AP Newswire..."Home policy won't replace big Y2K stash"

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News Story in today's Fort Wayne, IN Journal-Gazzett

New Orleans--- Thinking of putting all your money in a sock because your're afraid the Year 2000 bug will wipe out your bank account? Think again. Most of it won't be insured. The federal government insures bank accounts up to $100,000. But most homeowners' policies cover only $200 cash. At least one person already has lost his savings because he was afraid of the millennium bug, cleared out his bank account, and was almost immediately robbed. "Our concern is that people would be looking for homeowners' coverage if they got robbed," Donald E. Beery, vice president of Eustis Insurance in New Orleans, said Thusday. Beery said he decied to publicize the insurance limit after hearing about the holdup, in which a Hibernia Bank customer from Texas lost is $14,000 savings. "We want people to know that the homeowners' coverage is just not there," Beery said. "And in most cases it cannot be increased." The $200 limit is standard across the country, said Bob Hartwig, vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, a trade association. "Obviously, it's very difficult to ascertain how much cash people have in their homes," he said. "If you're really concerned, and you believe that somehow your money will desappear from the bits and bytes in which it's stored, you're probably better off getting a safe deposit box at a bank." Under deadlines set by the Federal Reserve, banks nationwide have spent billions of dollars over the last several years to update programs. Government and industry groups have been advising people to put aside about three days' worth of extra supplies and cash.

Some thoughts: If the banks close due to failures and your money is in a safe deposit box, how do you get your money out? If the feds decide your money isn't yours anymore, and it's in a safe deposit box all the better for them!

-- nowheretogo/no-onetotrust (*****@%%%%%.com), December 10, 1999

Answers

Rats.

They don;t goet it. I pulled my money from the bank IN RELIANCE on my homeowner's kicking in coverage. It's not like Y2K is and Act of God or soemthing right? I mean, GOOD GRIEF!! If I've cashed out my accounts, and if I'm robbed before I spend the money, all I have to do is find a phone that works, and I know my agent will be working the rollover in a downtown highrise, sitting in his office waiting to issue me a computer generated check which he'll endorse, and have his secretary send after embossing it with the compliant Pitney-Bowes postage meter, etc., and promtply send me through the certified compliant U.S. mails which, upon receipt I can then take down to the local compliant bank (riding mass transit of course) and ...... simply.... cash.

Better go get those American Express travellers checques. >"<

-- SH (squirrel@huntr.com), December 10, 1999.


I would be willing to bet that nearly all the people who get robbed after draining their account fall into at least one of the following screwups. 1) they told someone they were going to do it, 2) Someone they knew suspected that they would, and bided their time, 3) they didn't drain it gradually and since a big withdrawl gets attention....

-- Bill (billclo@msgbox.com), December 11, 1999.

You forgot 4) they don't exist.

Within a week after the infamous Media Management agenda began, the country was flooded with a story about some guy who took out his life savings, buried it in his backyard, and had it promptly stolen.

The curious thing is that in each place the story was reported, it was reported as a *local* story. Amazingly, it was always the same amount of money (IIRC, a nice round number like $20,000), it was always buried in the back yard, and it was always stolen.)

What an amazing series of coincidences, eh?

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 11, 1999.


Eh? I thought it was a little old lady dipping into her grandkids' college fund because she had lived through the depression and was treasonous enough to believe it could happen again, the savage old socialist hag. Just got what she deserved, right. ;)

-- Mmmm (_@_._), December 11, 1999.

Honestly, IMHO I believe the majority of press releases are from a bunch of yahoos sitting in a room going, "Hey! Hey! Let's see if they'll buy THIS one....hehehe!"

-- nowheretogo/no-onetotrust (*****@%%%%%.com), December 11, 1999.


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