Rhonda Dunaway
06-23-2008, 08:48 PM
Someday I will write a book called "When You Are Struck by Lightning." Our house or yard or something extremely close by was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm a couple of weeks ago. The lightning strike resulted in a power surge that fried a very large number of our electronics and appliances. So far, we have had to repair or replace our desktop computer, modem and router, an audio receiver, a portable television, telephone, furnace, air conditioner, garage door opener, several of our lights and probably some more items that I either can't recall right now or still don't know about.
The past two weeks have been a blur of phone calls, service calls, repair people (some of whom have been wonderful and some of whom have treated us like complete morons when we've asked them to explain the highly technical terms they used), trips to drop off and pick up equipment and absolutely hideous repair bills. We contacted our insurance company right away, but were informed that not only was there a $1700 deductible involved, but that our premiums would also be raised if we made a claim. Our repairs bills to date have already far surpassed the $1,000 mark and are quickly approaching the $2,000 mark. I probably won't know the final damages for a few more weeks.
As a result of this incident, Pa Barker and I are going to be adding a whole house power surge protection plan offered by OPPD to our electrical bill for around $6 a month. This will protect us from further such repair bills should we, God forbid, ever find ourselves in this situation again. Pa and I are telling all of our family members, friends and co-workers about what happened to us so that they can sign up for the surge protection plan and avoid a mishap like ours. With all the storms that continue to occur, I believe it's well worth the small monthly fee to buy yourself a little extra protection.
When I told a friend about this recently, she said, "Rhonda, I don't want to offend you, but you really are unlucky." I responded, "Yeah, it's true, but you better not stand too close to me when you say that because you don't want to get struck by lightning, too."
The past two weeks have been a blur of phone calls, service calls, repair people (some of whom have been wonderful and some of whom have treated us like complete morons when we've asked them to explain the highly technical terms they used), trips to drop off and pick up equipment and absolutely hideous repair bills. We contacted our insurance company right away, but were informed that not only was there a $1700 deductible involved, but that our premiums would also be raised if we made a claim. Our repairs bills to date have already far surpassed the $1,000 mark and are quickly approaching the $2,000 mark. I probably won't know the final damages for a few more weeks.
As a result of this incident, Pa Barker and I are going to be adding a whole house power surge protection plan offered by OPPD to our electrical bill for around $6 a month. This will protect us from further such repair bills should we, God forbid, ever find ourselves in this situation again. Pa and I are telling all of our family members, friends and co-workers about what happened to us so that they can sign up for the surge protection plan and avoid a mishap like ours. With all the storms that continue to occur, I believe it's well worth the small monthly fee to buy yourself a little extra protection.
When I told a friend about this recently, she said, "Rhonda, I don't want to offend you, but you really are unlucky." I responded, "Yeah, it's true, but you better not stand too close to me when you say that because you don't want to get struck by lightning, too."