Some residents in Keene have been tied up with tree damage from this summer’s storms. Unfortunately for some of these folks, help is not looking promising.
The residents of the Tanglewood Cooperative, a manufactured home development off of Maple Avenue in Keene, are finding it difficult to get answers on relief and insurance monies according to a recent Keene Sentinel article.
One couple which an article from Sentinel focused on, Jessica and Nathan Taylor, have one of a few homes in the park the City of Keene has condemned after the July 16 storms that came through the region. The Taylors’ mortgage insurance will only cover the remainder of their mortgage plus $500.
Another group the Sentinel reported on was Jon Scott and family, whose home was also condemned. The Scotts have yet to hear from their insurance company as to where they stand on their claim. The City of Keene estimates the damage to Tanglewood Coop is roughly $1.4 million; however, when the Sentinel interviewed Keene’s Emergency Management Administrator, Kürt Blomquist, they found that Tanglewood does not meet the damage threshold for federal relief money.
It is truly unfortunate the residents of the Tanglewood Coop have to go through this struggle for assistance during such a difficult time. Folks like the Scott family should not have to wait for weeks on end to get a decision from their insurance company. They should be spending that time gathering themselves and planning how they move forward.
With families such as the Taylors I fear they may have been misguided when getting insurance on their home. It appears that a few of these folks have just mortgage insurance on their homes, which is grossly insufficient. Unless you have the cash on hand to complete any major repairs or replace your home, you should always have homeowner’s insurance. Mortgage insurance is the home equivalent of gap insurance on a car; it will only cover the difference owed on the house, not the value of the house. I only see situations like this getting worse.
As we start to feel the effects of climate change more and more here in N.H., situations like Tanglewood, I fear, will only become more frequent. In a state that does not usually get large amounts of rain, it has been getting wetter and wetter. The weather is becoming more violent. With small tornadoes popping up at times and microbursts becoming more frequent, damage and home loss may be a common problem now. Not only are the buildings of the region not built for this weather, but folks may be underinsured for coming issues.
I hope that incidents like Tanglewood are not a sign of the future to come. It is a true shame that these folks are going to be jerked around by their insurance companies, holding people up from moving forward with rebuilding their lives. I also hope going forward folks like the Taylors are able to be properly insured, preventing this from happening again.
Tanglewood Cooperative, in its own effort of prevention, should require co-op members to have some sort of homeowner’s insurance. The insurance would be a minimal expense to require and would save folks a lot of heartaches.
Timothy Fitzpatrick can be contacted at
tfitzpatrick@kscequinox.com
