San Diego Fires

[Christians4LessGvt]

A question for those that are smarter than me:

I saw a guy being interviewed on the news out in San Diego. He was standing outside his home that had not burned, but most of the homes near his home had burned down and scorched the earth. So he kind of had the attitude of "well not sure how lucky I am mine didn't burn, everybody else is going to get their 2 million insurance money and be able to build a new house in a nice area, but since mine didn't burn I am stuck in a war zone looking neighborhood".

Lets just say a house in San Diego was worth 2 million when the buyer purchased it 3 years ago.

The owner has the house insurred for the 2 million they paid for it.

Then along comes the home loan scandal and now the house is only worth 1.5 million and the owner has a lot of other debt like credit cards.

So the house is worth 1.5 million but insurred for 2 million, and the owner is having some cash flow crunch.

Is this a common thing, where homes are insurred for 2 million that are only worth 1.5 million?

Is there an incentive for arson when these loan scandals hit and homes tumble in value?

[_JS]

A question for those that are smarter than me:

I don't think we have the webspace for the replies. 

I am JOKING!!

I really don't know the insurance game that well either. So I'd like to read the answer too. I'm guessing that it doesn't quite work that way. Insurance companies are pretty damn smart at risk management and also rather tight with their money when it comes down to crunch time. I know that when Katrina hit New Orleans, there were still people in Florida fighting for insurance claims from Ivan.

But I'd love to hear the answer. Insurance seems to be an interesting game of collective risk and statistics.

[Plane]

I wonder if an insurance company could insure an item for its replacement value rather than a fixed amount?

Replacement value is quite variable , but could be determined by simply replaceing what was lost.

[Christians4LessGvt]

"I don't think we have the webspace for the replies.   I am JOKING!!"

that is actually funny JS
good one

but you know there is some "truth" to it
i told a friend the other day
ya know i just love my time on political message boards
she said "why is that?"
I said i get great enjoyment watching "truth" defeat higher IQ
she said "whats that mean?"
I said, "heck alot of the folks I argue with are probably smarter than I am"
they know every detail about practically everything
but "the truth" is the great equalizer
higher IQ can't over come truth
and I find it interesting to watch that play out

before you run off changing the subject or questioning what the "truth" is
or who defines what the "truth" is
thats not the point I am making
nor do I have time to delve into that now.

Just always remember:

Truth > IQ 

[Amianthus]

Nearly all home insurance policies are written as "replacement value" policies. In other words, they will pay to build a new house in the same location. Cost of constructing an equivalent house will never even amount to the "value" of the house.

Most mortgage documents also specify that the insurance policy must be a "replacement" type of policy - they want the house rebuilt, because they have a lien on that property.

[Cynthia]

How can one measure "truth", Christian?

IQ is measured and proven to be somewhere in the arena of "either/or"....but always lands in the field of factual. (depending on the assessment of the time)



 The fact that someone is intelligent and highly so,
 tends to also make him/her an @-O
...tis truth.

 or 'tis fact?  


Accuracy seems to be the question of the day. Intelligence can be sloppy. Truth can be mud in the eye of the beholder.


Truth is more accurate when one is RIGHT!  

I like your sense of truth, Christian. You're a smart guy!

[Henny]

I said, "heck alot of the folks I argue with are probably smarter than I am"
they know every detail about practically everything
but "the truth" is the great equalizer
higher IQ can't over come truth
and I find it interesting to watch that play out

IQ is overrated. I don't agree with all of your versions of the truth, but I don't think you're less intelligent by a long shot.

Another thing to remember is that we are all WRITING our thoughts down. Some people do a better job articulating their thoughts in writing than others do. That doesn't make some smarter/less smart - there are just some stronger writers than others.

[Amianthus]

Some people do a better job articulating their thoughts in writing than others do. That doesn't make some smarter/less smart - there are just some stronger writers than others.

<sarcasm>
But of course, we know that someone who makes verbal gaffes while public speaking must be an idiot.
</sarcasm>

[Henny]

Some people do a better job articulating their thoughts in writing than others do. That doesn't make some smarter/less smart - there are just some stronger writers than others.

<sarcasm>
But of course, we know that someone who makes verbal gaffes while public speaking must be an idiot.
</sarcasm>

Of course not, and that was one of the criticisms of Bush that bothered me from the start. Not all people are great public speakers, either. If someone wants to criticize, it helps if they have something substantial to back them up. Picking on someone's verbal errors is simply being nasty.

[Cynthia]

I said, "heck alot of the folks I argue with are probably smarter than I am"
they know every detail about practically everything
but "the truth" is the great equalizer
higher IQ can't over come truth
and I find it interesting to watch that play out

IQ is overrated. I don't agree with all of your versions of the truth, but I don't think you're less intelligent by a long shot.

Another thing to remember is that we are all WRITING our thoughts down. Some people do a better job articulating their thoughts in writing than others do. That doesn't make some smarter/less smart - there are just some stronger writers than others.

Right!