Freezing temperatures not only can affect driving conditions, it can cause havoc on your pipes.  One of the most common claims(other than sump-pump failure) at your home is a frozen pipe bursting and leaking water to all parts of your home.  It is common and costly.  Broken pipe claims average $15,000.00 of damages to your personal property or structure.  A lot of times it is easily prevented if you take a couple additional steps in your planning and maintenance.

1. Be smart or don’t be cheap: If you are selling your house or you own a property your in between renters take extra precaution.  This seems so simple but many people forget about this.  There are those people that are cheap and don’t want to spend the money on heating a property that is not being used.  Okay, we can understand that mindset.  Please spend the extra money though to have the house properly winterized. Now, if pipes break you can go after the winterizing company to pay for damages instead of your own pocket or insurance company.
2. Going on a trip: Have someone consistently go to the property and check on things if you planning on going on a trip or you know you are not going to be there for an extended period of time.  Document the visits on paper or take pictures with a date stamp to prove the visits.  Sometimes your insurance company will like to see some proof of visits to make sure it wasn’t pure neglect of the property.  Your insurance company wants to take care of you but laziness is not a covered claim.  The fact there are lazy people who try to beat the system now forces the honest people to show proof that you are not neglecting the property.
3. Staying at home: There is nothing wrong with controlling your utility bill.  Don’t let it get out of hand though.  Keep the temperature at your home warm enough to keep pipes in your walls thawed.  If you want to be safe, run your faucet with a slight trickle to keep water moving in your pipes to help prevent freezing.
4. Insulate your pipes: Slab houses typically have the plumbing running through the attic.  This will leave your pipe exposed to the high probability of a burst happening. Putting a heat tape around the pipes will definitely help keep pipes from freezing.   Insulate the pipe to prevent cold temperatures from reaching it. Find air leaks in your home and properly insulate.  Fireplaces and vents are areas of the house where cold air can easily penetrate and freeze unsuspecting pipes.

Don’t let freezing temperatures infect your home to only damage your prized possessions and property.  These are simple ideas but could make a big difference when taking preventative actions.

Have any other tips? Leave them in the comments below.

The biggest reason a vacant home can be difficult or expensive to insure is because a very small problem left unattended can become a very large problem. Take for example a leaky sink. I insured an apartment building a few years ago and when the tenant moved out they did not turn off the plumbing completely on the second floor when they removed the appliances. The dripping was so slow it was almost unnoticeable but over a couple of days the drops of water accumulated and brought the ceiling down on the kitchen on the first floor and destroyed some cabinets. If no one is actively monitoring the property on a daily basis, a home can really accumulate some substantial damage.

Another problem vacant buildings have is vandalism, malicious mischief, or theft. A property left alone is prone to attract the wrong element especially in a more urban area like Detroit. We have cases in Detroit where other investors steal cabinets, plumbing (especially copper), and other building materials for their own property. They pull up in a truck and the neighbors believe the home is undergoing renovation or repairs. They leave without even raising a red flag. It’s not an epidemic, but it does cause enough large claims with the insurance company that eventually affects all policy holders by creating higher premiums. Many homes are being stripped for salvage or personal use. We also had a home insured that was used for a dog fighting arena because someone knew the property had been vacated.

The most common reason vacant homes are difficult to insure is because insurance companies are not equipped nor do they have the type of specialized underwriters the company would need to properly rate insurance on vacant properties. Insurance companies need to make profits to stay in business and usually write predictable risks they can underwrite successfully.

There are companies that specialize in vacant home insurance and are offered by some agents. The hard part is finding the agent who knows the product and also writes for a company that offers the type of policy you want.Many agents will write the policies through a state fair plan that has limited coverage and extremely strict guidelines for vacant homes. They are also very expensive.

We specialize in insuring homes, landlords, and investors properties. We insure tenant occupied and vacant properties even while they are being rehabbed.

For advise or a quote please visit our website at http://www.getgliga.com or call us at 888-438-4544.

The Home Insurance Specialists.

Great Lakes Insurance Group Agency

Recently, a situation came up with an insured that in the end is not going to be happy.  They have reached their policy limit with their personal property coverage.  Now, in retrospect everybody played a part in the displeasure of the client.  The agent, adjuster and restoration contractor all played a role in the communication breakdown.  How can we avoid this happening again?

Usually personal property coverage is only an issue when the insured has reached their policy limit.  Sure, some are annoyed by the process of replacing their contents.  They only get Actual Cash Value for their contents and then will recieve the depreciation that was applied when they actually buy and replace the lossed item.  But things really hit the fan when they are approaching or hit their limit of coverage.  Typically, this happens when the damage to their property was heartbreakingly bad.

Insurance Tips for your Personal Property Coverage:

1. Review your contents coverage every year when you renew your policy.  You can buy and store up a lot of new personal property in a year.  Did you buy some high ticket items?  Did you buy anything that might need to be additionally insured?  It may be time to increase your coverage.  Call you agent and discuss your options.
2. Stay in direct communication with your restoration contractor through out the process.  Things cost money.  The restoration contractor has huge costs they incur when managing your contents restoration.  Their bill is going to be higher that what you will expect.  They are trained professionals and have the technology to restore your property the right way.  Decide on your contractor and have them start the work.  Ask them before they clean anything to go over the bill personally.  This way you will understand exactly how much it is going to cost.  This cost comes out of your personal property coverage.
3. Storage charges add up.  Your contents are stored until your house his ready to be moved back in.  This cost is dependent on your whoever is repairing your home.  The longer they take to repair your home, the higher your storage charges are going to be.  This will decrease our available funds to replace your damaged contents.  Have a plan with your restoration contractor.  You need to know exactly how long the repairs are going to take and stick to the plan.
4. Keep a running total yourself.  It takes extra paperwork but you should know where you are in comparison to your limit.  Sometimes the adjuster is hard to get a hold of.  Some don’t want to give you information until they have everything turned in from you and the restoration contractor.  This will leave you in limbo.  Keeping track of the totals from all parties will help you make educated decisions.

We hope with these tips you can go through your claim with a little more knowledge to properly prepare yourself.  Decisions are going to be difficult but going in with out the proper knowledge will only make matters worse for you.

Just a quick article about American Families new research center that will be testing the effects of weather to possibly save the customer money.

New industry research center could save you money in the future

American Family Insurance is participating in an industry research center that will test the impact of wind, hail, rain and fire on siding, roofing and other home-construction materials.

The center is being built in South Carolina by the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), of which American Family is a member. The goal of the research center is to help develop better building materials to make homes safer and reduce losses in the property and casualty industry.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the research center was held Sept. 16. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2010.

This industry-owned and -operated research facility will allow testing of all kinds of extreme weather conditions on a variety of structures and building materials.

Scientists at the center will be able to subject one- and two-story buildings of up to 2,000 square feet to winds and wind-blown water similar to a Category 3 hurricane, realistic hailstorms and wind-blown fire embers.

Industry backers hope the center will have a similar impact as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, whose car-crash tests have had a major impact on improving auto safety and forcing automakers to make better cars. If it does, the center could positively impact insurance rates – saving consumers money down the road.

IBHS, based in Tampa, Fla., is an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organization supported by the property insurance industry. The organization works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other risks to residential and commercial property by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.

Research center details

The lab will include 105 powerful fans, each 7 feet in diameter.

Research specimens will reside on a 52-foot-wide turntable inside a 145-foot-square, 70-foot tall test chamber.

The center will include an outdoor specimen-aging area.

High-speed cameras will record the testing, so consumers, insurers, public policymakers and other stakeholders can view it.

The center is being built in Chester County, S.C., south of Charlotte, N.C.

The center will employ about 20 people.

Construction will be environmentally friendly, using natural sound barriers and landscaping, renewable energy, and reclaiming/cleaning of water and air used in testing.

This rendition of a new insurance industry research center shows some of the 105 intake fans, which will be used to generate hurricane-force winds and test the impact on siding, roofing and other home-construction materials.

Follow me on Twitter, @adamviet

We here at the Insurance Paper wish everybody a safe holiday.  It’s a great time to reflect on the year and be thankful for the blessings that we do have, even though trials can be hard to forget. There is always something to be thankful for, just take a second and think.

Along with all this thankfulness, cooking and fellowship we tend to forget how to be safe while doing so.  Our minds are too consumed with hurring to get out the door to a relatives house or cleaning the house if company is coming over.

Let’s keep a couple things in mind to keep the holiday a festive one to remember and not a tragic one.

Insurance Tips for Cooking:

A recent study shows that 40% of house fires start in the kitchen.  This stat increases our odds for a possible devastating Thanksgiving.  Lets keep in mind some of these tips while we are making that fabulous turkey!

• If you need to walk away from your cooking station, find someone to overlook the situation while you step away.
• Keep pot holders, dishtowels, food packaging and clothing away from burners.  This is one of the biggest culprits of a kitchen fire.  Set a 2 foot safe zone around these areas to help prevent such a fire
• Make sure and clean your cookware, cook-tops and range hoods.  Grease and oil buildup can cause a serious fire when such areas get hot.
• Keep Children Away from the cooking area.  Children tend to get under our feet.  This can cause a tripping hazard causing something to spill on the unsuspecting little one. Set up a zone for no children.  I know it’s hard but maybe zone your kitchen as a no children zone.  Good Luck!
• Keep pot lids handy.  When your cooking on the stove and a fire occurs in the pan. Use pot lid, preferably the matching size, and cover it.  Never use water.

Insurance Tips for Driving:

• Do not drink and drive.  Thanksgiving statistically is one of the biggest drinking and driving holidays.  This may seem like common sense but please for my daughters sake don’t drink and drive.
• Defensive Driving.  There will be a lot of cars on the road. Which mean a lot of bad drivers.  Keep in mind that not everyone drives like you.  Be ready for anything to pop out causing a driving hazard.

We are thankful for all the readers out there and supporters making this site a great informational tool for the public.  We wish a great holiday for everybody and don’t forget to be safe!

You just had an insurance claim at your home and you are not happy.  Your house is in shambles and there is nothing you want more than to be able to be in your home under normal circumstances.  The thought of dealing with your insurance company makes you cringe and you just HOPE that the process goes well.  Next, you just got off the phone with the insurance claims center that seems to be located 100’s of miles away from you and they say “Your adjuster will be in touch with you in 24 hours.”  Okay, okay you can deal with that, you know your not the only claim that happened today.

The cell phone now is permanently attached to your belt and you wait patiently.  I bet you even called once before the 24 hour window was up just to make sure they got the claim through.  The claims office says “Yes your claim has been entered and the adjuster will contact you.” Okay, your a little irritated, but you still remember that the 24 hours isn’t up yet.  What do you do now?  Probably stay at a family members house, or if you have an on going water damage you deal with your restoration company.

36 hours has passed and a ring to the cell phone has never sounded any better.  The adjuster wants to set up an appointment with you for the next day.  The sarcasm in your voice is definitely noted by the adjuster and he/she knows its not going to be pleasant when they arrive. We definitely understand your feeling.  You are sitting in devastation and your insurance company is not doing what they said they were going to do.  Now, your confidence has just dropped and your ready to raise hell on the adjuster that will come to the door.  Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t take it out on the adjuster.

1. Insurance Adjuster Territory

An adjuster has one of the most driving required jobs.  The territories they are responsible for seem to be getting wider and wider. One adjuster might have the responsibility to cover multiple counties that can stretch for miles.  There are some insurance companies that might only have 5-10 adjusters to cover an entire state!  One claim can take the adjuster one day to go and see the loss and come back.  This is very time consuming and can cause major delays.  So don’t be alarmed or upset if they only set one appointment with you and don’t come back throughout the process.

2. Amount of Claims To Handle

This one kind of goes hand and hand with the first.  If you look at the territory they handle this only could mean that there are a lot of property claims to be responsible for.  This is not to justify why your claim is taking so long to be processed. We want to give you knowledge to hopefully understand it may not be the adjusters fault.  An adjuster might in one particular area for days if it got swarmed by a storm. This would restrict them from getting to other claims in other areas.

During the Insurance Claim

Next, you FINALLY have the claim started and you’re rolling with your contractors plan to get the work done.  Half of the work is completed on your home and you are feeling great…until you get a call.  Your contractor has been working hard to get the work completed but they have financed the entire job up to this point.  They were promised a down stroke check to help finance job.  Cash makes the world turn and doing work for free doesn’t really help your business.  Your contractor has to stop doing work because they are taking a stance.  You can understand, it’s like you spending $20,000.00 to replace unrestoreable personal property out of of your pocket but you never received the money from the adjuster.  But, sometimes this is not your adjusters fault.

3. Adjuster Management Approval

Adjusters have certain guidelines to follow throughout the claim.  This could be from paperwork flow to time frame to check authorization.  Adjusters have limitations to follow when it comes to writing a check for a claim.  Some of this can be based on how long the adjuster has been employed with the company or strictly the insurance companies rules.  The check will have to wait for management approval when the dollar amount exceeds the allotted authorization the adjuster has.  Now, your in waiting pattern until the manager has gone through all of the other authorizations and problems the have come before your claim.  The only thing you can do is wait or call and try to put a bug in the managers ear.

4. Catastrophes Happen

There are so many adjusters in the field to handle claims in a particular area which can be trouble when a catastrophe happens in other parts of the country.  Hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes can cause a high demand for adjusters.  This will cause your adjuster to be temporarily relocated to help in the catastrophic area.  Now your left with an adjuster with a voice mail box full from other clients looking for him.  Please understand that these things happen and are not planned. Give a little extra time in your mind for your own claim to be completed.  This will vary from each insurance company.  Some insurance companies don’t relocate adjusters, instead they hirer independent firms to handle catastrophe claims.  Some even have a catastrophe claims department.  These are adjusters that only handle CAT claims and travel all the time.  But there are times it doesn’t matter, there are some catastrophes that need all the adjusters they can get ie; Hurricane Katrina.

We realize that sometimes the adjuster is at fault.  Usually, these mistakes are heighten because now it is effecting a homeowner in a devastating need.  We all, in our own jobs, have made mistakes and have slacked off.  If you need help ask for manager assistance.  Be careful how you compose yourself and give your two cents.  Don’t take it out on the adjuster if in deed it is not his/her fault. Ask first why there is a problem and direct your displeasure with the right people.

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I had water damage at my house in January of 2003 because of a frozen pipe in my bathroom.  Me and my husband were out of town for two weeks and had turned the heat down to 65 while were gone.  Turns out while we were in sunny Cancun with 85 degree weather, it was 10 below at home.  It was so cold that our pipe that led to the kitchen sink froze and broke.

We are still not sure how long it was running.  But it caused major damage to our home.  The water had run through our main level and into the basement.  We knew we were in trouble when we saw ice on our windows when we came home.  This is something we definitely did not want to see, especially because we were traveling all day and wore out.  The first thing we did was call our agent.  They help instruct us what to do.

The told us to first turn the main water off.  Then while on the phone they started the claim for us and transferred us to a claims center.  Seeing that we had no idea how to handle something like this, they offered us a program option where they have pre approved contractors that can help right away.  We accepted and within an hour there were men at my door ready to get started with the work.

A couple days later the adjuster came and helped me with my personal property damage and to give me recommendations.  The general contractor had already started writing his estimate for Allstate and I felt really comfortable with the whole process.

My house was complete after about 2 months of construction, which is about what I expected.  My house looks better than what it looked like before the loss.  I have heard many horror stories about insurance claims so I was on guard throughout the process.  At the end of it all, I am pretty satisfied and happy that it all went well.

The claim process can be full of priorities.  Paperwork, returning phone calls, proof of loss, unrestoreable contents and above all else the client should be the highest priority. One of the biggest problems; everybody is different.  Wow, that is really profound, I know.  But really, you have to truly grasp the idea when a claim is filed.  That first initial phone call to the insured after an insurance loss is yet another first impression for them.  How you handle the client will somewhat set the tone of how the claim will be handled going forward.

If you call and the insured has any ill will or uneasy feeling afterward, they could be on guard and defensive throughout the claim.  This can cause major delays in the process and possibly more money and time for you.  The goal at the end of the insurance claim is a happier client.  I chose “happier” intentionally.  You can’t always count on a client to be completely happy at the end of it all.  For one, them going through a claim, especially if it’s devastating, will never make them completely ecstatic at the end.  They usually have the feeling of “I wish this never happened to me” attitude.  I would consider it a successful claim process if you have a client “happier” at completion than when it first happened.  But obviously, if the client is happier at the end because they don’t have to work with you again is a bad thing.

Every client I have run into can be put into one of these 5 categories.  But, the same client can be in different categories at different parts of the claim.  I’ve handled insured’s that went from “The Crier” to “The Laugher” in a period of 5 minutes.  Handling the insured properly throughout each category will only help your chances of a successful claim process.

The Crier

There is nothing more uncomfortable then getting on the phone or in person and talking to a hysterical person.  How can you truly say “I understand” if you have never gone through a claim as severe as the one they just went through?  The goal with this type of insured is to make it all about them.  When you are making first contact, let them be and give them all the time in the world.  Handle them slowly.  Give them comforting words like, “I’m sorry for your loss(meaning insurance loss)”,“Is everything going at the pace you are comfortable with?” and “What can we do to help you right now?”  They need comfort and stability to know everything is going to be okay.
This type usually will go from “The Crier” to another type through a little time.  How you handle them now will help them go straight to “The Cheerleader” and hopefully soon.

The Hater

This is one of the most difficult to handle. These insured are usually bitter about what just happened and sometimes with just cause.  More than likely they are really upset about the loss because it was either something that was done intentionally to them (vandalism, break in, arson) or a dumb mistake by someone else (left sump pump unplugged, spotty work by a previous contractor).  Sometimes, who can blame them?  I would be just as upset.  But they don’t know how this is affecting the claim process.  Everybody will be walking on eggshells around them.

This is one area where you want them to feel like you understand.  If the same thing happened to you, by all means tell them you went through the exact same thing. Now, if you haven’t had this happen to you, say things like “I would be upset if that happened to me” or if the client is pretty vulgar you should be safe to say “That would piss me off” without them looking down at you.  In fact some will actually feel better.  The client wants to feel justified for being upset.  By giving them that feeling they will feel better about themselves and calm down over time and move to “The Cheerleader” insured.

The Laugher

There are people that deal with rough situations by laughing or being too jovial. Beware, underneath could be any of the other types laying dormant ready to come out.  Treat this delicately.  You should give in a little to the humor to find out what their true feeling is about the situation.  Then you can handle them accordingly.  This is a tough predicament to be in.  Please don’t be too involved with the humor because they can take it the wrong way and go straight to becoming “The Hater.” Sometimes, there are a few people that are just that way.  It is in their blood.  They like to laugh and be happy.  This isn’t a bad thing.  Be careful and on your toes a little just to be on the safe side.

The Challenger

This is a handle full of people that have too high of expectations.  They don’t understand the process and never will.  Most of the time it’s a long road ahead and there is nothing you can do to weather the storm.  It’s almost impossible for them to understand that you want to help and you understand.  At the end of the claim some will leave your agency no matter what happens.  In this case, pull out your insurance handbook, dot your I’s and cross your T’s.  Please don’t lose sleep over it.  Try your best but don’t cater because you will lose your mind and it will never stop.  Please understand that you will run into this group of people again and again.  It helps getting through it.

Sometimes, client like this are craving for someone to put them in their place.  They actually enjoy and need it.  You can transform this person by telling them off in a nice but direct way.  “Mrs. Jones, you have too high of expectations.  Stop.  We want to help you but you have to let us do our job.”  It may come time for you to stick your heals in the ground.  If you are not that type of person to be confrontational have someone else in your office do it.  Just don’t break your company policy by using the wrong words.

The Cheerleader

Every other type has the possibility to transform into “The Cheerleader” client.  Really, that is our goal isn’t it?  These are the best to deal with.  We, unfortunately by human nature, try harder for these people.  We go WAY beyond what is expected.  These clients are going to be our major cheerleaders for us down the road.  They do their part of the claim, ask quality questions and let us do what we love.  Often, they may be a little too involved but we don’t mind and actually understand why they are doing it.

The only thing that can ruin this relationship is if you REALLY screw it up.  Too many phone calls not returned can make this turn ugly.  If this relationship goes sour, we have nothing to blame but ourselves.  Just do the job that you love, servicing people, and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Conclusion

Every insured has different needs.  Identifying those early is the key to success.  This will help decipher what path you are going down and what path your going to take to bring them to “The Cheerleader.” When I make the first contact with the insured I try and asking them a question up front and see how they respond.  If it’s a fire loss, I ask “I was just informed you had a fire at your home, is everybody okay?” and gauge their response. Servicing the client is our number one goal and priority.  Anything we can do to help them become “The Cheerleader” will help them be a happier client in the end.