Continued from Cover
Still Recovering
clean their tools and equipment. Since then, Collision Depot has installed some generators. Even though they are now fully operational, they are still restoring their building and replacing the $750,000 loss in equipment as they go, due to a lack of insurance. More than 250,000 cars in the NY and NJ area have been totaled due to severe flooding, and Zigman notes a decrease in business because of the vast number of destroyed cars and the influx of rental vehicles in the area. He shares that though he is receiving occasional repair requests caused by the storm, his only hope for now is for the general public to get back on their feet. Zigman says he has noticed increased difficulties with insurance companies as they are investigating claims in greater depth and just generally giving consumers a harder time obtaining repairs. They’ve opted to total many of the damaged vehicles. The insurers have also given Collision Depot some problems regarding partially and fully repaired vehicles that had not yet been picked up; the insurers are objecting to
paying for the repairs on vehicles that were totaled by Sandy’s flooding. Despite the challenges that he faces daily, Zigman maintains a positive outlook and puts his efforts and focus into rebuilding. He states, “What gets me through living with this tragedy is remembering 9/11 and knowing this is nothing but lifestyle changes compared to what others went through then. We will get through this.” Burnside Collision of Inwood, NY, was similarly struck by Sandy’s devastating impact. With several feet of water in their office, all computers and desks were destroyed and had to be replaced. Over two feet of water in their work area demolished their equipment, submerging and ruining their spray booth motor and their Car-O-Liner’s mechanisms. Additionally, the flooding destroyed a number of partially and fully repaired vehicles stored on the property, including police cars and Burnside’s tow truck. All of this destruction forced owner Ronnie Marciano to shut down for two and a half weeks. Though Marciano has noticed an influx in repair business since the storm, he initially had to turn away a great deal of business due to the damage done to his shop, thus losing po-
tential business in addition to the loss of work-in-progress. Several completed cars were also destroyed, and one completed repair which was being stored was completely flooded out, forcing Marciano to fight with the insurance company in order to get paid for the work he had already completed. In addition to the general frustration of declining customers’ repair requests, Marciano faced the difficulty of expenses without the ability to capture business and revenue. Burnside Collision’s current focus is on repairing and replacing the equipment damaged by the storm. Marciano’s house was also flooded, as was his estimator’s and office manager’s homes. Employees who were not affected came to the shop to start working on repairs and get the business back up and running, said Marciano—a credit to his employees’ dedication and his relationship with them. Because of this extra effort, Burnside Collision was able to meet payroll obligations instead of utilizing FEMA’s layoff program. Noting that insurance companies are currently focused on picking up submerged cars, Marciano expects to see more storm-damaged vehicles in
the future. He suggests that many consumers may not yet realize that their cars were damaged by salt water, and he also suspects that some people have avoided submitting claims for fear their insurer will total their vehicle. Though insurers are totaling many cars, Marciano notes that they’ve returned to standard procedure with handling claims. Initially, the volume of claims was overwhelming, causing delays, but by using independent appraisers to manage their volume, insurers have been able to return to normal processing times. Burnside Collision has seen very few flooded cars come in for repairs due to the challenge that owners face when trying to retain their vehicles. Marciano believes that insurance companies should be making decisions on a caseby-case basis instead of making a blanket decision to total so many vehicles. In spite of their own problems, Marciano and his staff helped unload a truck filled with supplies sent from Florida to provide relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Marciano sees this tragedy as a learning experience, stating “We will pick up the pieces and work diligently to move forward and See Still Recovering, Page 42
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