Howell Files for $10M In Sandy Insurance Claims

Howell residents have filed for more than $10 million in Hurricane Sandy-related insurance claims, according to a new report.

An interactive map produced by New Jersey Spotlight and published late last week provides a complete breakdown of every insurance claim paid in New Jersey since Hurricane Sandy by town, giving further insight into the totality of losses suffered during the late-October storm.  

Information from color-coded map was compiled using the most recent data from the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI).

Based on the most recent data, Howell residents have filed 2,575 claims for Sandy-related damage, totaling $10,593,248. Of those, 1,954 claims have been paid, for a total of $9.583,769, according to the data.

The vast majority of those claims, or 2,189, have been claims for residential damages, totaling $7,684,920, and 1,701 of those claims have been paid, according to the data.

There have been just 167 commercial claims made for a total of $1247,219 in damages, and 101 of those have been paid, according to the data.

Just one $27,500 claim has been paid for flood damage, according to the data.

To view the map, click here.

Towns with minimal losses - those with under $200,000 in paid out claims - are represented by a light yellow color. Towns that have suffered more than $25 million in losses, which includes most of the state's coastal communities, as well as large portions of Ocean and Monmouth Counties, are shown in mahogany.

According to the report, the total cost of insurance claims paid to New Jersey residents and business owners following losses incurred during Hurricane Sandy is expected to reach at least $7.5 billion.

As of the end of March, individuals and business owners filed a total of 516,326 claims. In the five months following Sandy, 90 percent of the claims have been paid.

Currently, insurers have paid $6.1 billion in claims, including $2.9 billion for flood damage, according to the DOBI data. The next highest total is residential claims, which currently total more than $1.4 billion in New Jersey.

While coastal communities suffered the most significant damage during Sandy, the area with the largest losses includes densely populated areas along the Hackensack River and Meadowlands. In all, six areas had more than $100 million in losses. In addition to the area listed above, Toms River, Newark South Station, Point Pleasant, Long Beach, and Newark's Ironbound district each suffered more than $100 million in losses due to the storm.