Why Smoking Is Better Than Flood Insurance

I never should have posted yesterday's post.  

I knew  it was too optimistic to expect what I considered a reasonable outcome, and I was right.  The adjuster called last night and told Honey that he was approving our carpet as contents - with a second deductible.  

He went on to say that if we could provide a letter from someone in government saying that the old floor contained asbestos, the insurance company would pay to have a remediation team come in and remove it.  I don't know why, since the floor pre-dated the flood by over 40 years, but that is what he said.  

That, of course, is a non-starter.  We already know that the safest (and least expensive) way to handle that old floor is simply to cover it with carpet.

I guess it could have been worse.  Our carpet contractor has a client in Kingwood whose house features a sunken living room, an architectural gimmick that was quite popular a few years ago.  Her adjuster told her that because the living room was six inches lower than the rest of the house, it would be considered a BASEMENT, and as such it was not covered by her policy!

Meanwhile, I got an email from Marlboro Cigarettes yesterday evening saying that since I lived in an area affected by Harvey they wanted to help.  I have smoked Marlboros since they came on the market, and have occasionally entered contests they sponsor on line, so I suppose they knew that I am a loyal customer. The email contained a link to a $50 Visa Debit Card!  It's an electronic debit card, valid for anything I care to purchase on line.

Weighing the results of paying several hundred dollars a year for flood insurance for almost half a century vs. smoking cigarettes for at least that long - right now, the cigarettes are winning!