Insurance company helps families affected by flooding

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August 11, 2008

By Brian Messenger

With the return of rainy weather Aug. 3, so too came fear and anxiety for Cindy DiStefano.

"The thunder came," DiStefano said. "It was just such a horrible feeling. It was a feeling of fear."

Two weeks have passed since the DiStefanos and their neighbors were flooded out of their Binney Street homes on July 24, when a nearby catch basin and culvert system running below Interstate 495 was apparently blocked by debris during heavy rains.

The three families affected by the flooding — residents of 8, 10 and 12 Binney St. — now know they'll be covered by insurance company MetLife. The families were initially told they'd be denied because they didn't have flood insurance.

DiStefano said she is hopeful MetLife will cover both her family's damages and emergency living expenses.

"We have to work out the particulars," DiStefano said. "You never can recoup your total loss in a disaster like this. You just can't replace everything."

DiStefano said she was informed by an insurance adjustor this week that it could be up to six months before her family is able to return home. The DiStefanos are living at a friend's rental property in Lawrence, she said.

DiStefano said the basement and first floor of her home have been gutted.

Kimberly Solt, a resident of 10 Binney St., said her family was still waiting on details from MetLife.

"We're obviously excited because we went from no coverage to now we're covered," Solt said. "We still need to sit with MetLife and see what that means. I'm still trying to find out what they'll cover."

Both DiStefano and Solt credited Sen. Sue Tucker and Rep. Barry Finegold with putting pressure on MetLife to reverse the company's initial stance that the families would not be covered under their homeowners insurance policies.

"They really went to bat for us," DiStefano said. "They worked on this every single day for us. It was daily communication, and they just went above and beyond."

Solt said she was told by the legislators that the effort to provide insurance coverage went as far as Gov. Deval Patrick's office.

"It worked," Tucker said. "They had denied it, but because of the nature of this incident and the losses and the terrible heartache, MetLife stepped up and agreed that they would take claims on these three homes."

Finegold, who owns a condominium in the Balmoral building in Shawsheen Square, said he became familiar with the effects of flooding and its aftermath when the area was inundated with water during the Mother's Day floods of 2006.

"I've seen it firsthand," Finegold said. "I'm familiar with floods, and I know the psychological impact and the monetary impact it has on people. It's tough. I saw that when I visited the (Binney Street) houses the next day.

"They've been through a lot," Finegold said. "That's why I was glad to see the insurance company do the right thing."

The state is continuing its investigation into what went wrong on Binney Street.

The Executive Office of Transportation, which oversees MassHighway, is looking at the drainage structures in the area where the flooding originated, office Spokesman Klark Jessen said.

With insurance coverage in place, DiStefano said Binney Street residents still want more answers.

"Now we need to go onto the next step, which is making sure this never happens again," she said.

Jessen said the state has received claims from Binney Street residents, which could result in further investigation.

Tucker said getting insurance coverage will prove to be a better option than filing a claim with the state.

Tucker said she planned to have a follow-up meeting with MassHighway in several weeks.

"This can't happen again," Tucker said. "They have to maintain that culvert. The state's not off the hook."

Both Tucker and Finegold said they believe the flooding resulted from the culvert being blocked.

Solt said she hoped her family could move back into their home by Aug. 6. Her family room was gutted and the electrical wiring was replaced throughout the home, she said. The family's basement was also ruined.

"I'm still trying to pick up the pieces and put my house back together," Solt said. "Bottom line, this should have never happened. If they only listened to the little people."

DiStefano said Andover Youth Services and members of St. Augustine's Church, Free Christian Church and New England Bible Church all responded to Binney Street to help the residents affected.

Tax-deductible contributions to assist the family can be sent to: DiStefano Flood Fund, P.O. Box 3232, Andover, MA 01810.