COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHEN IT RAINS, IT’S RECOUPED 
“I live close to Buffalo Bayou. I lost two cars during a heavy rain in 2009. The water came up too fast to save the cars. By the time I found out they were flooding they were in a couple feet of snake infested water. The insurance company paid up right away and didn’t raise my rates. These people should have no problem if they have insurance.” [jgriff, commenting on Headlines: Putting the Creek in Cross Creek Ranch; Flooding the Omni Hotel Parking Lot] Illustration: Lulu
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My car was flooded and insurance paid? That’s the Comment of the Day
And good luck to all those ppl trying get some compensation from the valet company. I’m pretty sure the owner already has bankruptcy papers filed, new company formed, and was probably parking cars Sunday night.
My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
YMMV on that, or perhaps insurance companies are now more accommodating? We had a leased car flood in the same situation in the late 80s — water came up very quickly in the Rice Village. Neither the insurance company nor auto dealer would total the car or pay for repairs, despite several feet of water inside the vehicle. Since we did not want to default on the lease, we were OOP on initial and many subsequent repairs.
Wont the fight be between the insurance company and the valet company?
Has there been any coverage on the Buffalo Bayou flooding closer into downtown where millions are being spent on park improvements? I was out there yesterday and not only did it look like hell, one of the support columns under the new Studemont pedestrian bridge appears to have partially washed out.
We had dozens of cars in the neighborhood flood. If it didn’t happen too fast to move them they would have been moved. The modern cars were totaled. Older cars were repaired. The insurance adjuster told me once the water gets over the seats in modern cars the ECUs are usually fried making them too costly to fix.
I had my old Volkswagen Rabbit flooded on Bissonnet (near the museum district) during Houston’s 1979 flood (the basement of the Contemporary Arts Museum also flooded during that rain event). I had been forced to park on the street and the water came up too quickly to move the car. I came out of my apartment and found my car in three feet of water! My insurance company paid with no question as the car was sitting and the water came up on it. Surprisingly, the water didn’t cause much damage — it even started and I drove it over to the VW dealership. You can’t beat those old, German-made autos.
During the same flood, my older brother was in Montrose and had his car flooded out when he was trying to drive home. The insurance company did NOT pay for his damages since he chose to drive into the high water on his own accord.
I’ve always thought that insurance companies had no problem paying out on damages done to cars that were parked and the water came up on them, but perhaps this had changed recently?
I had no problem with mine paying out. It was two almost brand new Porsches, they paid me about $150k. Needles to say I was a little worried about being covered. I called the insurance company and they assured me there would be no problem. I knew I was covered within half an hour of finding the cars.
Bizarre. I had a Chevy Camaro that was flooded in the Blanco River, and once it dried out, I drove it for another 75,000 miles. I had a Nova flooded in Bellaire, that I drove for another 125,000 miles. I had insurance on both, but never had to make a claim.