Continuing Loss

Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power in the northeast. Yesterday a nor’easter blew through the area cuttings power to added thousands. Temperatures have dropped and overnight temps have been below freezing. None of this bodes well for pipes.  The question that arises is what happens if your pipes freeze because you have no heat? Is that a continuation of Sandy or a new loss altogether?

I think the answer depends upon how it benefits the homeowner. Frozen pipes are covered on most homeowner’s policies. If you are not living in your house due to its being damaged you should take the extra  step of shutting off the water service, if possible and draining the toilet tanks to prevent freezing. If you have done that and still experience a frozen pipe then you should have no push back from the insurance company. If you’re living in the house and need water to flush the toilet and cook, then you have to make do with what you have.

As to whether it is a continuation of Sandy and hence only one deductible, I would make the argument it is, but if a deductible is all that stands in the way of a recovery, take the money and run. 

Don't forget, if you have a claim and need help, check out BenefitBill to learn about the claims process and how to make your insurance claim.

Have a great day!

Bill

Water and Wind

  

In every hurricane there is always an argument over whether water or wind caused the loss. When I talk about water, I am talking about flood and not water that comes through a damaged roof or window. In the case of flood water, if you didn’t purchase a flood policy, you won’t have coverage under your homeowner’s policy. So the argument of water verses wind has financial consequences. Even if you have flood coverage it may have financial consequences if there is not enough flood coverage to pay for your loss.

As a general strategy, work to get as much damage covered under the policy with the greatest limits. And don’t concede to flood property that was first damaged by wind and subsequently damaged by flood. 

After Hurricane Katrina a famous attorney tried to convince the Mississippi court that flood was an ambiguous tem in the homeowner’s policy. That court didn’t buy his argument.  Chances are good that the court of the land will not buy a similar argument in your area either. So if you have both flood damage and wind damage, but don’t have flood insurance, look to identify all the signs of wind damage and assert that as a part of your claim against the wind policy. Not sure how to do that?

Go to BenefitBill. I’ve just posted a new video and workbook on this very subject.

An Einstein Kind of Day

I ran across this post today in Google and it made me laugh, because sometimes I have an Einsteinian day where I too don’t know where I am going.

Albert Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle,
punching the tickets of every passenger.
When he came to Einstein,
Einstein reached in his vest pocket.
He couldn’t find his ticket,
so he reached in his trouser pockets.
It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it.
Then he looked in the seat beside him.
He still couldn’t find it.
The conductor said,
‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.
We all know who you are.
I’m sure you bought a ticket.
Don’t worry about it.’
Einstein nodded appreciatively.
The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets.
As he was ready to move to the next car,
he turned around and saw the great physicist
down on his hands and knees
looking under his seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said,
‘Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry,
I know who you are. No problem.
You don’t need a ticket.
I’m sure you bought one.’
Einstein looked at him and said,
‘Young man, I too, know who I am.
What I don’t know is where I’m going. That’s why I am searching for my ticket”

Since this is a blog about insurance, I suppose I should tie this into claims because for most people having an insurance claim is like being Einstein on that train. They don’t know where they are going, nor how to get there. They are just along for the ride and at the end find themselves vaguely dis-satisfied  with the result.

Starting out with the end in mind is way to increasing your recovery. Don’t know where to start? BenefitBill can help.

Have a great day!

Bill

What’s So Special About October Thru January?

Most of us are attuned to wildfire season during the hot dry months of late spring through early fall in the west. The press is ablaze (pardon the pun) with stories of wildfires covering thousands of acres. Unless you’re in a vicinity of one of those blazes, the reports on the TV or in the newspapers is little more than news.  It really doesn’t affect you but it’s nice to be kept informed. The period between October thru January is another matter altogether. This is fire season too, only these fires are more likely to occur in your home. In 2010, 362,100 residential fires resulted in 2,555 deaths, 13,275 injuries and more than $6.6 billion in property losses.[1]

The question is: are you prepared? Not from an insurance standpoint, but from a life safety standpoint. According to the article, most fatalities in house fires, 70% actually occur when the victim is sleeping and inhales smoke and fumes or when they blindly open the door seeking to escape.  It’s a good idea to have a safety plan in place prior to a fire rather than trying to develop one on the fly. This is all the more important if you have kids. Simple things, like where to go after you get outside, always sleeping with the bedroom door shut and then never opening that door without first checking for heat on the other side can save your life in the event of an emergency. Here’s something I would not have thought about until after I read the article: keep all the toys and stuff away from the window and let your kids know that in an emergency, it’s ok to rip down the blinds and break the window if you need to get out of the house. 

And as for you parents, if the hall is filled with smoke, don’t try to get your kids from that route. Rather break into the window and haul them out the way you got in. remember, practice your plan and have a safe and great day!

Bill

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[1] Readingeagle.com (http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=420976&goback=.anp_4537065_1350518857527_1)

What Is A Claim To Insurance Companies?

       

I am working with Mitchell on a claim, and his claim and my post yesterday got me thinking about claims from the insurance company’s perspective. By way of some background, in the claim that Mitchell is working on the supervising adjuster is being very aggressive and demanding to the point of being insulting and demeaning to both him and the insured. Needless to say it’s gotten off to a bad start and letters have been flying back and forth. But still it got me to thinking about what a claim is to an insurance company.

Now a lot of you may be thinking that a claim is an expense and you’d be right, but I think it’s much more than the money that’s going to be paid out. It gets back to understanding why people buy insurance in the first place. Yes, I know you have to buy insurance if you own a car or mortgage a house, but why purchase from one company as opposed to another? Why do folks say I’ve got State Farm Insurance or Allstate Insurance as opposed to just saying I’ve got homeowner’s insurance or auto insurance? I think it’s because there is a perceived value in the company who sold them the policy and a hope that value will be expressed at the time the claim is made. So when I think of claims, I am thinking of opportunity.

A claim is an opportunity from the company’s vantage point to deliver upon that perceived value. To deliver value in the adjustment, to deliver value in the evaluation of damages, to deliver value in the payment of the claim, to deliver value in the relationship that is established between the parties. However, Mitchell’s experience seems to indicate that the insurance company doesn’t look at a claim as a way to deliver value. They are just pissed off at having to pay. In reality what occurred is that the insured is being perceived by the company as trying to get something they don’t deserve.

And that mindset is a wasted opportunity to deliver on that perceived value.

Imagine how different the relationship between insurance company and insured would be if the insurance company fostered and nurtured the concept that a claim is an opportunity to deliver value in the adjustment process. Imagine if the adjuster were more concerned with building a relationship instead of letting the policyholder know what wasn’t covered and what the insurance company couldn’t do. Imagine if they brought to the table solutions rather than objections. I think the bottom line would actually improve. Sure indemnity might increase slightly, but legal and experts expense would certainly drop.

“Would you like a latte with that drywall?”

Bill