3121 The Mensa Disease #2, and Insurance Woes

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to
learn from the experience of others,
are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
-- Douglas Adams --

---------------------------------------------

Back in the spring of 2008 I wrote a post about The Mensa Disease, my view. I still get a few search hits on it. You know, I think people looking for "the Mensa disease" actually want information on Asperger's Syndrome. Try searching for that, folks.

-------------------------------

I was supposed to go out for dinner this evening, but had to cancel because of a crisis involving insurance on the new house. Surprise, surprise - almost no New Jersey insurer will cover a house within one mile of tidal water. The new house is a block from Raritan Bay.

I hoped I could use the same insurer as Daughter and Hercules, but their policy has special eligibility requirements - you have to have worked for the state of New Jersey, or for one of the insurance co-op's subscribing companies. I'm not eligible.

I spent much of the afternoon on the phone talking to agents, all of whom said goodbye when they found out where the house is. I finally found a guy who was able to get me a quote. He said it would be very expensive because I'd need a special risk policy. After he plugged in all the info, he said it would be slightly less than $1,000, with a company called Coastal Agents Alliance. Never heard of them. Found their website, but can't find ratings on them. They were formed especially to insure coastal properties.

I'll stop in his office tomorrow and sign whatever I need to.

I didn't ask whether that quote was for six months or a year. If it's a year, it's LESS than I'm paying now for insurance on this house, which is 2 miles from the nearest river, and several hundred feet above it. If it's for six months, it's $600 a year more than I'm paying now.

This is all getting very stressful.

I'm to meet with the builder tomorrow for the pre-closing walkthrough. I am very very VERY unhappy with the quality of the finish work on the house. Frankly, a lot of it looks worse than amateur. I have a lot of issues, and I'm not very good at diplomacy. Unless he commits in writing to fixing certain things, I may have to invoke the 3-week notice clause in the contract, and delay closing until the lawyers hammer it out.
.