Shore owners left high, dry by insurer's demise

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, August, 2006 | by Benjamin Y. Lowe

The slow death of Shelby Casualty Insurance Co. has left thousands of Jersey Shore homeowners scrambling to find new policies before theirs are voided two weeks from today.

The Vesta Insurance Group Inc., Shelby's parent, is being liquidated by the Texas Department of Insurance and will not fulfill premiums after that date. The company, based in Birmingham, Ala., did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Shelby's liquidation has affected 15,000 New Jersey homeowners, including about 4,000 along the Shore, Jim Gardner, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, said yesterday.

"We're scrambling to get replacement policies," said Angela Atohi, the Seaville, N.J., branch manager for the McMahon Agency, of Ocean City. "We're talking...