Category Archives: General Information

General Information, Insurance Information

Here’s why some water damage claims aren’t covered

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MAY 09, 2017 | BY MICHAEL JACOBS
The origin of a water leak is frequently a determining factor in whether or not the resulting damage will be covered by a standard homeowners policy.
The origin of a water leak is frequently a determining factor in whether or not the resulting damage will be covered by a standard homeowners policy. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Home water damage comes from many different sources, is classified in different ways, and falls under different areas of coverage.

For instance, natural flooding is considered to be very different from standard water damage and is covered under separate policies. When you’re confronted with a claim, here are some of the things you need to look for to judge the matter correctly according to the policy.

Gradual vs. sudden damage

This is by far the most important distinction. Homeowners insurance is meant to cover sudden unexpected damage to a home. The trouble with water damage is that it can hide for quite a long time before it becomes apparent. This leads to conflicts about whether or not the original cause of the damage was gradual or sudden.

For instance, discovering a crack in a foundation might be a cause for a claim. But if the crack wasn’t found and water seeps into the basement and causes damage that might not be covered because it was gradual. Another example is a slow faucet leak under a sink. If the cabinet floor underneath the sink gets damaged, that’s gradual.

Determining the fate of soft contents after a catastrophe involves more than an educated guess.

Examples of sudden damage include a pipe breaking in a freeze that leads to a huge flood, or a tree poking a hole into the roof of a home after falling and letting storm water in. But these can also lead to secondary damage that doesn’t show up till much later, which can create conflicts with policyholders.

If the smashed roof was repaired, but soaked insulation wasn’t remedied, mold could develop and lead to another claim. A common example is a sudden failure of an appliance. A washer in a dishwasher might gradually fail, but once it does the damage can be sudden.

Policy will be the guide

The policy will be the guide about whether or not this secondary damage can be covered or not. For instance, some states require insurance companies to cover secondary mold damage due to a legitimate water damage claim. It’s up to adjusters to know the exceptions and to understand exactly what the policy covers.

 

Adjusters have to get a clear idea of where the water came from and why before adjusting a claim.
Adjusters have to get a clear idea of where the water came from and why before adjusting a claim. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Water damage vs. flooding

Most homeowners policies will cover sudden water damage except in one major case, flooding. Flooding is not covered by most homeowner’s policies. It requires separate flood insurance. So, how is flooding defined?

In the most general sense, once water from a natural source (e.g., a river or the sky) touches the ground, it is then considered flood water. Your insurance company may put in other restrictions, but this is the core difference. This is why storm water falling in from a hole in the roof is covered by some policies, but a swollen river washing away a porch is not.

However, most homeowners are not conversant with this difference. It is common to say that a room is flooded when there is water all over the floor, and this can set off alarm bells for insurance adjusters. Adjusters have to get a clear idea of where the water came from and why before adjusting a claim. Too many simply hear the word flood and automatically deny it.

How to make a judgment

Deciding which category a claim falls into is tricky, but acquiring evidence is the same as any other claim. Ask for home maintenance records, photos, and descriptions of what the homeowner did before and after the incident.

Interview any professionals including water damage professionals who worked on the situation prior to your examination. Ask if any cleanup work was done and what preventative measures the policyholder took to prevent further damage. From there, it’s just a matter of using your expertise and the wording of the policy to know whether or not the claim is covered.

Michael Jacobs is the head of the public relations department at ServiceProsLocal.com, with a primary focus on customer satisfaction. He focuses on water damage restoration, environmental friendly house building and plant cultivation. Contact him at michael@serviceproslocal.com.

 

General Information

Seniors: The Importance of a Personal Support Network

Elderly lady holding her pet cat

The Importance of a Personal Support Network

The American Red Cross recommends that senior citizens create a personal support network made up of several individuals who will check in on you in an emergency, to ensure your wellness and to give assistance if needed. This network can consist of friends, roommates, family members, relatives, personal attendants, co-workers and neighbors. Ideally, a minimum of three people can be identified at each location where you regularly spend time, for example at work, home, school or volunteer site.

There are seven important items to discuss and implement with a personal support network:

  1. Make arrangements, prior to an emergency, for your support network to immediately check on you after a disaster and, if needed, offer assistance.
  2. Exchange important keys.
  3. Show them where you keep emergency supplies.
  4. Share copies of your relevant emergency documents, evacuation plans and emergency health information card.
  5. Agree on and practice methods for contacting each other in an emergency. Do not count on the telephones working.
  6. You and your personal support network should always notify each other when you are going out of town and when you will return.
  7. The relationship should be mutual. You have a lot to contribute! Learn about each other’s needs and how to help each other in an emergency. You might take responsibility for food supplies and preparation, organizing neighborhood watch meetings and interpreting, among other things.

from: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/seniors

General Information

How to Protect Yourself from Data Breaches

Data breaches seem to be happening more and more often, with data thieves targeting both small companies and global giants.1 Data thieves are always on the lookout—and you should be too. Here’s what you need to know about protecting yourself from data breaches.

How Hacks Can Happen

Technology seems to offer the promise of keeping us safer—so what can lead to hacks? It’s a complicated issue, including:

  • Multiple entry points. People and companies access data from multiple places, including desktop computers, phones and tablets. These are all potential entry points for hackers, making it more complicated to protect against a data breach.
  • High volume of malicious activity. Nearly 1 million pieces of malicious software are published each day,2 making it difficult to guard against every new threat.

How you Can Help Protect Yourself

Whether or not there have been reports of a data breach, you should always do everything you can to keep your information secure. Here are some tips to consider:

  • Create complex passwords. Use different ones for each account, and change your passwords3if a company you’ve recently interacted with gets hacked.
  • Shop with a credit card. You may have less liability for fraudulent credit card charges,4 but you may be responsible for more than $500 in charges if your debit account is hacked.5
  • Watch for fraud. If you receive a notice about the data breach, call the company to confirm that it is legitimate.
  • Guard against identity theft. One in three people who experience a data breach will become an identity theft victim, according to Javelin Strategy & Research.6 If you are one of them, contact each credit card company to set up fraud alerts and freeze your accounts. Then get in touch with your local Social Security office for next steps.
  • Set up account alerts. You may be able to receive notifications of suspicious purchases or those that exceed a certain dollar amount. This may give you a heads-up that you’ve been hacked.

Disclaimer: Farmers and Mike Guiffrida are not responsible for, and does not endorse or approve, either implicitly or explicitly, the content of any third party sites hyperlinked from this page. We have no discretion to alter, update, or control the content on the hyperlinked, third party site. Access to third party sites is at the user’s own risk, is being provided for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any of the products which may be referenced on such third party sites.

1http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/worlds-biggest-data-breaches-hacks/
2http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/14/technology/security/cyber-attack-hacks-security/
3http://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2015/10/14/worried-about-data-breaches-7-steps-to-protect-yourself/#6b3554d94099
4https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST07-001 
5http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/pf/expert/debit-credit-cards/index.html?iid=EL
6https://www.javelinstrategy.com/press-release/new-identity-fraud-victim-every-two-seconds-2013-according-latest-javelin-strategy

Tags: data breach, data breaches, what to do if you are hacked

General Information

Get a Ticket, Go to School

If you get a ticket, that is, a moving violation, make sure you go to Traffic School! If you have no prior tickets in the last 18 months, it will save you lots of money on rate increases and will expunge the ticket from your record.

Talk to Mike about the increase in your rates if you have just one ticket!

General Information

Protecting Your Possessions: Auto Theft 101

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Auto Theft 101 Brochure: This reproducible brochure teaches automobile owners how to protect their vehicles from theft, how to protect items in their vehicles from theft, and how to avoid purchasing vehicles with stolen Vehicle Identification Numbers.

Motor vehicle theft, theft of items from autos, and VIN Cloning are just a few examples of rising crimes of opportunity. Owners must be vigilant and follow common-sense prevention tips to ensure their property is not stolen. Continue reading to learn more about each crime, obtain prevention tips, and find organizations and partners that can help you protect your property.

Motor Vehicle Theft

OVERVIEW
• Motor vehicle theft is usually a crime of opportunity.
• Auto theft can happen fast. An unoccupied car, with its engine left running by the owner, can be stolen in a matter of seconds.
• No geographic area or make or model of car is immune to theft.
• More than two-thirds of all auto theft occurs at night.
• In 2010:
An estimated 737,142 motor vehicle thefts occurred.
Motor vehicle theft cost Americans$4.5 billion.
The average loss per stolen vehicle was $6,152.

IMPLICATIONS
• Parts of cars are often worth more than the whole car. Thieves may deliver stolen cars to chop shops, which illegally sell untraceable parts.
• Law enforcement investigations have shown that criminals involved in domestic auto theft enterprises often perpetrate violent crimes, such as homicide, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and terrorism.
• Car theft drives up insurance premiums, especially in high-theft areas.

PREVENTION TIPS
• ever leave your vehicle unattended with the keys in the ignition.
• Always lock your doors and close your windows when you leave your car.
• Park in busy and well-lighted areas.
• Report auto theft immediately to police and include the make, model, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), and plate number.
• Use alarms and anti-theft devices.
• Use advanced anti-theft precautions, such as etching the vehicle’s VIN into the windows, making the vehicle easier to identify if stolen.
• Install a vehicle tracking system (such as a GPS recovery system). It can help police monitor and recover stolen vehicles.

Theft from Autos

OVERVIEW
• Theft from autos is also a crime of opportunity, often when owners are not vigilant.
• Electronics and portable devices such as iPods, GPS devices, laptops, and cell phones are among items most often targeted. Even small change left visible may be enough to entice a criminal to break a car window.
• Each year, approximately $1.2 billion in personal items are stolen from autos nationwide.
• About 1.85 million thefts happen each year, with countless more attempted break-ins.
PREVENTION TIPS
• Park in busy and well-lighted areas, keeping your car in plain sight.
• Since approximately one-fourth of thefts from vehicles are from unsecured autos, close all of your windows and lock all of your doors.
• Deter would-be thieves by using alarms and anti-theft devices.
• Keep valuable items, including their accessories, out of sight.
• Consider leaving expensive items at home unless they are truly needed, or take them with you when you leave your car.
• Report any suspicious activity that you see in parking lots or your neighborhood.

VIN Cloning

OVERVIEW
• Stolen vehicles that assume the identity of legally owned vehicles (e.g., VIN cloning) is a growing trend.
• With a stolen, legitimate VIN plate and counterfeit stickers, titles, and paperwork, the stolen vehicle is registered in another state and then sold to unsuspecting consumers.
• The consequences of VIN cloning include the vehicle being confiscated and the unsuspecting owner being responsible for any outstanding loans, fees, or crimes related to the vehicle.
• The reported incidents of VIN cloning have risen steadily in the United States since 2001, accounting for more than $36 million in fraudulent vehicle transactions.
• The Better Business Bureau warns that as many as 225,000 stolen vehicles each year may be subject to VIN cloning.

PREVENTION TIPS
• Purchase used vehicles from reputable dealers.
• Check the blue book value, and be wary of vehicles sold for less than comparable makes and models, especially late-model, higher-end vehicles.
• Inspect the VIN plate on the dashboard for evidence of tampering, and make sure this number and the number on the engine match the vehicle’s paperwork.
• Look for incorrect spellings and inaccuracies in registration, title documents, and related paperwork.
• Obtain and investigate the car’s vehicle history report, including maintenance reports and odometer readings.
• Ask your insurance agent to inspect the vehicle prior to purchase.

General Information

Something to think about when you get in the car…

In case you didn’t know the average cost for a ticket now (these are for California drivers)

1) Driving no license: $214
2) No change of address after 10 days: $214
3) Driving with no insurance and cause accident $796
and 4 years Driver License suspension
4) Run a red light: $533
5) Pass on double solid line: $425
6) Illegal U-turn: $284
7) Over speed limit by 1-15 miles: $224, over 16-25 miles: $338
8) Driving too slow (under minimum speed): $328
9) Rolling stop (not complete stop): $284
10) Pass school bus with red light flashing: $675
11) Use cell phone with hand: $160 first time
12) Turn on lights 30 minutes before dark: $382
13) Illegal window tinting: $178
14) No seat belt: $160
15) Child not using appropriate car seat: $438
16) Both ears covered with earphones while driving: $178

General Information, Insurance Information, Money Advice

US Relaxes Health Law Income, Insurance Status Rule for Exchanges

CNBC: Published: Monday, 8 Jul 2013 | 7:35 AM ET
US Relaxes Health Law Income, Insurance Status Rule for Exchanges
7:35 AM ET

Days after delaying health insurance requirements for employers, the Obama administration has decided to roll back requirements for new state online insurance marketplaces to verify the income and health coverage status of people who apply for subsidized coverage.

President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law is slated to begin offering health coverage through state marketplaces, or exchanges, beginning October 1. But to receive tax subsidies to help buy insurance, enrollees must have incomes ranging from 100 percent to 400 percent of the federal poverty line and not have access to affordable insurance through an employer.

Until now, the administration had proposed that exchanges verify whether new applicants receive employer-sponsored insurance benefits through random checks. It also sought to require marketplaces to verify each enrollee’s income status.

Play Video on CNBC, see link at bottom of article
Obamacare: Too Much, Too Fast?
William George, Harvard Business School professor, discusses the impact of delaying the healthcare mandate for businesses. A lot of disruption is going to take place for small businesses, in particular, he says.

But final regulations released quietly on Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) give 16 states and the District of Columbia, which are setting up their own exchanges, until 2015 to begin random sampling of enrollees’ employer-insurance status. The rules also allow only random— rather than comprehensive—checks on income eligibility in 2014.

The changes, which point to new technical and bureaucratic challenges at the state and federal levels, raise new questions about the how successfully Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be implemented. The law is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1. But the administration’s latest move acknowledges that exchanges need extra time to get their verification systems in place.

Less than a week ago, the administration also announced that it would not require employers with 50 workers or more to provide insurance benefits until 2015, a one-year delay that stirred speculation about the possibility of further delays.

The regulations, contained in a 606-page HHS rule, allowed state-run exchanges to accept an enrollee’s “attestation regarding enrollment in an eligible employer-sponsored plan.” Marketplaces to be operated by the federal government in 34 states will still make random checks to verify applicant insurance status in 2014, it said.

“For income verification, for the first year of operations, we are providing (state and federal) exchanges with temporarily expanded discretion to accept an attestation of projected annual household income without further verification,” the rule said.

Full Story:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100869332

General Information

Home Fire-Safe Checklist

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Be Fire-Safe and create a defensible space

by Mat Stein

Thursday, June 20, 2013, 8:29 Tags: checklist, defensible space, fire safe, Mat Stein, Protection, wild fire

[NOTE: This article is adapted from When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide for Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival]
Fire Statistics

The following statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are for fires in the USA in 2009:

There were 3,010 civilian deaths from fire, 2,565 of which occurred in the home.
There were 260 civilian deaths from motor vehicle fires.
Only 105 civilian fire deaths occurred in non-residential structures.
US fire departments responded to an estimated 1,348,500 fires resulting in an estimated $12,531,000,000 in property losses and 17,050 civilian injuries.

In general, fires cause more loss of life and property in America than all natural disasters combined! Every year, fires are responsible for more loss of life, limb, and property in the USA than either hurricane Katrina or the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11! Statistically speaking, the easiest and most cost effective way to reduce the chances that you, your home, or your family might suffer great loss in a future event, is to improve the fire safety of your home, and the fire awareness of your loved ones.

With the record breaking heat, drought, and fire storms of the summer of 2012, most of us want to do what we can to improve the chances that our home will survive a local wildfire. Creating a “defensible space” is one of the first sets of tasks that a rural homeowner or renter should do.
Creating a Defensible Space

My buddy Jim Bolton, an experienced Reno fireman, tells me that when they enter a neighborhood, they take mental notes about which homes have maintained a defensible space and which have not. They don’t waste their time focusing on homes without a defensible space, but spend their time defending homes where they stand a decent chance of success, while keeping a watchful eye on nearby flames. These are brave guys, risking their necks where most of us would not go, but they have wives and kids so when a vicious fire storm gets dangerously close, they simply have to leave the neighborhood and let nature take its course.

Steps for creating a defensible space:

Clear dead brush from property and trim tall weeds short.
Clean rain gutters and roof valleys of all dead leaves and pine needles.
Place smoke detectors in all bedrooms, hallways, kitchens and at least one on every floor of your home.
Put fire extinguishers in kitchen, garage, and workshop areas.
Inspect and chimney sweep chimneys and woodstove pipes annually to prevent creosote buildup. Creosote is a black greasy gooey layer that is combustible, and is a common byproduct of incomplete wood combustion. Chimney fires destroy many homes each year.
Store flammables (gasoline, kerosene, oily rags, paint thinner, etc.) in approved flame-resistant containers and away from living areas. Garage areas should have one-hour fire-wall code-approved construction (typically ⅝-inch sheetrock wall covering, or better).
Clear ground of pine needles, dead leaves, etc. Rake them once in the spring and let them fall in the fall. Remove dead vegetation and debris.
Thin out thick stands of shrubs and trees to create a separation.
Remove “ladder fuels” like lower tree branches and shrubs underneath trees to keep wildfire from climbing and spreading. Prune all dead limbs from trees.
Plant “green zones” of moist, fire-resistant plants that will act as a barrier, and not fuel for fires.
Swimming pools, ornamental ponds, etc., provide extra water reserves for fighting fires, and may be tapped by either fire trucks’ onboard pumping systems or lighter-duty homeowner firefighting pump systems.
Consider installing fireproof window shutters that will help prevent the heat of an approaching a firestorm from shattering your windows or transmitting enough radiant heat to ignite items inside the home.
Your house number should be clearly visible from the street for identification by emergency vehicles.

Additionally, in rural areas it may be a smart idea to purchase a high-volume gasoline-powered home fire-fighting pump. Gel systems have the capability to get the most out of limited water supplies, and the sticky gel is a fire resistant gooey coating that provides much longer lasting protection than a simple water spray, when applied to walls, decking, and roofing.
Additional Resources:

http://www.readyforwildfire.org/defensible_space

http://www.disastersafety.org/wildfire/defensible_space/

http://www.firesafecouncil.org/education/attachments/getready.pdf

~ Mat Stein

About the author: Matthew Stein is a design engineer, green builder, and author of two bestselling books: When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide for Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival (Chelsea Green 2011), and When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency (Chelsea Green 2008). Stein is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he majored in Mechanical Engineering. Stein has appeared on numerous radio and television programs and is a repeat guest on Fox News, Coast-to-Coast AM, Alex Jones’ Infowars, Vince Finelli’s USA Prepares, and The Power Hour. He is an active mountain climber, serves as a guide and instructor for blind skiers, has written several articles on the subject of sustainable living, and is a guest columnist for the Huffington Post. www.whentechfails.com and www.matstein.com.