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American Morning
Minding Your Business: Preparing for Isabel, Are You Insured?
Aired September 16, 2003 - 07:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of the overall financial picture, with Hurricane Isabel on the way, is your home covered if disaster strikes?
Andy Serwer is with us this morning. He's "Minding Your Business."
Wow! She -- we really did hear from the professor about...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... how dire straits can be if you're not prepared. Is it too late now for people?
SERWER: Yes. They're not -- the insurance companies are not going to let you go out and buy new insurance for hurricanes if you live on the Carolina coast. I mean, they're not -- they restrict you from getting new policies in these types of situations.
And, you know, hurricane insurance is really something we want to take a look at this morning, because not only is a hurricane barreling down on the coast, but it's barreling down on the U.S. economy as well. And if you look at these hurricane deductibles, Soledad, the insurance companies have been rolling out, not such good news -- what a surprise -- for the American homeowner.
Here is what's going on. They have these new kinds of deductibles, OK? It's basically, instead of a fixed amount, they're doing a percentage these days. It's just a way to get more money from you, so they don't spend as much.
So, if you have a $200,000 house there, that means your deductible, if you have damage, would be from $2,000, in this situation, to $30,000. This would be the cost to rebuild your house. All of this depends on how close to the shore you are. Also, you know, things of that nature, and the wind speed is another thing that determines the insurance.
This stuff is allowed in 17 states, this new kind of insurance, including North Carolina. So, really something to take a look at.
O'BRIEN: And something to take a look at, too, is the overall cost, because these things, when they hit, pack a wallop financially.
SERWER: Yes. I mean, they really do. We have a screen here that shows exactly what's been going on over the past couple of hurricanes. Andrew, the biggie -- remember that down in south Florida? These are all adjusted for inflation today, so this is what it costs today. Hugo, that was in Charleston, if you remember. Then you go down to the Gulf Coast for Georges. Opal was another Florida hurricane. And a lot of wood generators, wood being sold to build up over windows, generators, duct tape, flashlights, all of that stuff. Down in the Carolinas already people are stocking up from Lowe's and Home Depot.
O'BRIEN: All right (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Andy, do you know how many times I've called you Chad in the last week?
SERWER: I don't know, you know.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Insured?>
Aired September 16, 2003 - 07:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of the overall financial picture, with Hurricane Isabel on the way, is your home covered if disaster strikes?
Andy Serwer is with us this morning. He's "Minding Your Business."
Wow! She -- we really did hear from the professor about...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... how dire straits can be if you're not prepared. Is it too late now for people?
SERWER: Yes. They're not -- the insurance companies are not going to let you go out and buy new insurance for hurricanes if you live on the Carolina coast. I mean, they're not -- they restrict you from getting new policies in these types of situations.
And, you know, hurricane insurance is really something we want to take a look at this morning, because not only is a hurricane barreling down on the coast, but it's barreling down on the U.S. economy as well. And if you look at these hurricane deductibles, Soledad, the insurance companies have been rolling out, not such good news -- what a surprise -- for the American homeowner.
Here is what's going on. They have these new kinds of deductibles, OK? It's basically, instead of a fixed amount, they're doing a percentage these days. It's just a way to get more money from you, so they don't spend as much.
So, if you have a $200,000 house there, that means your deductible, if you have damage, would be from $2,000, in this situation, to $30,000. This would be the cost to rebuild your house. All of this depends on how close to the shore you are. Also, you know, things of that nature, and the wind speed is another thing that determines the insurance.
This stuff is allowed in 17 states, this new kind of insurance, including North Carolina. So, really something to take a look at.
O'BRIEN: And something to take a look at, too, is the overall cost, because these things, when they hit, pack a wallop financially.
SERWER: Yes. I mean, they really do. We have a screen here that shows exactly what's been going on over the past couple of hurricanes. Andrew, the biggie -- remember that down in south Florida? These are all adjusted for inflation today, so this is what it costs today. Hugo, that was in Charleston, if you remember. Then you go down to the Gulf Coast for Georges. Opal was another Florida hurricane. And a lot of wood generators, wood being sold to build up over windows, generators, duct tape, flashlights, all of that stuff. Down in the Carolinas already people are stocking up from Lowe's and Home Depot.
O'BRIEN: All right (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Andy, do you know how many times I've called you Chad in the last week?
SERWER: I don't know, you know.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Insured?>
