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

Insurance Claims: No Insured Is An Island

I was speaking with a friend of mine today regarding a potential referral for business. A friend of his has an insurance claim and was apparently having difficulty with their insurer. In short they were out matched and out gunned at every angle. It didn’t help that the insurance company was one of those who hate paying out claims. Now you might say that all insurance companies hate to pay claims, but I am not sure that is correct. I think the vast majority of companies, while not liking to pay claims, see claims as a way to fulfill the promise made when they took the premium. Getting back to my potential referral story: this insurance company hates to pay claims. They are at war with their policyholder and the only one who doesn’t know it is the policyholder. 

This got me to thinking about Benefit Bill™. One of the points that I advocate on that site is team building. You would never consider playing football team without 10 other people on your side (we’re not talking about pickup games here), why do you consider going up against the insurance company without your team in place? Think about it a minute. Your insurance company has a readymade team at their disposal: claims managers, supervisors, adjusters, contractors, engineers, accountants, contents experts, attorneys and the list goes on and on. You do you have?

If you said me, myself and I, and you are going up against the insurance team, my monies on the insurance team. Maybe that’s why so many insured’s wind up settling for pennies on the dollar. If you’re not sure how to build your team, keep checking back with Benefit Bill™ from time to time. We are putting together lessons on team building, one team member at a time. When you begin putting your team together, the odds swing dramatically in your favor. Happy team building… and

Have a Great Day!

Bill

If you're reading this and haven't gone to my Facebook page, please go and "like" Benefit Bill™

Men

I spent a fabulous weekend surrounded by women at the 5^th annual Women’s Prosperity Network Un-Conference. I can’t begin to tell you how much I learned, the speakers were excellent, the information outstanding and I got a few tidbits that I believe will really enable my business to move forward.  If you want to learn more  check out WPNGlobal. Whether you’re a man or woman reading this, if you need a business support network, this is the group for you.

Now you might be asking what does WPNGlobal and the Un-Conference have to do with claims? Well, nothing and actually everything. A successful claim begins with knowledge. Just as BenefitBill™ provides you knowledge about the claims process, WPNGlobal brought together experts in partnering, marketing (traditional, web and social motivations speakers and the like. Each brought a wealth of knowledge to the table. Sometimes knowledge is not enough. BenefitBill™ advocates assembling a team of players to help you in your recovery: from engineers to contractors, to public adjuster and attorneys. WPNGlobal assembled a team of experts for the weekend to assist every attendee in need. 

When you experience a loss, having knowledge, a willingness to partner up with professionals, finding and researching your potential team members is not enough. The real key is that you have to be willing to take action. You have to be willing to pursue your recovery, team in tow.

So you see making your insurance claim and the Un-Conference have a lot in common: different tools, but the same framework: Knowledge and Partnering to achieve the desired outcome.

Oh, one last thing. I met a lot of really terrific people this weekend too!

Bill 

Roof Damage To Be or Not To Be

I’ve been in the chat rooms today where the conversation remains active regarding State Farm Insurance being investigated in Texas. What has amazed me is the number of adjuster who adamantly state that roof shingles that have been lifted by wind but are otherwise physically fit are not considered to be wind damaged … in their humble opinion. As you might imagine, I adamantly disagree. The crux of their argument, if I understand it correctly is that because the shingles have no other blemishes or observable defects aside from being lifted by wind, that they are not considered as damaged.  

Of course if you are a homeowner, this means you’re not going to get paid.

I believe this type of analysis is flawed and here’s the reason why.  As I’ve stated on many occasions property insurance policies do not insure property: they insure people. They insure people against risk of direct physical loss, but nowhere in the policy does it define what is meant by direct physical loss. So in my not so humble opinion you (the insured) are entitled to the broadest possible interpretation of what constitutes direct physical loss. To restrict the investigation and subsequent observation to the shingles in these situations is myopic at best and wholly disingenuous. Roofs are a system. They are put together in a systematic fashion and each part of that system is dependent upon the other parts to ensure it fully functions as it is supposed to.  When one part of the system fails, as is the case of wind lifted shingles the entire system is impaired. That impairment is direct physical damage.

I used the analogy of a piece of tape being pulled up. When put back into place it never seems to have the strength of bond equivalent to the original bond. Shingles are no different.  The system is broken when the shingle are lifted and no amount of pressing them back into place will restore the system to its’ pre-loss condition. In my not so humble opinion.

Bill