Laura Packard is vice president of sales and marketing,American Collectors Insurance, Inc.

Superstorm Sandy reminded Long Island native and independentagent Steve Marlin that he indeed does live on an island.

With his office at M&M Assocs. Insurance Brokers inDeer Park, N.Y. positioned at a major intersection just 8 milesfrom the ocean, Marlin experienced both personally andprofessionally the brunt of Sandy's storm surge and wind damage.“It was terrible,” said Marlin. “We insured many homes on the southshore [of Long Island]. Going down to the Long Beach area towardthe ocean, it looked like a war zone. Here it is months and monthslater and they're coming out of it just now.

“After the storm, many people had no place to live, no place togo,” Marlin said. “Even where they had placed fire departments andschools for emergency facilities, they were destroyed. The localhospital [in nearby Long Beach along the coastline] was destroyedand it may not even come back. The city itself lost a lot. It's notjust the storm itself, it's the aftermath.”

Read on to find out about his experience.

Superstorm Sandy's wind and storm surge impacted the EastCoast including widespread damage to homes in the New York Cityborough of Queens (above) as well as Long Island.

Prevention saves

As Hurricane Sandy spun its way up the Atlantic Coast in lateOctober 2012, Marlin's experience—he co-founded the agency in1977—told him it would be worse than other previous storms.“Normally they don't affect us that much. We don't really get thebrunt of the storm. But when I saw we were still going to get thebrunt of it, I started warning people: High tide and high windswere going to create an even higher tide.

“It was about a week before the storm hit when I thought: 'We'renot going to get away from this. We've got to be prepared.' Istarted putting together materials to hand out to people. I wascrying out like Chicken Little. I was telling clients to take anypersonal possessions off site that they wanted topreserve.”

An avid Corvette collector himself, Marlin and his wifeLaura are active at events with the Long Island Corvette OwnersAssociation. Marlin had five collector-vehicle claims from hisclient base after Superstorm Sandy.

Marlin has a specialty book of business in collector-vehicleinsurance. He had five collector-vehicle claims from his clientbase after Superstorm Sandy.

He urged clients in and around Long Beach on the south shore ofLong Island—which juts eastward from New York City out into theAtlantic Ocean—to move their collector vehicles to higher ground.“Some of them took my advice. I told them, 'If you want to keepyour cars and not have a problem, you should move them.'” Marlinoffered to share the expense of storage space up to $150.

“Some clients with rare cars did take my advice. You'll findthat many of the true hobbyists—not the occasional collector—knowthey have something they want to preserve. It's irreplaceable,” hesaid. “Many of them would say: 'That's a great thing and I'm gladthe company is backing me on it.' But they'll also do what it takesto protect it.”

When the storm reached the coastlines of New Jersey and NewYork, staying over the course of two high tides, it was by thenwhat meteorologists dubbed a “post-tropical cyclone.” But itbrought well-above-flood-stage storm surge along hundreds of milesof ocean, bay and river coastlines in the two states.

Ultimately, in Long Island the floodwaters came to 6 feet abovehigh tide. “That's whatcaused the flooding, what caused the most ofthe damage,” he said. “It was the 100-year storm.”

“The landlines and power lines were down for up to three weeks,”he said. “Along the South Shore it was even longer. We had to turnto the cell phones for texting and emails. Modern technology helpedus stay in contact with those whose information we hadavailable.”

A downtown Manhattan parking garage flooded duringSuperstorm Sandy in October 2012.

Marlin recounted a story of how even the basics of life weredisrupted. “There was a first responder in our area. His house wascompletely wiped out. In his mother's house, the first floor wasflooded. There was no power. One of his tasks in the aftermath wasto tell people to stop throwing food out because that wasattracting rodents. They didn't understand that waste-disposalvehicles couldn't get through the sand-filled streets. So it wasone problem compounding after another.”

The widespread flooding and downed trees throughout New York andNew Jersey meant that people and companies that normally would beavailable to help in the claims process also were occupied withgetting back up and running. One personal lines insurance carrierand two service bureau offices along the coast or in lowerManhattan were “wiped out,” Marlin said.

The importance of information flow

In the aftermath, a key role for Marlin and his staff wasreaching out and supporting their home, flood and auto insurancepolicyholders—especially with information about emergency andrecovery services including from FEMA (Federal Emergency ManagementAgency) about emergency assistance sites. “They were happy to hearfrom anybody—anybody that was giving them some ray ofhope.”

“There were only so many adjusters to go around. Passing on thatinformation helped the situation, and 99 percent of clientele werepatient and understanding,” Marlin said. “Having us there to tellthem they haven't been forgotten gave peace of mind” to theagency's homeowners and flood insurance policyholders.

Two big problems after the storm passed were widespread, lengthypower outages and fuel shortages. These conditions crimpedrecovery. “It was like back when we had the oil embargo [in the1970s]. It just took time. It just took time for people to getgasoline.” The state ordered gasoline rationing based on licenseplate numbers.

Marlin's foresight prevented a number of claims, but not all.Among his dozens of collector-vehicle insurance customers, M&MInsurance had five customers with claims, most for flood damage.American Collectors Insurance and its carrier partners at AssurantSpecialty Group settled those claims, en route to settling nearly all claims within six months.

Superstorm Sandy is an active memory for many on Long Island,Marlin finds, even nearly a year later. It's just an eight-miledrive down the Deer Park Road from his office to the causewayleading to the Jones Beach barrier island and over the waterwaythat flooded so badly during the storm.

Large trees were vulnerable to wind damage during SuperstormSandy. Rain soaking the ground loosened roots, then winds blewtrees over. The scene above is near to M&M Insurance in DeerPark, N.Y. on Long Island.

All types of insurance—federal flood insurance, businesscoverages, homeowners, auto, and collector vehicle—came in to playto help with restoring the lives of individuals and families.

What Sandy proved to Marlin is how central the collector vehiclewas to getting back to normal for his collector clients. They tookthe time and trouble to restore their special vehicle—even as Sandydevastated their homes and businesses.

Settling claims readily was “a beacon of light in a very badtime” and built credibility for his agency, Marlin noted. A localpresence and service are vital for agents to compete today, hesaid.

“The problem comes into play for agents today because theInternet is large and wide. The Y generation and newer [consumers]are very Internet savvy. You can plug in 'collector car' and theyhave 10 to 12 options of where they can go shopping. That removesthe professional helping them through the scene. They don't lookfor guidance and advice. They're looking for their own way out.We're faced with that today,” Marlin said.

Collector auto insurance is a way to illustrate the value thatan independent agent delivers—a task that today is “verydifficult,” Marlin asserted. “You have to remind them of the value,that it's not costing them any more [to use an independent agent],and that the agent is compensated by the carriers theyrepresent.”