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April 24 from 1:00 PM-2:00 PM EST

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Hi everyone!

Last week I got a letter from the insurance company that has our homeowners' policy. It said:

"Most insurance policies will not respond to whatever types of losses are created by the year 2000 event. The insurance industry sees the year 2000 event as a known occurrence and therefore one for which coverage cannot be provided."

And, the letter continued: "While this is certainly an issue we all need to address, it iw not necessarily one where an option will be available through insurance."

In other words, whatever happens, we're not covered.

Or are we? I think the picture is murky. It doesn't actually say anything about Y2K non-coverage in our policy, so can they retroactively limit their coverage? Are we assumed to agree if we don't object? For a moment I thought about writing back a letter telling them we disagree, but then I imagine they'll just drop our policy altogether.

Meanwhile, deeper pockets than ours are fighting this issue out. GTE is suing five insurance companies, seeking to recover the $400 million it's spent (so far) on its Y2K repairs. It claims the insurance companies assured GTE there would be no Y2K restrictions, which is why it renewed with them. The insurance companies say they DID tell GRE they were excluding Y2K and it can't expect coverage now. Stay tuned for more court battles.

Meanwhile, the insurance industry has asked permission from all 50 states to specifically exclude Y2K from its policies, and has gotten a yes in nearly all cases.

And the new Y2K limit of liability bill treats the glitch as an act of God, further strengthening the insurance industry's claim not to cover it. (Incidentally, I think the bill is in many ways a good thing--mostly because it protects small businesses--but write me and tell me if you disagree.)

While the giants of industry fight this out, I think the little people like me and you can just assume we're not covered--and plan accordingly.

What do you think? Have you gotten similar communications from your insurance carrier?

Let me know!

Minda Zetlin
Y2K Poderator
[email protected]
Author of Surviving the Computer Time Bomb: How to Prepare for and Recover from the Y2K Explosion (Amacom, 1999), available at real and virtual bookstores, or by calling (800) 262-9699