Insurance claims inundate agents

Insurance to cover flooding from severe rain costs $200 to $500 per year.
By JOHN SKENDALL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Insurance agents here say they don't remember when they've had so many calls for storm damage claims.
There are "too many to count," said agent Bob Fusco of Allstate Insurance Co. in Austintown.
Fusco said he's surprised he's not getting more calls for tree-related damage, but all other storm and water-related claims are pouring in at full force.
"This is the worst I've seen it, and I've been with Allstate for 18 years," Fusco said.
Thousands of area homeowners are now filing water damage claims for their cars and homes, but damage from severe rainfall is covered barely -- if at all, for costly basement damage. Flood insurance is not included in routine homeowners and renters insurance policies; it's a separate policy from the state, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance. And only a few hundred here have it.
Local agents said only damage from backed-up basement sewer drains is covered in routine policies, and only if a homeowner purchases an endorsement, increasing the premiums.
Mary Bonelli of the Ohio Insurance Institute said a policy endorsement for sewer backups costs an average of $50 per year. It's the only protection most agencies add to homeowner policies for basement flooding, and provides an estimated coverage of $5,000 with a $500 deductible, she said.
What often happens
Jim Geisler of Geisler Insurance in Boardman said many people who buy his home insurance opt out of paying for the added endorsement that covers basement sewer drain backups.
They decide they don't want to spend the extra money, Geisler said.
He sells the coverage for $30 to $70 a year.
If your basement filled up with water leaking in from windows and doors and cracks in foundation walls, only the Ohio Flood Insurance will cover it.
As of Feb. 28, 2002, only 126 homes in Mahoning County and 551 homes in Trumbull County had it, according to the Ohio Insurance Institute.
The policy is available to homeowners, renters or business owners living or operating in either flood plains or "low-risk areas" -- all areas outside flood plains. It costs $200 per year for homes outside flood plains and $500 for homes in flood plains. That provides about $75,000 for the structure and $18,000 for contents in homes. Deductibles average $500 to $1,000.
Coverage is also available to businesses.
Walter Duzzny, director of the Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency, said "most, if not all," of the 600 calls for damage estimates he has received Wednesday and Thursday through the EMA Disaster Declaration Hotline have been for basement flood damage. Each caller has reported, on average, $10,000 in damages.
Duzzny is compiling an EMA database that will be used to apply for state and federal money to help pay for flood damages here.
In the meantime, Duzzny recommends homeowners contact their insurance companies to determine what coverage their policy offers.
For more information on flood insurance policies, call the National Flood Insurance Program at (800) 638-6620 or log on to www.ohioinsurance.org.
jskendall@vindy.com