We’ve talked a lot about the heat wave that has engulfed the southeastern United States here at the Shakadoo sites.  Crops and gardens are dying, our lawns have turned a brown shade of crispy fries, homeowners are paying really high utility bills to stay cool.  But what we haven’t acknowledged are the homes in the midwest that have been devastated by floodwaters.

Ohio, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, and lots of other states in-between have had more than their fair share of water.  The American Red Cross posted on its blog about a woman in Ohio who was served at a local Red Cross shelter.  The flood waters in her town are receding, but there is a mighty mess to clean.

A.M. in the Morning relates to how the damage of Hurricane Katrina relates to the flooding happening right now in parts of the country.

I didn’t realize that the insurance industry could legally collude with each other, talking among themselves to say “we won’t pay, you don’t pay.” The industry enjoys an exemption from the nation’s anti-trust laws. Professional baseball is the only other exception, and that’s about entertainment. We HAVE to have insurance to get a mortgage for any loans to buy homes and businesses. It’s a MUST have, not a nice to have as may be the tickets for a baseball game.

I always urge buyers to order homeowners insurance immediately when they enter the binding contract stage of buying a home.  This gives the insurance company time to check for flood zones prior to closing. But my advice now is to make sure you read that policy you take out and ask plenty of questions about what’s covered and what’s not covered.

If any readers work in the insurance industry, I urge you to comment about what buyers and homeowners need to be asking.