Lisa
I am looking into buying a generator. I lived in MA all my life and we rarely lost power for more than a few hours at a time. Doen here, the power goes out easier and it takes them so much longer to fix it!

As for insurance coverage, I did ask and was told that the deductable did apply....and that's $500. As for frivolous, I know from personal experience that there are 2 things with reporting claims. First they can and will cancel you and second they will report you to the underwriters and if THEY cancel you, it's almost impossible to get another policy. I had the underwriters cancel me one....prescence of a "vicious" dog...and had to a friend (who was also my agent) call them and get it back. If the underwriters won't accept you it will be difficult if not impossible to get adequate coverage!

On the freezer front, I always had an upright....until it died over the summer....and I definitly prefer them. But, since it's pretty much just me and my son here I don't want to get a big one, and the chests come smaller...I'm looking at buying a 7 cu ft) They also retain their cold better than uprights, since cold air sinks....everytime you open and upright you loose cold from the bottom....this doesn't happen with chests.

Thanks for the responses everyone....this was more of a rant than anything!