I was not insured for the flood, any recourse?
November 4, 2012 1:15 PM   Subscribe

I was not insured for the flood, any recourse?

Though well prepared for the storm, I did not consider a paid, locked, long-term storage room. All of it was covered over, the management has contacted me, and no one can enter the building till deemed safe. I had no insurance. It was offered when I began. I missed this one. Is there any option for me to pursue when, if we can enter, or does this sum up to a good lesson in preparedness?
posted by ebesan to Law & Government (5 answers total)
 
Do you have renter's insurance? That may cover some percentage of the value.

It sounds like if you declined insurance on the storage space, you're probably SOL on being directly reimbursed by the storage company or their insurance provider.

If it's a substantial loss, maybe try a claim with FEMA and similar aid avenues? I think this would be a shitty thing to do if mostly you just lost your prized record collection, the coffee table your wife hates but you won't throw out, and out of season clothes.
posted by Sara C. at 1:27 PM on November 4, 2012


You were offered insurance, declined it, and then a flood happened. I think taking it as a good lesson in preparedness is the way to go.
posted by Justinian at 2:06 PM on November 4, 2012 [4 favorites]


The only option to pursue is to buy new stuff with your own money.

A FEMA claim would not help because an Other Than Housing Needs FEMA claim requires that you first sought relief through your insurance and the damages were not covered or insufficiently covered. In this case, you didn't have insurance in the first place. More importantly, that sort of claim is for disaster related expenses like funerals, medical care, and necessary things like clothing and household items. It is not going to apply to items in a storage unit unless you could say something inside was necessary for your job, like a specialized tool.
posted by Tanizaki at 2:18 PM on November 4, 2012


If you paid for your unit with a credit card (especially American Express), there is a tiny chance the card may carry some amount of automatic insurance built in - you would have to check.
posted by Mchelly at 2:23 PM on November 4, 2012 [6 favorites]


Do check whether your renter's or homeowner's insurance covers any of it--it's not unheard of for them to cover personal property even outside of your home although flood damage may be excluded.
posted by enn at 3:17 PM on November 4, 2012 [2 favorites]


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