About one year ago today, Hurricane Sandy crashed into a massive stormfront, creating an epic and devastating storm that ravaged much of the New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut coastlines. In addition to the human toll, billions of dollars of property damage included many destroyed homes, commuter cars, and classics that were destroyed and not covered by homeowners insurance.
But some cars were kept, even those that were properly insured and were going to be replaced by the insurance company. American Detours TV [1] took a drive across the north New Jersey coast in a recently-restored 1969 Corvette.
The trip was sponsored in part by American Collectors Insurance, which provided coverage for the 1969 Corvette when Superstorm Sandy hit. Like many thousands of other valuable collector cars, this Corvette was determined a total loss due to the salt water damage. But amazingly the owner, Jay Divone, opted to buy the salvage title back from the insurance company, and restored the car with money out of his own pocket.
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And he isn’t alone; more than 40% of collector cars totaled by the massive superstorm saw their owners buy the car back with the intent to restore it. This two-part journey across North Jersey takes a look at how the state is rebuilding, and how car owners are preparing themselves for the next time. It’s an awesome story of the devotion car collectors show, even at great expense, to one particular vehicle.