Living at the shore to get even more expensive

From the APP:

Costly aftermath? Another battering for homeowners

New Jersey is not Florida North quite yet.

But the widespread wreckage left by Sandy, the nor’easter-tropical storm hybrid that mercilessly barreled into the East Coast last week, brings to mind the unexpected devastation Hurricane Andrew wrought in South Florida 20 years ago, causing $26 billion in damage.

The second costliest in U.S. history behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Andrew reshaped Florida’s insurance industry. Today, Floridians pay astronomical rates for property protection from available insurers or obtain coverage from a government-run corporation, the largest insurer in the state.

In the days following Sandy’s unprecedented tear through New Jersey, experts offered mixed forecasts for the insurance industry here. Could Sandy spook insurance companies from the coast? As sea levels rise and climate change fuels larger, more frequent storms, will insurance costs dig too deeply into the pockets of Shore residents?

In the short term, experts can agree on one thing: premiums will go up — way up.

“In a shock loss, the market’s first reaction is to push up prices,” said Randy Dumm, professor of risk management and insurance at Florida State University.

This entry was posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Shore Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

161 Responses to Living at the shore to get even more expensive

  1. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    frist

  2. grim says:

    From the Star Ledger:

    With one eye on recovery from Hurricane Sandy, state keeps watch on approaching nor’easter

    With another storm headed up the coast, state and federal officials have turned their attention to moving Hurricane Sandy evacuees from shelters into temporary housing.

    A nor’easter is expected to hit the same area as Sandy did sometime Wednesday evening and to punish New Jersey with strong winds through Thursday.

  3. Mike says:

    Good Morning New Jersey

  4. grim says:

    From the NYT:

    Housing Nightmare Looms in Wake of Storm

    New York City officials said on Sunday that they faced the daunting challenge of finding homes for as many as 40,000 people who were left homeless after the devastation of last week’s storm, a situation that the city’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, compared to New Orleans’s after Hurricane Katrina.

    The mayor said that the 40,000 figure was the worst possible case given by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and that a more realistic assessment was 20,000 people — most of them residents of public housing. Even in the best possible case, he said, the task will be formidable.

    “We don’t have a lot of empty housing in this city,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference on Sunday. “We are not going to let anybody go sleeping in the streets or go without blankets, but it’s a challenge, and we’re working on that as fast as we can.”

    It is a task shared throughout the region, as officials in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut struggle to meet the demands of those whose homes have been left uninhabitable. In some cases, the solution may be a familiar, if unwelcome sight: the trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina.

    Craig Fugate, director of the agency, said most displaced people would probably be housed in hotels or apartments. But in some regions, like Long Island with its many single-family homes and few large apartment blocks, he said there was a shortage of vacant housing.

    “It has got to make sense for the neighborhood,” Mr. Fugate said, adding that it was up to the states to request the trailers. “We are going to bring all potential housing solutions and look at what works best for each neighborhood.”

  5. freedy says:

    Oradell is a disgrace , as far as getting all the power back. PSE&G useless .

  6. grim says:

    From Reuters:

    Analysis: Waiting for housing to drive the U.S. economy

    The U.S. housing market is on the mend, but the so-called “missing piston” of the world’s biggest economy doesn’t have enough power to get the broader recovery firing on all cylinders any time soon.

    Construction and related activity will help rather than hinder U.S. economic growth this year for the first time since 2005. That was before the housing bust helped push the United States into recession, triggering the global financial crisis.

    Higher sales, prices and building, albeit modest so far, are a welcome boost as other drivers of the economy falter.

    Nonetheless, housing still accounts for only a small part of gross domestic product compared with the boom years.

    The housing sector “would have to be on steroids to significantly boost GDP growth,” Paul Dales, an economist with Capital Economics, wrote in a recent research note.

  7. grim says:

    Looks like they won’t be going to Oradell until tomorrow..

    http://pseg.com/pdf/PSEG%20Workforce%20Schedule%2020121103.pdf

  8. Ernest Money says:

    This is how a place devolves into permanent Third World status.

  9. Ernest Money says:

    Watch and see how many things never come back. Look in a few months at all the rotting shells of houses, buildings, etc.

    We are Third World now.

  10. Ernest Money says:

    Personal drivers and bodyguards about to become a growth industry.

  11. grim says:

    Every builder I’ve talked to over the past few days has been licking their chops to get a piece of the shore at a discount.

  12. grim says:

    Interesting piece in the Record about converting to underground utilities.

    In NJ? A million dollars a mile.

  13. freedy says:

    If anyone wants to see third world . Take a trip to Camden,Trenton,Passaic ,Paterson on a Sat night,Lower Englewood,Lower Clifton, and more

  14. can i AX a question? says:

    did you watch 60 minutes last night?

    they asked both leading senators as to why the senate s.ucks, why they cannot come together to fix America’s problems. their answers sounded like something that gary or chifi would say, really, that simpleton. senate is willing to let it all go to hell based on pure ideological pathology.

  15. grim says:

    13 – 3rd World or Mogadishu?

  16. xolepa says:

    Hmm. Me wonder where is everybody? JJ is gone, I think. JJ, you there?

  17. chi still in westchester says:

    Can you believe the unmitigated stones of those guys. Out there commenting on the inability to be productive when THEY are the ringleaders……

    can i AX a question? says:
    November 5, 2012 at 8:24 am
    did you watch 60 minutes last night?

    they asked both leading senators as to why the senate s.ucks, why they cannot come together to fix America’s problems. their answers sounded like something that gary or chifi would say, really, that simpleton. senate is willing to let it all go to hell based on pure ideological pathology.

  18. chi still in westchester says:

    JJ: only posts from work, so by definition, he hasn’t been at work

  19. In the know in BC says:

    #13 Freedy.

    Sorry, you are equaling 3rd world to skin color

    There are a lot of 3rd world places with whites, just look at MS, AL, GA

  20. xolepa says:

    The end is near. JJ is not at work.

  21. The Originial NJExPat says:

    [18] I haven’t seen very many reports on how hard the North Shore of LI got hit by the surge. I expect it was pretty bad, but not Staten Island/Mantoloking/AC bad, so not too much press?

  22. Painhrtz - 42 says:

    Chi being in the seat of power is their only reward. Actually doing anything well F*ck you that’s why should just be their standard response.

    for Christ sake it looks like Menedez is going to be reelected. That in and of itself should tell you all you need to know.

  23. chi still in westchester says:

    I am only somewhat familiar with the Breezey Point/SI issue because the town of Keansburg is near where I work/live. Effectively, you have little summering shacks built in the early 1900’s at ground level that were converted over to full time homes. These places were never intended to be permanent houses. So they were built with sticks and straw, spit and glue. Throw in some wind and water, and they crumple to the ground. THEN top it off that the people living there stayed through the storm………I am so angry about the story with the woman driving to Brooklyn right at the landfall of the eye of the hurricane. She lost her 2 & 4 year old in the storm surge. She should be tried for third degree murder……

    The Originial NJExPat says:

    November 5, 2012 at 9:03 am

    [18] I haven’t seen very many reports on how hard the North Shore of LI got hit by the surge. I expect it was pretty bad, but not Staten Island/Mantoloking/AC bad, so not too much press?

  24. 1987 Condo Buyer says:

    324..I think she panicked and made a poor choice, I think, from the reports I have read from the Advance, she will have that pain forever and that will beat a jail sentence.

  25. Painhrtz - 42 says:

    condo agree there is also some rumor that someone would not let them in to shelter before the kids were killed. Regardless, she is the reason her kids are gone and she will have to live with that guilt the rest of herlife.

  26. Libtard in the City says:

    I bet JJ would have let her in. For a price.

  27. Libtard in the City says:

    In other news, commute was pretty damn sucky this morning. If parking rules are still suspended tomorrow, I will drive in at 5:30am. Can’t be worse than standing for 105 minutes on a stop-and-go bus listening to the high pitch din of sh1tty rap music from peoples headphones turned up so high that my noice cancelling headphones are ineffective. Why the heck did they remove the HOV requirement at the Lincoln? So stupid.

  28. Ernest Money says:

    Pretty soon, you’ll need to carry a gun on your commute.

  29. Ernest Money says:

    This is how everything turns to shit. Disaster hits, you get a half-assed cleanup, everyone declares victory and 3/4 of the population is left eating dirt sandwiches.

  30. Ernest Money says:

    Ich bin ein Mogadisuher.

  31. Painhrtz - 42 says:

    Money your a sand donut?

  32. Fast Eddie says:

    Still no power at work – still bearing the brunt of support logged in from home as I’m one of the few with power and internet. It looks like another normal 60 hour week ahead. No complaints – I count my blessings. Interesting though, a few of my Asian brothers and sisters drove to locations with free WiFi and are logged in. How do I know? I’m looking at internal IM and see who’s online. Moral to the story: the soft and pudgy Amerikans need to get lean or we’ll be speaking another language by 2025. The tat and muffin top muppets can’t push the button and get a donut forever.

  33. Confused in NJ says:

    Get a brick or poured concrete ranch, with steel roof, steel shutters, and natural gas generator. Also get a large underground alternate propane tank (generator can take either). Also get some portable kerosene heaters & plenty of kerosene.

  34. Juice Box says:

    Vince Lombardi rest stop on Turnpike, line only a few cars deep and they are giving out $5 gift cards for gas.

  35. Libtard working from home says:

    Vince Lombardi rest area is also popular for …

  36. Fast Eddie says:

    Meat,

    Maybe we need a half generation of no electricity and cold potato soup to get a nation angry again. The last generation to do such a thing kicked the sh1t out of two world powers and put a man on the moon with a f.ucking pencil and yellow pad.

  37. Comrade Nom Deplume with power and fuel says:

    Mmmmmmm, donuts.

  38. xolepa says:

    (24) Staten Island got hit pretty bad. Many houses lost. Press is ignoring it, for the most part. As for Mantoloking, wasn’t that split in half by the surge? A new inlet was created. Wildwood, Wildwood Crest survived. North Wildwood got a little flooding. LBI is an unknown, the govs will only allow you 1/2 hour to pick up your belongings. Once they let you in, that is, which isn’t happening now. Word is they have setup temporary morgues expecting to pull out bodies from house searches. See how that pans out. Did not here anything about Manasquan. A fellow employee, now retired, had family vacation house right on the ocean in Lavalette. Will call in a couple weeks. Giving them time.
    As for AC, gov told that city to evacuate. Mayor comes back before the storm and says no big deal, stay at the town shelter, 1 block from bay. Shelter got flooded. Mayor is in big poop with gov.

  39. Ernest Money says:

    gary (38)-

    We won’t kick anyone else’s butts until we kick our own. Civil war has to happen in order to clean out the majority of the dependent and stupid.

  40. Fast Eddie says:

    Meat [41],

    Then, let it begin.

  41. wickedorange says:

    Storm Proves Replenishment Is a Failure
    By JOHN J. RYAN | Nov 04, 2012

    I read a shocking quote from the mayor of Long Beach Township in the aftermath of Sandy, to the effect that beach replenishment “worked.” Really? He followed it up with a reckless suggestion that property owners who sustained damage should sue their neighbors, the ones who declined to sign easements. Never mind there’s no viable legal theory to justify it, or that it’s arrogant, divisive and petty. Considering the source, how could anyone expect otherwise?

    My suggestion: If you’re victimized by such a malicious abuse of process, join the mayor as a third-party defendant. The idea that pumping a wall of sand onto our barrier islands is a sustainable, cost-effective method of preventing the catastrophe that we’re enduring has been fully debunked by the facts. I suppose you can make the case that some beachfront homes were spared devastation. Small comfort to the folks on the bayside. Never mind that it’s a one-shot remedy and the places that were spared are now sitting ducks.

    Was the investment worth it? Maybe to the tiny minority of people who benefited. We now have an opportunity to rethink coastal engineering practically from scratch. When the first round of replenishment came to Long Beach Island and people saw, close-up, how destructive, dangerous, ineffective, temporary and expensive it was, and woke up and started complaining, they were resoundingly criticized for being silent for too many years while the plans were being developed. The momentum itself was argued to be sufficient justification which apparently trumped facts, physics and experience. Now that we’re back to square one, and the utter folly of these projects is obvious, the folks who took a proprietary interest in the conversation can’t insist that they own the debate anymore.

    Before the debacle that was the Surf City bombs-on-the-beach project, the one where the cost doubled for lack of a filter, my friend John Weber of the Surfrider Foundation publicly warned of the exact thing that ultimately occurred. When it came to pass, it wasn’t shocking that someone could be so prescient because the same thing had happened before in Delaware. This is what’s known as learning from experience, and it’s something that the elected and appointed decision makers whom we entrust with our protection ought to try sometime.

    I asked Weber for his thoughts. Among other things, he told me: “The things that do actually protect life and property are things like stricter building codes (which does not cost the taxpayer a cent), better evacuation plans and community preparedness. Here’s a good rhetorical question: Did anyone’s home insurance premiums go down in places that got replenishment? No. Why? Because those who assess risk in this country, the insurance industry, don’t think it is any safer to live near a replenished beach than a non-replenished one.”

    Obviously, the prevention of large-scale devastation isn’t a simple task. If it was, I wouldn’t be complaining. But it’s clear, to quote Warren Zevon, “the s**t that used to work, don’t work no more.”

    Coastal protection has to be retooled. The rebuilding requires a thought process that our shortsighted planners have heretofore lacked. To look around at over a billion dollars’ worth of damage and call prior protection efforts a success is nothing less than stupid. That isn’t the best we can do, and without an approach that acknowledges reality, this is bound to recur.

    John J. Ryan lives in Bass River, N.J

  42. NJGator says:

    In today’s rant of the day on the Montklair Watercooler, a woman b*tches that her lack of power is interfering with her plans for a home birth. I think I want to throw up.

    “I’m 9 months pregnant, was due yesterday. I had planned a home birth and cannot have my baby at home unless I get power. I’m in Upper Montclair and PSE&G, despite all my daily calls, has not made ANY progress removing the downed tree and wires at the corner or Alexander Ave and Park Street. I’ve stressed to PSE&G I cannot bring a newborn baby home to a freezing cold house with no light. My calls and circumstance haven’t made a difference. We were told we’d get power back tonight at midnight. Now PSE&G can’t guarantee that time frame either.”

  43. Ernest Money says:

    gator (44)-

    TSTL. This is the kind of flotsam that a good civil war will clean out.

  44. Comrade Nom Deplume with power and fuel says:

    [44] gator,

    Careful, you’re starting to sound like a bore ;-)

  45. Ernest Money says:

    Tragic, but necessary.

  46. Ernest Money says:

    Watch that dumb ginch somehow give birth at home, then refuse to immunize the kid.

  47. All Hype - Mr. Oil, Mr. Gas, Mr. Coal says:

    “JJ: only posts from work, so by definition, he hasn’t been at work”

    Was this the guy who stated that he was back to work ASAP after his kids were born? What a wuss. A real man would have rowed a boat across the East River to get to the office. I expected him to be up at 3 am every day to beat the traffic to Brooklyn so he could get across the river by 7 and in the office at 8.

  48. All Hype - Mr. Oil, Mr. Gas, Mr. Coal says:

    “I’ve stressed to PSE&G I cannot bring a newborn baby home to a freezing cold house with no light”

    Millions upon millions of children come into this world this way. She can have stories to tell her friends at dinner parties about Graydon’s hardship birth. Never mind the fact that Mountainside and Saint Barnabas are open for business.

  49. Painhrtz - 42 says:

    Gator women like that really get under my freaking skin. first it is the whole privaledge metality that little Violetta/Callum is better off with a home birth. Hello complications? there isa reason why infant mortality rates have shot up with improved health and hospital care. Second that a major utilty company dealing with a disaster of enormous magnitude should bow to the whims of her narcissim so she can have a new age granola baby welcoming ceremony.

    how the f*ck did you and Stu live there. Liberal or not at least the both of you are rational thinking humans.

  50. Comrade Nom Deplume with power and fuel says:

    [49] all hype,

    JJ is at his office, fabricating a generator by hand so he can provde power to his entire staff. When its running, he will post with one hand while trading with the other, all while getting a lap dance from an intern.

  51. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [38] gary – The rise of the Vichyssoise party?

    Meat,

    Maybe we need a half generation of no electricity and cold potato soup to get a nation angry again. The last generation to do such a thing kicked the sh1t out of two world powers and put a man on the moon with a f.ucking pencil and yellow pad.

  52. Fast Eddie says:

    Painhrtz [51],

    Classic rant, I love it! Throw in a few F bombs and I’d put you in for a top 20 all-time njrereport post! :)

  53. Fast Eddie says:

    2016 Presidental ticket: Christie/Santelli

  54. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I don’t know if anybody has any interest in Sea Bright, but their town site now lets you look up properties by address or owner name and view the preliminary damage assessment (external inspection only). The oceanfront rental where my family enjoyed 2 weeks in 2010, EXTREME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE – NOT HABITABLE AND NO ENTRY.

    http://www.seabrightnj.org

  55. All Hype - Mr. Oil, Mr. Gas, Mr. Coal says:

    “new age granola baby welcoming ceremony”

    This has my vote for the funniest statement of the day!

    Pain: I live in Montklair and there is a segment of the population that really is the lunatic fringe. Most people are hard working and normal. This lady is totally out to lunch and without perspective as there are people in this state that have lost everything. You should see the pictures my cousing took on the Bayside of Seaside Heights. Total devastation.

  56. Grim says:

    The fringe in Montclair are the rational ones, lunatics are the mainstream.

  57. Ragnar says:

    Now the granola baby moms can move from the simulated stress of hot yoga to freezing cold yoga. If you want to get sweaty, do something that actually requires exertion, like raking leaves or rolling out pie dough, or running away from a gang of marauders. Doing toe curls in a sauna doesn’t count.

  58. Painhrtz - 42 says:

    Hype I know but you and the Mrs rent so technically you can leave at anytime.

  59. Grim says:

    Hot yoga is so last year. I hear the hot trend this year is bloodletting and leeches.

  60. can i AX a question? says:

    really?

    “”Let NJ Drown!”: Dumb Tweets From People Furious With Christie For Praising President”

    http://gothamist.com/2012/11/05/christie_promises_hes_not_cheating.php

  61. Grim says:

    Why not put a little distance between himself and loser Romney?

  62. Grim says:

    By the way, the Bloomberg Christie SNL skit was genius.

  63. can i AX a question? says:

    or is he upset not to have been chosen as VP?

  64. Grim says:

    Big man wants the top job, no way he could be number 2.

  65. Ernest Money says:

    There’s gonna be a lot more people tossing Mitt under the bus over the next few days.

    Losing a multibillion dollar campaign leaves a bad taste in bankster mouths.

  66. Ernest Money says:

    Rick Santelli for dictator. Just tell me what the f*^k to do.

  67. Fabius Maximus says:

    Grim

    The best comedy is still on Fox.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=ltCIEbLMaQg

  68. Libtard working from home says:

    You all do know that our best tenant ever used to record bongo drumming that was meant to be played during child birth. These loonies might seem incredulous to the average American, but somehow they manage to afford the sky-high rents that Montklair commands.

    Speaking of the multi, I spent four hours there yesterday fixing gutters and making some minor repairs to the gazebo. All and all, not much damage to report. Tenants think I’m the greatest landlord ever. Whoopee.

  69. Libtard in the City says:

    Not working from home. Will work from home tomorrow as the commute sucked donkeyd1ck today.

  70. Grim says:

    Nobody ever got rich overestimating the intelligence of the average American.

  71. 3B Buying says:

    #5 freedy: We came back on last night, after being out since last Sunday in RIver Edge. Many people though are still out.

  72. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [70] Lib – We coincidentally went to see Blue Man Group in 2002 a couple weeks before my oldest was born. My wife said our daughter was going wild in the belly during the performance. She has turned out to be very musical, so maybe there’s something to it.

    You all do know that our best tenant ever used to record bongo drumming that was meant to be played during child birth. These loonies might seem incredulous to the average American, but somehow they manage to afford the sky-high rents that Montklair commands.

  73. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [71] Lib – from your earlier post you said something about HOV lanes being closed. What crossing? Do they still have dedicated bus lanes during rush hour for buses through the Lincoln? I always found that to be an easy commute from Nutley,

    Not working from home. Will work from home tomorrow as the commute sucked donkeyd1ck today.

  74. Ben says:

    the reason those people can afford the sky high rents is because they are so narcissistic that they ask for 6 figure salaries, even though they are useless. Somewhere along the line, some dope actually gives it to them.

  75. joyce says:

    Anyone else here stories that certain towns down the shore will be inhabitable for 6-12 months? I have family in Ortley (living up north now); they were told they are not allowed access for several months and that friends who rode out the storm were told by police they had to leave. I’m talking mandatory evacutation, for real this time.

  76. Westjester says:

    A co-worker who lives on Staten Island says that there seems to be little progress at all there; people are still sitting on the front steps of their ravaged homes, afraid to leave lest all that they have left be looted. There are lots of trucks around, but no discernible organization. He just got power last night, lives on rather high ground, so minor damage, but a couple of blocks away was the two drowned kids and also nearby an 80 year old was found drowned under trash where his front yard used to be.
    Acquaintances in Nyack and Katonah are still without power.
    I feel very fortunate to have skated by, and glad I did not return to Hoboken or Montclair when I moved back from the Midwest.

  77. Libtard in the City says:

    Expat,

    Bus lanes are open, but it took us a while on Route 3 to get to them. Once we got to them, they moved better than the car lanes, but were still slow going. I looked at nearly every car going in and they all had a single passenger (the driver). Dumb to lift the restriction with so much mass transit out of service, but then again, when has leadership been in touch with reality. They don’t represent anyone except their personal interests.

  78. Doyle says:

    Joyce,

    Yes. Have family on West Point Island and I believe they were told the same.

  79. Anon E. Moose says:

    Getting back to real estate:

    Once upon a time, someone here said that the populist mantra of “We have to stop the foreclosures!” was misguided, because foreclosure were not the problem — foreclosures were the solution.

    Today we have this: Foreclosures Are Falling In States Where It’s Easy To Foreclose

    Hoocoodanode?!?

  80. Anon E. Moose says:

    Xolepa [40];

    Staten Island got hit pretty bad. Many houses lost. Press is ignoring it, for the most part.

    Of course they are. Staten Island is mostly Republican. If you want to be the subject of fawning post-disaster media coverage, you need to be Democratic, like New Orleans. With NY so reliably blue, the authorities aren’t even the slightest bit concerned that other NYers might feel some solidarity and vote the reigning clown show out.

    There will be page B10 coverage of the recovery incompetence… after the election, nach. Right next to the Libya expose.

  81. joyce says:

    Crazy stuff, Doyle.
    8+ months from now and we’re in the heart of the summer. I have no idea how that section of the shore is going to look in the near future. Real estate, infrastructure, economy… ???

  82. Ragnar says:

    It’s often weather related disasters that finish once great civilizations. A disaster in an otherwise healthy economy can be rebuilt. But when disaster strikes an economy whose accounts are already well overdrawn, there aren’t the resources for rebuilding. Most economists cannot tell the difference between debt, paper money, and capital. Krugman, given his Keynesian economic theories, should be celebrating the hurricane, as it gives the government one more excuse to borrow and spend more. He hasn’t caught up with the broken window fallacy that Bastiat wrote about in 1850.

  83. joyce says:

    Ragnar,

    When 150+ years (more likely much more than that) goes by and they same fallacies are trotted out as gospel, one can no longer assume it is a lack of intelligence and must conclude it’s outright intentional propoganda.

  84. Ragnar says:

    I don’t know if it’s already been discussed, but Christie’s odd/even gas rationing is really stupid. Looks like he’s just trying to show he’s “doing something” even if that something actually makes the situation worse for people. It’s nice that he suspended some supply-side regulations.

  85. joyce says:

    This is my favorite: “Others argue that the broken window may not lead to reduction in spending or reduction in wealth for the victim, but rather, a reduction in excessive savings”

    As if excessive savings is even possible, and if possible, a bad thing.

    Pathetic.

  86. Ragnar says:

    Joyce,
    Yes, some ideas are so dumb, only the hypereducated ivory tower types can believe them. But it’s also easier for them to believe something that justifies the need for them to dictate to the uneducated masses.

  87. joyce says:

    “Another problem with this being a “fallacy” is that the positive and negative results depend on the financial condition and disposition of the victim. At the low end, the victim simply can’t afford to replace the window, or refuses to do so, resulting in almost no economic effect. In the medium range, it is a fallacy and the standard argument above applies. However, at the top end it is an economic benefit, especially if too much capital is trapped in high end savings and investment, because the funds used to replace the window will not change the victim’s spending habits, but will simply be a minor reduction of his long term savings or investments, or that of his insurer.”

    As long as we’re stealing ‘just a little’ via a ‘minor reduction’ … that makes it OK.

  88. joyce says:

    And didn’t Bernanke (or was it Greenspan) blame the low low low interest rates that fueled the housing bubble on a global savings glut? Yup, it had nothing to do with Central Bank manipulation. Just ask the guy who was running it.

  89. Libtard in the City says:

    Our MetLife insurance adjuster just came by the house. They technically, would not pay to remove the remaining 15 foot trunk from our giant oak because the downed portion of our tree is not touching any of our property, but figured out a way to get us about $1,000 in emergency related (no deductible) items. I really like MetLife. My neighbor, the retired union guy with my downed tree on top of his garage, claims his insurance company doesn’t want to pay at all. This is funny, because before the incident, he swore his insurance, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, was the best. Will be fun to watch the two insurance companies duke it out. I wonder how many of those homes at the shore were insured by NJM?

  90. Doyle says:

    Joyce,

    Co-worker’s husband at their LBI house today doing his “grab-and-go”. He was told the island will shut down for three months. Apparently he and the neighbors are all trying to straighten out their homes as much as possible before heading out. I would think that anyone who got any water will be hit with mold if they can’t get back in for an extended period. As far as I have heard mold is not covered by insurance, so that can’t end well…

  91. Ragnar says:

    Lib,
    What would be NJM’s basis for not paying for a tree on the garage? They want your insurer or you to pay?
    I don’t really understand the dynamics of what happens when one person’s tree falls on another’s house, or car.
    NJM definitely seems lower cost, as we use them, but we haven’t had to use them for a claim yet. Seems like their business could use some geographical diversification.

  92. Libtard in the City says:

    I don’t know Rags, but I’ll chat with my neighbor when I get home today and will report back then. During major catastrophic incidents like Sandy, insurance companies usually pay for damages to each individual properties regardless of the property where the cause was (or something like that). If the tree landed on any part of my property, my insurance company would have paid for it’s entire removal. During Snowmageddon last year, about half of the limbs on a tree buy my multi came down. When the adjuster called me, he asked me if the limbs were leaning on my house. I said yes (when they weren’t). It would have been easy enough for me to throw a couple of branches on the roof if he did decide to come by. I pocketed $500 for that cleanup. I did the work myself with a handsaw and elbow grease. It took about 2 hours. Though, that’s when I learned their tree rules. Make sure they land on a structure. Even a fence counts.

  93. NJGator says:

    Rag – I think they have minimal payout for tree removal and it will be subject to his deductible. They also contracted out the adjuster work, so the person who came to inspect his property was not an NJM employee and couldn’t really speak to what his policy might pay. I don’t know the rationale about the garage damage, because the ML guy pretty much told me that if the tree had fallen on our garage it would have been paid for.

    The adjuster who inspected our property (ML employee) was really thorough and went looking for things that could help us get paid. The NJM contractor didn’t seem to do much at all. Said she’d “put it through” but didn’t know if he would get anything.

    Both of the adjusters came at the same time and actually spoke to each other. Neighbor also admitted that the tree was very much alive, and that we were responsible folks who had removed other trees on the property and that an arborist was on our property within the last year, further confirming our lack of negligence.

    NJM contractor was from Florida and just went on and on about how they don’t have so many “tall houses” where she lives.

  94. Ernest Money says:

    Watch these insurance ganiffs try to skate on everything they can.

    F*#king leeches.

  95. Fast Eddie says:

    Some low-wage employers are moving toward hiring part-time workers instead of full-time ones to mitigate the health-care overhaul’s requirement that large companies provide health insurance for full-time workers or pay a fee.

    Looking out for the poor and middle class…

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/health-law-spurs-shift-hours-022100532.html

  96. NJGator says:

    Lib 94 – Yup fallen part of the tree must be on a covered structure. The adjuster marveled at how our tree actually fell….said he hasn’t really seen anything like it.

  97. xolepa says:

    Lines! Lines! Gasoline lines! Go west, young man. (aka Hunterdon county)

    Wife past local gas station at 10 this morning. 1 car in line. Exit 24 off 78

  98. Ragnar says:

    I heard from a colleague that Sunoco on East Main Street in Somerville has gas, no lines, recently.

  99. joyce says:

    Doyle,
    Just saw some new images on TV. Them, along with the description, makes it appear that the section in between Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights is decimated much moreso than the initial projections.

  100. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Reports over the weekend were that Seaside Park up to Barrier Island sections of Brick (Mantoloking) were forcibly evacuated and will be closed for up to 8 months as the entire Natural Gas infrastructure has to be rebuilt. There were videos on App.com with reactions from locals and a short interview with Seaside’s mayor, but I can’t find them now.

  101. Ben says:

    The way to get an insurance company to pay out is to be a pain in the ass. The more you bother them, the more willing they are to compromise.

  102. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Interestingly, all the articles on nj.com that mention residents being banned for up to 8 months have been scrubbed from the site. Here it is from another site: http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2012/11/hurricane-sandy-update-local-residents-banned-from-barrier-island-up-to-8-months-2490354.html

  103. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    (NJ.COM) Residents are being forcibly evacuated tonight from seven Ocean County communities because of extensive repairs needed after the devastation Hurricane Sandy left behind, Seaside Height Police Chief Thomas Boyd said.

    Authorities told residents they may not be able to return home for months.

    “It’s looking bad. It’s a catastrophe,” Boyd said.

    The towns affected are Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, island sections of Berkeley Township, South Seaside Park, Lavallette, Ortley Beach and Mantoloking.

    The decision followed an afternoon meeting among the chiefs of police in the affected communities and other county authorities.

    Busloads of people were being escorted out, with several residents interviewed saying police and fire officials knocked on their doors, telling them they had five minutes to pack a bag before they had to leave.

  104. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Here’s the original NJ.com URL. The comments are worth a read. Since the most recent comment is 17 hours ago, I imagine that’s when NJ.com took down the links form their other pages.

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/hurricane_sandy_continues_to_d.html

  105. grim says:

    JCP&L – Where are youuuuu?

  106. can i AX a question? says:

    Is insurance fraud a felony?

    Libtard in the City says:
    November 5, 2012 at 3:26 pm
    I don’t know Rags, but I’ll chat with my neighbor when I get home today and will report back then. During major catastrophic incidents like Sandy, insurance companies usually pay for damages to each individual properties regardless of the property where the cause was (or something like that). If the tree landed on any part of my property, my insurance company would have paid for it’s entire removal. During Snowmageddon last year, about half of the limbs on a tree buy my multi came down. When the adjuster called me, he asked me if the limbs were leaning on my house. I said yes (when they weren’t). It would have been easy enough for me to throw a couple of branches on the roof if he did decide to come by. I pocketed $500 for that cleanup. I did the work myself with a handsaw and elbow grease. It took about 2 hours. Though, that’s when I learned their tree rules. Make sure they land on a structure. Even a fence counts

  107. yome says:

    I was told by my insurance,since it was a hurricane I have a 5% hurricane deductible on top of my $1,000 deductible. So the first $16,000 is mine. Ouch if I needed a large repait

  108. Fast Eddie says:

    Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos are absolutely nauseating in their love for Oblama. I’m sitting here shaking my head in disbelief. They’re tauting his wonderful handling of Hurricane Sandy and stating that Amerikans now approve his handling of the economy. Dear G0d, please hurl a 100 mile wide meteor at the f.ucking planet and just end it all now.

  109. nwnj says:

    JCP&L is placating the fat man with their bogus spreadsheets and he seems to be buying it. Maybe he’s starstruck by Obama and his blue shirt squads. Maybe he’s distracted by the election but Christie has dropped the ball on this. I don’t know.

    I think the numbers the utilities are putting up are a sham because they should also counting the estimated repairs remaining. If they restore to a townhouse complex it looks like they’ve done a great deal of work but it’s really only one repair. They also keep pushing out the repair estimates.

  110. Ben says:


    I was told by my insurance,since it was a hurricane I have a 5% hurricane deductible on top of my $1,000 deductible. So the first $16,000 is mine. Ouch if I needed a large repait

    yome, it wasn’t classified as a hurricane while over NJ, your insurance company is playing you.

  111. Fabius Maximus says:

    #24 Chi
    So they were built with sticks and straw, spit and glue. Throw in some wind and water, and they crumple to the ground
    This is wrong. While you may have you Osmosis experience, the reality that the three little piggy’s shacks are still standing. While a few have been pulled off foundations most are still still there and repairable. The Breezy Point fire could have happened in downtown Jersey City and still had the same effect. Finding a boat or a car in the side of your house does not come down to construction technique. The big problem of this storm was always the full moon high tide creating the 15ft Storm surge. This pulled so much sand and water in and that is what caused the damage. Was Hoboken issues straw spit and Glue?
    On a side note, it was good to see the West point cadets in Breezy Point.
    Go Army!

  112. A Home Buyer says:

    111,

    I have no love for JCPL, but is it not a bit much to say Christie is failing because he is accepting a spread sheet which you feel is bogus based on the very local situation you are in? And if that sheet is lies, wouldn’t it have been designed with the intent fooling Christie? Just saying…

    On another note, yesterday I was in pro things ok… Today not so much. I was talking with people from staten island and they say its a war zone. Complete and scary chaos. I cannot verify, but I trust him. I wish I could trust the news….

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  114. Fabius Maximus says:

    #111 nwnj

    I have a friend who has worked in utilities for 20 years. He took over his Dads company a few years back and he is the type that has railroad trucks on his Ford F350. He said that he heard all the stories from the crews from Florida, Katrina, last years Ice storm, Irene etc etc etc. He says that this damage is unprecedented. The restorations to date for the most part have been low hanging fruit. If you don’t have power at this point, with the new storm coming in, you need to think about getting the he11 out of Dodge. Its probably not getting better for you.

  115. Confused in NJ says:

    112.Ben says:
    November 5, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    I was told by my insurance,since it was a hurricane I have a 5% hurricane deductible on top of my $1,000 deductible. So the first $16,000 is mine. Ouch if I needed a large repait

    yome, it wasn’t classified as a hurricane while over NJ, your insurance company is playing you

    Wind was 68 mph by me, 78mph by my son in New Providence. Under 74 mph is not a Hurricane, over 74 mph is a Hurricane.

  116. 3b buying so what who cares says:

    North jersey train service along with so much more of the state rail suspended until further notice. Pt auth is absolute chaos. Thank god I can use my monthly train ticket on bus!

  117. Juice Box says:

    3b – commute from Hoboken if you leave really early is 1.5 hours, although I hear the Path Station at Newport will be opening soon.

  118. Anon E. Moose says:

    Gator [95];

    NJM contractor was from Florida and just went on and on about how they don’t have so many “tall houses” where she lives.

    Tall houses make a difference? Don’t trees fall down, not side to side? I guess the hurricane-induced Florida lumber needs to lay off the high fastball. LOL

  119. grim says:

    Waited 10 minutes to gas up my truck at the Valero on 23.

  120. Fabius Maximus says:

    From what I am hearing, Path Service will run tomorrow between JSQ to 33rd St, no stop at Christopher or 9th Street stations, no Path from Newark to JSQ

  121. grim says:

    The restorations to date for the most part have been low hanging fruit. If you don’t have power at this point, with the new storm coming in, you need to think about getting the he11 out of Dodge.

    The restorations to date have been duct tape and zip ties, the fact that you may temporarily have power right now is irrelevant to your having power in 2 days.

  122. Ernest Money says:

    yome (109)-

    Insurance company can’t charge hurricane deductible post-Sandy, because it wasn’t a hurricane when it hit land.

  123. Ernest Money says:

    Tomorrow is a good day to get blind drunk and turn off the TV.

  124. Fabius Maximus says:

    #126 Clot

    I suppose it is hard for you to watch Champions League these days!

  125. nwnj says:

    The spreadsheets are not designed to fool christie but the masses. If a town has 500 outages and you fix a condo with 100 units they claim 50 progress and push out the eventual completion dates. A lot of folks quote them as gospel. Funny how an unprecedented can happen two years in a row. Nothing changes in between except christies boasts getting louder. Didn’t even have recipricals in place with other outfits until after the storm hit.

  126. DL says:

    9: “We are third world now. ” True, but nobody seems to notice. History will write on our grave stone: “Died from being too rich and pissing it all away.”
    House hunt in Doylestown depressing. Most 20-30 year old homes with original kitchens/baths being offered at premium to new construction, assuming you can find something in a location you’d consider. Even my agent was shaking her head when we got inside some of them.

  127. Brian says:

    Gary, Chip and Sandy,

    Fcuk you,

    Brian

  128. DL says:

    A friend of mine lives in Toms River. Here is a quote from his sitrep:

    “The devastation is mind boggling. The barrier Isalnds all along the shore are shut down and you have to have a police escort to go in. The story is that no one will be allowed to return for six to eight months! The entire natural gas system has to be replaced. It is beyond a nightmare.”

    This won’t be cheap. A lot of political careers will be built or ruined depending on how fast the rebuilding happens. It will be a true test of our third-worldness.

  129. Juice Box says:

    Freezing temps in some parts tonight. Grim you got enough wood?

  130. Juice Box says:

    My old man was a utility worker. These guys are busting hump to get this done.

    More on the challenges.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/AP4d0436a5d37c47da823774126c76d02a.html

  131. grim says:

    Generator is running the heat. Even if I cut off around 9 or 10, it’ll only fall to the low 60s by morning.

    Fireplace doesn’t throw nearly enough heat to be useful unless you want to sleep in the family room with the fire burning. My dad has a vermont castings defiant that’s fantastic for heating the whole house. Thing throws off 75k BTUs and even has a damn catalytic converter too.

  132. Juice Box says:

    Grim, It is going down to 27 tonight in your neck of the woods, and the wind is kicking up. Bug out if needed the utility guys will be slower it been a few days of long hours now and most from out of state prob don’t have winter gear they may not get your power back soon enough.

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  134. Ben says:

    From the discussion yesterday about this bringing out the worst in people (from nj.com)

    http://www.nj.com/south-jersey-voices/index.ssf/2012/11/letter_shift_in_halloween_date.html


    To the Editor:

    I am was very displeased with Gov. Chris Christie’s Executive Order to delay Halloween to Monday (Nov. 5). I am also displeased with our local governments for bowing so quickly without seeing what was best for their specific towns.

    The area we live in was spared from the devastation, yet the entire state was lumped together as a giant disaster area. It didn’t matter that my town had already come up with an alternate plan, or that other towns had already assessed damages and realized that it was safe for our children to go and carry out their traditions.

    Never before have I felt the presence of the government in my home as loudly as I did on Oct. 31. I found it very contradictory to the motto of our country. I did not feel free.

    My two children, ages 5 and 8, know there was a hurricane, know that we were safe and sound inside our house, and know that we are back to business as usual in our area. As the storm progressed and phone calls came in, our Halloween plans changed daily. Waking up on Halloween morning we had a plan in place. By afternoon I had to tell my children of new plans, again.

    My children learned a lesson about government. They learned that there are people in power who have the ability to make decisions that directly affect them.

    Many will say that our children will forget once they get their night out, but I don’t agree. As they grow older, and become adults, they will remember this as the Halloween that wasn’t.

    I will take my children with me on Tuesday to vote. And I know they will ask if the people I’m voting for had anything to do with Halloween. You can be sure that I will not vote for local individuals who did a poor job in taking my town and county into consideration.

    Suzanne Carson

    Mullica Hill

  135. Ernest Money says:

    gluteus (126)-

    Easy to watch the Gooners get it shoved up their arses by Schalke.

  136. Ernest Money says:

    Brian, the person stuck in Sussex is the one who is fcuked.

    Permanently.

  137. Ernest Money says:

    Juice, I think the utility guys I see everywhere are doing a really good job. Even saw a crew up my street working in the worst part of the storm.

  138. Ernest Money says:

    Only soccer I’m watching tomorrow is Bridgewater v. North Hunterdon. We got a little surprise in store for those Bridgewater nancy boys.

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  141. Comrade Nom Deplume with power and fuel says:

    [136] Ben

    She makes one semivalid point about the sweeping generalization but fails to consider obvious policy arguments. Further, if she considers this to be intrusive, she isn’t paying attention. Of all the trivial things to get exercised over, this has to be one of the lower ones.

    You’re right. Another self absorbed whiner.

  142. Comrade Nom Deplume with power and fuel says:

    [113] fabius,

    Go Navy. Beat Army.

  143. Comrade Nom Deplume with power and fuel says:

    [72] grim,

    attributed to Damon Runyan?

  144. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Just realized the masthead not changed on this device. There, that’s better.

  145. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Not that the outcome isn’t already preordained there in Jersey but vote if you can.

  146. Ernest Money says:

    Don’t vote. Voting shows you’re ok with the conspiracy.

  147. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [148] money,

    How do you know that I’m not part of the conspiracy?

  148. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Yesterday, I was in a shopping plaza in Marple, PA and saw a new BMW in front of a store.

    It was parked in the fire lane, facing the wrong way, and right in front of the supermarket exit and curb cut ramp. And it was parked. Not loading or flasher parked. Just parked.

    Bad as that was, it had a Eurozone front plate with Greek lettering, and a Greek flag hanging from the mirror.

    That last detail simply made it for me. My 9YO didn’t understand Daddy’s explanation about why he was laughing.

  149. 1987 Condo Buyer says:

    #150, Comrade, maybe with that FEMA money you get for “repairs” you can put it to getting yourself one of those BMW’s too! (or a second if you already have one!)

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  151. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [151] condo,

    Nope, not this time. No house damage to compensate. Wouldn’t be enough anyway (last check covered only fraction of cost).

    Besides, I am done with high maint German cars. I like driving my Ford better and it hasn’t given us grief. Just wish I went for the six cyl.

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