Dragons Attacking Gulf Coast Beaches are a Bigger Menace Than the Oil Spill

by Chip Merlin

The Destin beach’s white sugar sand was in full glory yesterday. While flying back to Tampa and looking down on the crystal blue water and the most gorgeous stretch of beach in the United States, I told Corey Harris that such beauty and fun is being wasted because of fear caused by the oil spill. A funny YouTube video about the current threat of oil and dragons makes the point:



The economy along the northern Gulf Coast is being destroyed because of unnecessary tourist cancellations and vacation plan changes. The truth is that the BP Oil Spill has not physically impacted the islands or beaches in Florida. Instead, the media coverage caused by the spill is impacting the Gulf Coast economy. Florida's leaders from Miami-Dade and Broward County may want to consider this the next time they place themselves in the media to show concern about the crisis. They may want to make their preparations in a more quiet way or damn the people they are trying to help.

The condominium shown in the video, Edgewater Beach Condominium, is a lead client of ours in the class action lawsuit we have filed. We have added a distinguished class action attorney, Adam Moskowitz, and his firm, Kozyak Tropin and Throckmorton, to the team of lawyers with the notable Florida panhandle firm of Keefe, Anchors Gordon & Moyle. On Friday, we amended the class action complaint and also filed an emergency motion for injunctive relief.

The other condominium shown in the video is one of a number of individual commercial clients we represent that have been economically damaged by the oil spill. The recurrent property insurance coverage question people are asking is 'what happens if a hurricane pelts my property with oil?' My first response is that people should not worry about perils that may never occur, except to have the most broad coverage they can obtain. Second, I am not certain whether the scenario will happen, because the oil probably would not fly into a structure, but only get carried in the water as part of the storm surge. I anticipate that many carriers would claim that the cause of the loss would be flood rather than wind, and we would be in the same wind versus water quagmire that plagues us in so many other hurricane events. We can speculate on those coverage issues later. My suggestion today is to buy flood insurance now.

In the meantime, visit and enjoy the sun and water along Florida's beaches. We'll take care of the dragons.