November 2, 2021 by Ally Donnelly
Rory Earley was bailing out her finished basement with a Halloween candy bucket. "I opened up the garage door and it was like a tsunami of water just flowing out," she said. "You feel helpless."
Earley’s basement flooded when a massive shade tree crashed down on her house in last week’s Nor’easter. The tree took down the power lines, knocking out power to the neighborhood and the Early’s sump pump. Their finished basement quickly filled with water from the rising Weir River at the end of the street.
The next day, Earley called the agency that handles their homeowner’s insurance to file a claim. “And the guy said, ‘Do you have sump pump failure insurance?'" she said. "’And I said, ‘I don’t know. Like, look, I don’t know.'”
The next day, Earley called the agency that handles their homeowner’s insurance to file a claim. “And the guy said, ‘Do you have sump pump failure insurance?'" she said. "’And I said, ‘I don’t know. Like, look, I don’t know.'”
Early is not alone. Many of us are asking if we’d be covered in a similar situation. What’s the coverage on our home?
We sit down with Frank Doyle, vice president of insurance for AAA Northeast and Barbara Targum, managing partner at Dwight Rudd Insurance in Boston. They walk us through when and how often to review your plan, special considerations for coastal communities, their thoughts on finished basements and the experts map out who is responsible when your tree falls on your neighbor’s house.
We also talk with Jeanne Foy, director of the consumer action center for the public interest group MassPirg. As tree services, roofers and contractors are in hot demand, she shares the red flags to look for if working with someone new and I pro tip to protect yourself if you get ghosted or scammed. It's a great episode. Join us!
