HURRICANE SANDY AFTERMATH INFORMATION
The most recent information from LIPA is as follows.
- Power has been restored to more than 700,000 customers. There still remains 250,000 without power.
- LIPA continues to forecast full restoration by Wednesday evening (except for isolated customers and properties that are damaged beyond repair).
- There are now more than 7,000 line and tree workers currently working on power restoration on Long Island. 1,000 more will be added today.
- They are watching the weather for the storm due Wednesday night into Thursday morning. They will have the workforce of 8000 ready to respond.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano has provided some helpful information for those putting in insurance claims.
“Homeowners Insurance:
Governor Cuomo announced that homeowners will not have to pay potentially large hurricane deductibles on insurance claims stemming from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The New York State Department of Financial Services has informed the insurance industry that hurricane deductibles should not be triggered for this storm.
Many homeowners’ insurance policies for homes contain hurricane deductibles based on a percentage of a property’s insured value. These deductibles typically range from 1% of a home’s insured value to 5%. So for example, with a 5% deductible on a home insured for $300,000, the homeowner would have to pay for the first $15,000 of damage.
Homeowners who experienced property losses should file insurance claims with their insurers promptly.
Provide policy numbers and all information relevant to the loss. To best document losses, homeowners should to take photos or videos showing the extent of the losses before cleaning up.
Homeowners should make only necessary repairs to prevent further damage to property, like covering broken windows. Permanent repairs should not be made until after insurers have inspected losses. Damaged personal property should be kept until after an insurance settlement has been reached.
Homeowners should cooperate fully with their insurer and keep a diary of all conversations with the insurance agent, including the agent’s name, as well as the times and dates of all calls or visits.
Homeowners are also reminded that flood damage is only covered by flood insurance, which is a federal program administered by FEMA. Homeowners who have flood insurance and have flood damage should make claims through that insurance.
The New York State Department of Financial Services has activated a Disaster Hotline to answer consumer questions and help with problems. The Disaster Hotline number is 1-800-339-1759. It is staffed Monday – Friday from 8 AM – 8 PM and Saturday - Sunday from 9 AM – 4 PM.”
Residents with non-life threatening emergencies, such as sewage backup, should dial 1-888-684-4274. All those with life threatening emergencies should dial 911. For more information on the Conserve Water Order, please visit the Nassau County Health Department website
For more information on storm preparation, please visit www.nassaucountyny.gov/hurricane
If residents have LIPA related electrical concerns, please call LIPA’s customer hotline at 1-800-490-0075. Please note that LIPA is experiencing a high volume of calls and that system outages continue to be restored. Please also visit LIPA’s service outage map to track outages and restorations in your area. http://www.lipower.org/stormcenter/outages/outagemap.html
