Page 21 - The Long Road Home

Krista Sperber is a long-time resident of Belmar, New Jersey. Having experienced many coastal storms she gave Sandy little thought. During the night of the storm, she gathered with friends to wait it out until her husband ran to inform her that this was not just another storm.
Krista’s street in Belmar was under five feet of seawater for seven days, dissolving the mortar in the foundation of her home. Repairing the house required replacing the foundation. Having maintained the maximum level of flood insurance, Krista did not anticipate a problem with her claim. However the insurer responded with an award that would cover 10% of the cost for replacing the foundation. Moreover, the insurer’s damage report was filled with inaccuracies describing her three-story home as two stories and stating that no trees on her block were downed when in fact seven had been lost.
KRISTA SPERBER BELMAR, NEW JERSEY
Given her insurer’s incompetence, Krista sued for the cost of replacing her foundation. She was interrogated for six hours by the lawyers representing her insurer. The result was a decision that the insurance company would fully cover her cost.
In all, it took Krista more than three years to return home. Today she lives with post-traumatic stress disorder brought on from the storm and subsequent struggle with her insurer. Given minimal progress in improving the system for handling flood claims, she is greatly concerned about another storm hitting the New Jersey coast. “They say they look into the problems but they knowingly do nothing to fix it. I did nothing wrong, I had savings and a steady income. I should not have almost lost my home due to the failures of the current flood insurance program.”
NEW JERSEY RESOURCE PROJECT
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