To the Editor:

Your recent front page mudslide story prompted me to write this cautionary tale so that I could share it with my neighbors.&bsp; I, like so many others in this area, have suffered multiple basement floods (three in the last month), apparently due to the phenomenal amount of rain weve been experiencing recently. &bsp;

Like the rest of us caught up in this, I am now many thousands of dollars deep in unanticipated debt.&bsp; And I will receive no help with it from my insurance company.

Like the rest of you, I live in an area that is not considered to be in a flood plain.&bsp; I was under the impression I did not need Flood Insurance. &bsp;

But, because the water seeped in through the foundation wall, I am solely responsible for the repair and replacement costs of this horrendous damage.&bsp; It never occurred to me to be concerned about flooding from natural causes.&bsp; I was very wrong and as a result, I am very close to being financially undone.

Please take heed from my experience.&bsp; It is very much time to reread your home insurance policies and, if it isnt too late, to add a Flood Insurance clause or addendum. &bsp;

I am astonished at how many people in this area have gone through the same experience.&bsp; I wonder if they were covered or was I the only dumb one?&bsp; Somehow I doubt it.

It is extremely difficult to not be bitter about my situation, especially with all the extremely bad publicity the medical insurance companies are currently experiencing, being so fresh in my thoughts. &bsp;

Please keep in mind:&bsp; no insurance company is in the business of protecting you.&bsp; They are in the business of making profits for their stockholders.&bsp; Every claim they turn down is money in their pocket, not yours.&bsp; Check your policy today and act in your best self-interest.&bsp; If you dont, nobody else will.

Peter J Saputo

New Market Road