party – except for its ongoing war with President Obama.

For myself, my candidate lost. In fact, my spouse did not even cause a ripple of notoriety or controversy. As I had written prior to the election, I was both disappointed and dissatisfied with the quality of the candidates running for Staten Island’s Congressional seat. While he has demonstrated his sensitivity for the needs of the residents of Staten Island, incumbent Republican Congressman Michael Grimm fell out of my favor because of his legal situation. As for Democrat Domenic Recchia, there is no other way of describing his campaign as a poor choice who was ill prepared and ineffective. As I said, in my mind, my choice was my wife and I took the extraordinary step of writing her in.

The result was disappointment. We did not receive a single phone call from the press and there was no celebration or crowds outside the house. She did not make a concession phone call or prepare a press release. Her moment of political celebrity did not go to her head. She was asleep before the end of the 11 o’clock news after an agonizing session of Candy Crush.

I guess I can only blame myself for her failed campaign. Well not really her campaign since I know she did not vote for herself. I guess it would help if next time (if there is a next time) I should get her to cast a ballot in her name.

Having failed to make a dent in the mainstream electorate, I decided my next social statement would be against the ongoing diminution of the holiday spirit as more retailers open their doors for business on Thanksgiving Day. I voted with my feet taking a trip around the block instead of the mall. Unfortunately, listening to the news reports about all the long lines and mad crowds storming the stores it appears the retailers have succeeded in further undermining another holiday, cracking the whip, hauling employees away from the family meal and forcing them to deal with the hordes of holiday bargain hunters.

Retail is a hard business. Profits are thin and black Friday got its name because this time of the year can make or break some retailers. I've heard a few reports that Friday sales were off from last year, which raises the question - is it worth it? Are we living to work or working to live?  

Personally, I prefer the latter. Maybe next year more people will follow my example and reject the retailer’s practice that has not received a rousing endorsement in the public opinion polls. So come along and let's join in making a new trend and have an extra helping of gluttony next Thanksgiving then take a walk around the block instead of the mall – you’ll feel better for it. Trust me.

Video: Superstorm Sandy Second Year Remembrance Midland Beach

By Mark E. Ruquet

On the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, residents of Midland Beach held a remembrance service at the Oasis Church on Greeley Avenue in Midland Beach, Staten Island, New York, led by Pastor Tim McIntyre. Residents packed the small church to reflect on the trauma of that day and how it has altered so many lives, in many ways not for the better. The community remembered the pain and confusion of that horrible day and recognized that while they have come far, there is still much to do. Remembered too were the neighbors lost and the reality that two years later, too many are still waiting for the aid that was allocated but has yet to be distributed. Please view this video that tells the story of how far this community has come, how far it has yet to go and its resilience in the face of adversity.

Click here to view the video.