tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52572084748823157752024-03-25T23:43:49.778-07:00Ask The Public Adjuster About Insurance ClaimsThis blog is
dedicated to educating consumers so they can make informed decisions regarding insurance and property claims. It also exposes the
pitfalls, traps, and underhanded tricks that some insurance companies use
on their customers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408449380951466352noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-53212859419002347622016-12-03T10:53:00.002-08:002016-12-03T11:09:06.888-08:00This Time It’s PersonalBy Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJg5XBnhOEfaW7yLOab0APh4Z3ohUCFjopkQ74hF3s7HJ0LIsCT1BTYABoyMUajimI6z77U5SM06UFuq5ZHwiETA72oen0nfJCIC_sZ5lkR8MT3cBt7oqcHYBgkRcpb6UXPdJuH5SQ1YE/s1600/public2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJg5XBnhOEfaW7yLOab0APh4Z3ohUCFjopkQ74hF3s7HJ0LIsCT1BTYABoyMUajimI6z77U5SM06UFuq5ZHwiETA72oen0nfJCIC_sZ5lkR8MT3cBt7oqcHYBgkRcpb6UXPdJuH5SQ1YE/s320/public2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://goldstaradjusters.com/">GoldstarAdjusters.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As a licensed adjuster for 30 years, I am more familiar with
insurance claims than most people will ever be. I have personally handled
thousands of insurance claim<br />
s of all kinds in many states around the
country, and I have managed or overseen the handling of hundreds of thousands of claims by others. I have stood with people whose homes or
businesses were ruined, and those who suffered no damage at all, but just wanted
to be sure. I have spoken to many, many others by phone. I’ve heard their
stories of loss, and of the trials of the claim process, as well as the repair
and recovery processes. And I have witnessed both the despair when claims go
poorly, and the joyous relief when claims go well. It is safe to say I’ve seen
and heard just about everything when it comes to claims.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it’s different when the claim is MINE, right? Well, yes
and no. You see, my own home was damaged recently when on Friday, October 7,
2016, Hurricane Matthew skirted the eastern seaboard of the United States. It
was not an extreme amount of damage, but more than enough to file a claim. My
roof was badly damaged, as was my fence, and a few other smaller items. No big
deal, I thought, at least the roof wasn’t leaking, and no large trees had fallen on
the house. So, as far as storm damage, we were luckier than many. But just to be sure, I followed the
advice I have given to others – I got out a pad of paper, noting all of the damages,
and began logging all claim related activities. I also took photos and videos
of the damages. Then on Monday morning, I called my claim in, once I was certain my
covered damages would exceed my hurricane deductible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that, we waited to hear something from our insurance
company. About a week later, my agent called, and said he was just checking to
see how the claim was going. I’m not sure, I replied, because aside from his
call, we had not heard anything from the insurance company at all.
Not a big deal, I told him, there are plenty of people with much more severe
damage, I’m sure they’ll get to me soon enough. A week later, my in-laws’ claim
for similar damage was being finalized by the very same insurance company,
even though we had submitted their claim for them several days after calling in
our own claim. I was beginning to think this insurance company was giving me
extra slow treatment, but the next day an adjuster called my wife to schedule
his inspection of our damages.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBs3P1ylYYinZu_mCSuYdqM9uuOc5HvSekuGFFv3GgXLyZ7P2H40fk-WSsonIq6i5A0T4H8LOrg9qhefPWX2J-n6c8NZyCoejYYAuI6tM800EOb8MCZPossAfmT52wtshjAw-5hKlEAx8/s1600/10comms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBs3P1ylYYinZu_mCSuYdqM9uuOc5HvSekuGFFv3GgXLyZ7P2H40fk-WSsonIq6i5A0T4H8LOrg9qhefPWX2J-n6c8NZyCoejYYAuI6tM800EOb8MCZPossAfmT52wtshjAw-5hKlEAx8/s320/10comms.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below to get your FREE copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707"></script>
<span class="link"></center>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the meantime, we began gathering estimates from different
contractors just as anyone would, while waiting for the adjuster to get back to
us with his estimate of the damages. When the estimate came back about a week
later, I guess I should not have been too surprised that it came without a
check, because I’m accustomed to this particular insurance company depreciating
heavily, and making small up-front payments until the work is done, and then
the recoverable depreciation is claimed and paid. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, I couldn’t help but
compare my estimate (with no payment) to that of my in-laws. My estimate was
nearly twice that of my in-laws, yet they received an up-front payment (albeit
a small one), and I received no up-front payment at all. Again, same insurance
company, same geographic area. It just seemed there was some disparity in our
treatment. Could it be because my father-in-law retired from that insurance
company after decades of service, whereas I resigned from that insurance
company to represent policyholders with claims against that insurance company?
Or was it all just coincidental? Either way, I was starting to feel slighted. I talked to an
attorney – not because of what I perceived as delays in handling my claim, or
even the disparity in the handling of my claim versus the claim of my in-laws,
but because I was anticipating what might come next, and I wanted to be ready.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfFLnm2Qu_7USLBdQhCprGaVmpS1U8mjHALGAQVibT50XtXsP3P9b_DZVPT2a5ZEtTVkfIAgwdUFyjjCFaRhdA68oGS1sdkC6QM5AdOqvhQ8QdHCg6Ic9VWOot95aC2mmrPjdePfU2wkx/s1600/field+adjuster+commonswikimediaorg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfFLnm2Qu_7USLBdQhCprGaVmpS1U8mjHALGAQVibT50XtXsP3P9b_DZVPT2a5ZEtTVkfIAgwdUFyjjCFaRhdA68oGS1sdkC6QM5AdOqvhQ8QdHCg6Ic9VWOot95aC2mmrPjdePfU2wkx/s320/field+adjuster+commonswikimediaorg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From repeated experiences with this insurance company, I
knew that when an insured asks for more money than the adjuster estimates, this
company goes on the offensive and demands what is called an “Appraisal”. This is a
process in many homeowners policies which was initially intended to reduce the
number of claims being litigated. The Appraisal process basically states that
if either party (the insured or the insurance company) feels there is a dispute
as to the amount of the loss being claimed, either party may demand an Appraisal
to resolve the perceived dispute. In doing so, each party would have to hire
(and pay for) an appraiser, and the two appraisers would select an umpire,
whose job would be to help resolve the dispute if the two appraisers were unable
to agree on their own. The cost of the umpire is split between the parties. In
other words, if you don’t agree with their estimate (and we find very few of
their estimates to be agreeable), you have to pay – generally over $1,000 – in order
to get the insurance company to pay the full claim. Nice, huh?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So when we were done collecting estimates from the various
contractors, I starting looking for a Proof of Loss form in order to submit the
estimates. Because I am an adjuster, and because I used to work for this
particular insurance company, I knew the policy contained a “Condition” which
required I submit a Proof of Loss (POL) within 60 days of the date of loss. I
was surprised when I could not find this form online. Then I checked the
insurance company website. Not there. Then I remembered this insurance company
allows clients to create an online profile and track claim progress online. I
did this, and I must say, it was pretty slick. I could check the status, upload
documents, correspond with the claims department and my agent, even look at all
my policies. Cool! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, no POL, not even in the sections marked “Resources” or
“Documents”. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I called the claim representative designated right there
on my claim status page. She answered the very first time I called. Sweet. I
gave her my information, and she asked how she could help me. Not needing to
discuss the claim, I simply asked for a Proof of Loss form. She said she did
not complete one. I told her I know that, but I needed to complete one now that
I have all my estimates together. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She said no, I didn’t need to complete one, I
could just send in the estimates. When I said I would <o:p></o:p><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa1q077Q6i1tHW59qX7d_AtKvX2mQZOE_-6-FWHWlCs4dbGLSA9PjT7Vg4eZIsdBdLN8mwfhW2nghynF0ZX4IIRQlMoi4C4fTZJl0drHBS-Qtavh5GJcdBvNc2mZtP2QZWY4QxqjaQwGs/s1600/angry+woman+pixabay.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa1q077Q6i1tHW59qX7d_AtKvX2mQZOE_-6-FWHWlCs4dbGLSA9PjT7Vg4eZIsdBdLN8mwfhW2nghynF0ZX4IIRQlMoi4C4fTZJl0drHBS-Qtavh5GJcdBvNc2mZtP2QZWY4QxqjaQwGs/s320/angry+woman+pixabay.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
rather submit the POL as
required by the policy, she proceeded to argue with me about whether or not the
policy in fact required me to send a POL, unless she requested one from me.
Even when we both pulled up the policy on our respective computers, she
continued to argue the policy language, because she was reading from a section
above the section in question. Even after pointing this out to her, she would
not agree. Finally, I simply insisted she send me the form, even if she didn’t
think I needed it. She said she would, and we hung up. Hours later she called
me back and left a message saying she would NOT send me the form, stating, “That
is not something we routinely send out to customers.” Again, having worked
there for 17 years, I know that form is sent to customers on a very regular
basis.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, was I being intentionally lied to? If so, why? Or, was
this adjuster so poorly trained that in addition to being unable to read and
interpret the policy, she did not
understand what this form was, or that is was required as a condition of
payment? Either way, now it became personal for me. I promptly filed off
complaints with the company, my agent, and the Department of Insurance in my
State. All I wanted was a form – one that was required by my policy, and the
company not only made it impossible for me to find this form online, but was
actively refusing to provide it to me upon request. I couldn’t help but think,
how many millions of people are they doing this to every year? And how often do
they deny claims for failing to submit a form they don’t tell people about,
don’t provide access to, and even tell people it is not required?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I may never know the answers to those questions, but just
today I received a call from some supervisor in Atlanta. They received my
complaint. He apologized, agreed the policy says exactly what I already know it
to say, and he said they would send me a blank form. We’ll see. It just goes to show, no matter how experienced you are,
things are different when they happen to you. Luckily, as upset as I may be that
it happened to me, I am much more upset that this (and worse) is currently happening
to untold numbers of other people far less equipped than myself at dealing with
insurance company bureaucracy. Good luck to us all!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-24164985196491760222016-09-26T07:46:00.000-07:002016-09-26T07:46:24.239-07:00Surprises You Can Do Withoutby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42_r5mx6vK0e2vQchuezgYbleebp1cTWO4qGZKDWqbDtrOB_8FW4cS3tvR2F3oBDBQdKBpm2L5xNTAQZ0B6P9xjPZQuqaRAbNWB96AT42T0Ae0X28AKz7BjX_VZCzKJZjZyWDmyp4G3Ea/s1600/weather+channel+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42_r5mx6vK0e2vQchuezgYbleebp1cTWO4qGZKDWqbDtrOB_8FW4cS3tvR2F3oBDBQdKBpm2L5xNTAQZ0B6P9xjPZQuqaRAbNWB96AT42T0Ae0X28AKz7BjX_VZCzKJZjZyWDmyp4G3Ea/s1600/weather+channel+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Image courtesy of </span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/" style="font-size: 12.8px;">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Being a fan of <a href="http://weather.com/">Weather.com</a>, I was noticing that even though it is not making national news – whatwith the first presidential debate and Charlotte riots and all – there continues to be bad weather wreaking havoc in parts of the country you might not normally think about. Deadly flooding in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and tornados in Indiana and Utah, seem to happen with little warning, leaving death and destruction in their path which will be remembered for years to come.<br />
<br />
This is happening almost a month after Florida saw damage from the first hurricane to hit the state in eleven years. Hurricane Hermine did not come out of nowhere, but as hurricanes go, it developed rather quickly, going from a depression to a category 1 hurricane within 24 hours of making landfall. Typically, these depressions are tracked for weeks, with courses predicted and severity estimated in plenty of time to allow for preparation or evacuation. That didn’t happen this time, but fortunately, Hermine wasn’t a very powerful storm, and it moved through the state and was on its way relatively quickly, so damage was not nearly severe as it could have been.<br />
<br />
As is typical of many lower level hurricanes, most of the damage resulted from flooding, not from the powerful winds hurricanes are known for. And much of the wind damage occurred when trees, planted too close to structures, and allowed to grow untrimmed, were toppled onto homes, cars, and other property. Sometimes, people are in those homes, making for a dangerous and frightening experience. The same holds true for people trapped in homes by fast-rising waters or flash floods, given no time to escape. Regardless of the nature of the damage, once the wind has stopped blowing or water recedes, there is another frightening experience awaiting those trying to put their lives back together. We hear about it every time an event like this happens.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qPu40jgWT_YX3tduVWH1czHVYEmOV4ndcvVv1KCXV_2lKYjxf8D63IODmBoU8iELm83ePrnj1Otyx7YxgCrNztaM2RlfyRqMBv6PJWLR1XLoxgxh_MXaZnUBjjhwxwuOilwzxKYEweyx/s1600/tree+on+a+house+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qPu40jgWT_YX3tduVWH1czHVYEmOV4ndcvVv1KCXV_2lKYjxf8D63IODmBoU8iELm83ePrnj1Otyx7YxgCrNztaM2RlfyRqMBv6PJWLR1XLoxgxh_MXaZnUBjjhwxwuOilwzxKYEweyx/s320/tree+on+a+house+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just last week I heard from someone who had a very large oak tree land on their home after Hurricane Hermine coasted through the state capitol of Tallahassee. It wasn’t even their tree – it was their neighbor’s – but it was big enough to crush a number of roof trusses on their home which allowed water to run into their attic. It also smashed a skylight, and a kitchen vent, allowing more water into their home. They placed buckets about to catch the water streaming into the house, and spent most of the night emptyin<br />
g the buckets as they filled up with water. Before too long, insulation in the attic got so heavy from all the water, that the ceiling collapsed onto the floor. Luckily, no one was hurt, but their home was a mess.<br />
<br />
They promptly called their insurance company first thing in the morning to report the loss. Their carrier put them at ease, telling them a “preferred vendor” would be out to take the tree off the house and begin to clean up the mess. And sure enough, an hour later they received a call from a restoration company. This particular restoration company is nationally recognized in the insurance industry, but many people have not heard of them because they do not advertise as much as other companies. It seems they don’t need to, since insurance companies so regularly refer them to policyholders who need emergency restoration work.<br />
<br />
This may sound innocent enough, but we have found that having this special relationship between the insurance company and the emergency restoration company can be very good for all parties, except for the policyholder – the one that is in dire need. The restoration company gets work handed to them on a very regular basis, saving potentially millions in advertising nationally every year. By getting to the job site first, this company has gotten extremely proficient at selling themselves to the policyholder to complete all the needed restoration work, especially since they already seem to have the approval and blessings of the insurance company. This nets them even more money than the emergency work they were initially called out for.<br />
<br />
And what does the insurance company get? They get a nationally branded contractor that will respond to their requests for assistance at a moment’s notice, and local managers with whom they develop long-term relationships. They also get preferential treatment, even compared to the homeowner for whom the work is being done. After all, it is the insurance company that pays the restoration company, not the homeowner. It is only natural then, that the relationship between the insurance company and the restoration company can result in blurring the loyalty lines. Remember, they want that flow of claims to keep streaming into their pipeline, so if they have to jump through a few extra hoops, or make less money on a job here or there to keep their “partner” happy, that’s what they are going to do, even if it comes at the expense of the policyholder.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSVaGtVAe0IBytotUzRvSKHbJs6lQD_bGPxlFZpzqRYYTNGsJqgoNfVk1mHoK7v2dLbP9aC9G-DqM_qKhNo4Ps44iV8F2nE2DAKpzc_O83KfGzZZulRHjPr2EAc0wlduFf8GwlNeX1SxP/s1600/construction+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSVaGtVAe0IBytotUzRvSKHbJs6lQD_bGPxlFZpzqRYYTNGsJqgoNfVk1mHoK7v2dLbP9aC9G-DqM_qKhNo4Ps44iV8F2nE2DAKpzc_O83KfGzZZulRHjPr2EAc0wlduFf8GwlNeX1SxP/s320/construction+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So in this case, the insurance company’s preferred restoration company was on the site within a few hours of the homeowner’s call. As discussed with the insurance company, the tree was cut up, the mess dealt with, and a tarp was placed on the roof to prevent more water from entering until the reconstruction could begin. Then they began to work their magic, explaining to the homeowner that they were the insurance companies preferred contractor, and that they would write up a complete estimate for all of the damages and reconstruction estimates. They said they would help take care of everything, including helping the family relocate while the work was being done, not to mention meeting with the insurance adjuster to agree on the estimate. Within days, the insurance adjuster and the preferred vendor met, just as planned, and the adjuster told the contractor, “send me your estimate”. It all seemed to be going according to plan.<br />
<br />
But the next day, the contractor came out again with an engineer to confirm the damages and begin the permitting process. And while they were there, the contractor first asked the homeowner to sign what is called a “work authorization”. This allows the contractor to access the property and work on the repairs – basically, hiring the contractor even though no estimate was done. While many people might not be familiar with this form, this particular homeowner was (since he himself is a contractor), and he knew this was not necessary in order for the contractor to provide the insurance company with an estimate. It was clear the contractor was not happy, and the request became more firm, with the contractor saying the form was needed for the contractor to send the estimate. The homeowner refused, and the contractor left in a huff. That was a few weeks ago, and as far as he can tell, no estimate from the preferred contractor was ever sent to the insurance company.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57ZEYV1i5h9XrPwewhbQOh7Rd8JS2PUw5U9VUxx0bq12zdfF02lj5-kWIqeP9_D3VNn5j5GUVgY30eVWyWpTfhKSmPQMDWGRWgeRBd26c_Ze6ITuBkcMqvhF0E19EFkVnYljd4MTiWOxK/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57ZEYV1i5h9XrPwewhbQOh7Rd8JS2PUw5U9VUxx0bq12zdfF02lj5-kWIqeP9_D3VNn5j5GUVgY30eVWyWpTfhKSmPQMDWGRWgeRBd26c_Ze6ITuBkcMqvhF0E19EFkVnYljd4MTiWOxK/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below for your Free copy</b>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<br />
A week later the insurance company then sent their own adjuster’s estimate, but it was woefully lacking. This comes as no surprise to me, and in my opinion, it is simply a strategy to coerce the homeowner into hiring the preferred contractor, in hopes of getting the process back on track. By this, I mean the track desired by the insurance company and their contractor. Now it is our turn get this claim back on track for the policyholder, and that is exactly what I intend to do.<br />
<br />
In the wake of such catastrophes, it is easy to see how people would be vulnerable in a time of calamity. They are desperate to have the damage repaired so they can get on with their lives. The thought of an insurance company working in concert with a contractor to take advantage of a policyholder that has paid a lot of hard-earned dollars for the promise of being treated fairly, is hard to believe. Still, based on my decades of experience, I’m afraid it might be the rule rather than the exception, and this example certainly seems to support my suspicions. After weathering the storm you need to be strong, and especially vigilant before signing anything. For those who know, help is just a phone call or keystroke away. And since being forewarned is forearmed, now you know.<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-37412952333012148952016-09-19T07:44:00.000-07:002016-09-19T07:45:04.178-07:00The Delay is in the Detailsby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIsspaedGNgugS-CZ2-smfBaTb3uQKeJS2urZP1ViBxmPt7_BUq5uab-Ab9Cou0YegIk045zY9Fm7WJw08qlRark_CMpKL-J3TE7dU1yyc44jfQHHDY_F3joZiZ-k6VnuApcwDnCtIUA6/s1600/tortoise+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIsspaedGNgugS-CZ2-smfBaTb3uQKeJS2urZP1ViBxmPt7_BUq5uab-Ab9Cou0YegIk045zY9Fm7WJw08qlRark_CMpKL-J3TE7dU1yyc44jfQHHDY_F3joZiZ-k6VnuApcwDnCtIUA6/s200/tortoise+flickr.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To begin to understand how and why insurance claims can sometimes drag on way too long, it is important to start by understanding the key players. Insurance companies employ representatives who answer policyholder phone calls (but lack the experience or authority to do anything about it), various claim representatives/adjusters (field, office, staff, independent, examiners) of differing experience levels, as well as experts (contractors, consultants, engineers, attorneys) to help determine how a particular claim is to be handled.<br />
<br />
The call representatives are in an office full of cubicles, all of them are connected to a computer by a headset, which reports to supervisors the number of calls taken, the average call time, the average wait time, the number of breaks taken, and other factors that determine compensation or even continued employment. The supervisors can also "listen in" on random or selected calls to grade the call rep. You know, for "quality control purposes". I'll agree with the "control" part of that.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoE-5jhQN2zwlntDxRhUabbGJdxAMvPUUf8ddlJw96Q1Yru1OZ3yc1JH9eL-b8lH0ZA5vHc0VG8rtZGkkQzxFpKsjLUNx9gQzJjcm3Z4kEQQNR6lBBYCHh_RXov591RzMQUbKolp6ySPS/s1600/field+adjuster+commonswikimediaorg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoE-5jhQN2zwlntDxRhUabbGJdxAMvPUUf8ddlJw96Q1Yru1OZ3yc1JH9eL-b8lH0ZA5vHc0VG8rtZGkkQzxFpKsjLUNx9gQzJjcm3Z4kEQQNR6lBBYCHh_RXov591RzMQUbKolp6ySPS/s320/field+adjuster+commonswikimediaorg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The field adjusters go to the property and take photos, diagrams, measurements, and collect other information about the claim to report back to a claim examiner or manager with their estimate of the damages. Sometimes they set their own schedule, and sometimes they have their appointments scheduled for them by other representatives in the office. Either way, they are usually kept very busy.<br />
<br />
As you might imagine, insurance companies do not like paying for idle time. They get to the property, where the owner wants to describe everything, go into detail about how the loss occurred, what they did, the origins of the property damaged - and the adjusters just want the basic facts so they can get to their next appointment. Many of these field adjusters, being independent adjusters, are paid based on the amount of the claim, or the number of claims handled, not on the time they spend listening to the policyholder. <br />
<br />
The examiner is typically the one that decides (often with the help of a manager) how much is going to be paid, if anything. Many times, the examiner has less field experience than the field adjuster that was actually at the property. Regardless, it is the examiner that usually makes the final call on coverage and payment. And keep in mind, unlike many of the field adjusters, the office examiners generally do not get paid based on the number or size of the claims, but on a salary, no matter how many claims, or what size claims, they review. In many cases, the examiner believes a more expert opinion is needed before they will "sign off" on the claim, so they assign this task to whomever they believe can help (contractor, consultant, engineer, attorney, etc.).<br />
<br />
So, a representative sets an appointment, a field adjuster gets the claim filed and then passes the estimate to the often overworked and all too often inexperienced examinerAfter this, the examiner may hand the file off to yet someone else. Remember, these examiners are usually reviewing the files of multiple field adjusters who are all trying to crank out files for payment as fast as possible. This can result in a new stack of files being delivered to the examiner daily. All of these tasks take time, and the insurance company has plenty of time, and plenty of claims. You, on the other hand, have only one claim, and only one life to live (more about that later).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBohUBijwzqECpJnodsCU5WfH3N2rBHY_bXubFCsrmA5-ZomO3EenirKTqLIY03RoN_NMRzVoCyLIiPh7CI6HJBMo3EznCxNMmo3HkVw9F9eeu3PtuPWzlwUOuBdtgPr-sSr-Cw1YOekhF/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBohUBijwzqECpJnodsCU5WfH3N2rBHY_bXubFCsrmA5-ZomO3EenirKTqLIY03RoN_NMRzVoCyLIiPh7CI6HJBMo3EznCxNMmo3HkVw9F9eeu3PtuPWzlwUOuBdtgPr-sSr-Cw1YOekhF/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Get your FREE copy by filling out the form below.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<br />
And that is where they sometimes get you. They know, after decades of practice, and millions of claims, that if they can delay policyholders long enough, a great many will just give up. There’s an old saying, “Don’t go away mad, just go away.” I am 100% convinced that insurance companies thrive on this approach to claims processing. They don’t want you to be mad enough to file a complaint or hire an attorney, but they want you to give up without getting paid in full, if at all. It can be something of a balancing act, but one they have gotten very good at with lots of practice, trial and error, not to mention input from consulting companies.<br />
<br />
And if you still refuse to give up (probably because you have hired a public adjuster, attorney, or both) – and only a small percentage of people do this – the insurance companies are sometimes able to drag the claim out so long, the policyholder actually dies before the claim can be paid. No kidding. I have seen multiple policyholders pass away before getting their claims paid. But I want to emphasize, our policyholder’s claims do get paid. When I think about all the other people who died before their claims are paid each year, I picture a motivational sign on the wall in the insurance office that reads, “Dead people rarely hire attorneys.” A bit cynical, perhaps, but if you have seen what I have seen, you would understand completely.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind, professionals like myself are always available to answer any questions you have at any stage of the claim process. We're happy to speak to other groups you belong to, at no charge. I constantly find people are quite surprised when I tell them there is no charge to come to their property, review their claim, go over documentation, and consult with them on the available options. This can also include an offer to visit their office to educate their staff on insurance issues. “Sounds too good to be true” they say. That’s OK, it makes them that much happier when we follow through on what we say, and deliver results.<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-11353769369275386402016-09-09T10:50:00.001-07:002016-09-12T06:39:32.095-07:00The Calm After the Stormby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjml0vYLQu0qzem1Ni6afbcxJZ5TKd0YJ1J14P4F-FJ533XQTN69QN5-NqVRgF9iGL1gC7mV_I3RWjomDON2xbDq4X3A4qw1-jzVy4OMHsbp39RhGb2Z_4fIRHsayPUHBQ9xS4nSuHwVGU8/s1600/hurr+danny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjml0vYLQu0qzem1Ni6afbcxJZ5TKd0YJ1J14P4F-FJ533XQTN69QN5-NqVRgF9iGL1gC7mV_I3RWjomDON2xbDq4X3A4qw1-jzVy4OMHsbp39RhGb2Z_4fIRHsayPUHBQ9xS4nSuHwVGU8/s320/hurr+danny.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone talks about the calm before the storm when what they really should be forcused on is the calm AFTER the storm. In the wake of Hurricane Hermine last week, I wanted to talk
about some storm insurance basics. First, a little about myself, just so you know I’m
qualified to speak on the subject. I’m a Florida native, and have seen my share
of tropical storms and hurricanes over the past 50 (or so) years. I have a
Bachelor of Science degree in Insurance from the University of Florida, and my
diploma is hanging on the wall behind me. I’ve been a licensed insurance
adjuster in Florida since 1987. I spent 17 years with one of the country’s
largest insurance companies, and personally handled or managed the handling of
hundreds of thousands of claims, in many states across the country. In 2004, I
decided to leave my job at the insurance company, start Gold Star Adjusters,
and adjust claims for policyholders, not insurance companies. A few years
later, after seeing too many terrible things happening to so many insurance
claim victims, I wrote and self-published my first book, “UNCOVERED: What
Really Happens After The Storm, Flood, Earthquake or Fire”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So with that out of the way, here are some little-known
facts about property insurance:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, how do you think about your relationship to your insurance
company? How many of you think of
yourselves as a “customer”? Do you want to know what you really are? – You are
a financial and legal adversary. That’s right. Now, if you have an insurance
agent, especially an independent insurance agent, you may feel like a customer
to them, and to be honest, they probably feel the same way about you. But to
the claims department of the insurance company, as soon as you file that
insurance claim, you are asking the insurance company to share their profits
with you. To get an idea of how well that goes over with them, think about asking
Microsoft to share profits with you the next time you buy a computer. Good
luck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPxZszPjLy79ZyAUpf17MsI66Ur5zKe78GaeKSkOrWym-kMQPL0VF_uEGK_AZgtSDuiUHgGkTJBP0VHxHrGjy3mTEpCGkTXrdFURSh9-QICSGj0q1vXNIWvax7fyld-QxjFNzy5puFtiN/s1600/rainstorm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPxZszPjLy79ZyAUpf17MsI66Ur5zKe78GaeKSkOrWym-kMQPL0VF_uEGK_AZgtSDuiUHgGkTJBP0VHxHrGjy3mTEpCGkTXrdFURSh9-QICSGj0q1vXNIWvax7fyld-QxjFNzy5puFtiN/s320/rainstorm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that although insurance is generally marketed
as a “product”, your insurance policy is actually a legal contract? The
insurance company writes the contract, and when you buy the insurance, you are
accepting the contract. Did you also know that while you <i>can’t</i> negotiate how the contract is written, you <i><u>can</u></i> negotiate the settlement of a
claim? The catch is, even if you knew you could negotiate the settlement, who
do you suppose knows more about insurance? - the insurance company, or you, the
policyholder?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Not only </span><u style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">can</u><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> you </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">negotiate</i><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> an insurance claim, but did you know you can </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><u>re</u></i><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">-negotiate a claim after it has been paid (or denied), or that you can re-open a claim </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><u>years</u></i><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> after it has been closed, or even after it has been denied? </span>You can. In Florida, you have <b>5 years</b> to pursue your claim...<b>except </b>after a windstorm or hurricane like Hermine. You see, while you weren’t looking, your insurance company, their lobbyists, and your state representatives quietly changed that a few years back. Now you only have <b>3 years</b> to pursue your hurricane claim. Two years, <b>gone</b>, just like that. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">But again, even if you know this, how well are you going to do against the insurance company’s experts? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that just because your insurance company sends
an official letter, complete with policy language or other legalese, stating
your claim has been closed or denied, that doesn’t make it so? We get many of these denied claims paid every
year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKiws0XgHNaAE6PYQ05ctXDq29UmcDFUJ79wR5-A4EN7-d71gF6JC2dsQtQwsbluF3SiXQ-nLd037VwNzqsBN7L8kjxY4g8mXzhZUvj3wkjL4cvYbNXB8xOeFbKFqVX1RHPLJhakwGhsE/s1600/coverwebsite.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKiws0XgHNaAE6PYQ05ctXDq29UmcDFUJ79wR5-A4EN7-d71gF6JC2dsQtQwsbluF3SiXQ-nLd037VwNzqsBN7L8kjxY4g8mXzhZUvj3wkjL4cvYbNXB8xOeFbKFqVX1RHPLJhakwGhsE/s320/coverwebsite.png" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Get a free copy of my book.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
OK, now that you’ve learned a little more about the
insurance industry than you probably wanted to know, let’s talk a little about
how you can make the best of it, should you ever need to file an insurance
claim (a lot of this comes from a section in my book, UNCOVERED, detailing my
“10 commandments of claims”):</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Know your insurance policy. Meet with your agent and have
them explain it to you, and make sure you have the proper coverages, endorsements,
limits, and deductibles, based on your individual needs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Fill out the form below for your free copy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Flood is not covered
by homeowner’s insurance, so consider buying a flood policy</b>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just because you’re not in a designated flood
zone, doesn’t mean you won’t get flooded. Flood zone maps are created and
updated by the federal government. If you trust their accuracy now, you may be
one of 1000s filing for government assistance later. Think about it, we (especially
in Florida) are surrounded by water. I don’t care what the flood map says, if
you live in Florida, you stand a real chance of flooding.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take photos or video of your property and valuable
possessions, and store important documents where they can’t be damaged (the
cloud, family, safe deposit box, etc.). These photos and videos could prove to
be invaluable when it comes time to documenting your loss.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t try to pull one over on your insurance company – be
thorough, but honest. Many of their best adjusters work in their “fraud” units.
It would be nice if their best and brightest adjusters were the ones <b>paying</b> claims, instead of being the ones
<b>denying</b> claims, but that’s another
story, and a testament to the priorities of the insurance companies. Inflating
a claim is just not worth risking a felony conviction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take notes of everything that’s damaged and keep a detailed
log of all conversations with your insurance company, your contractor, and
everyone else. Show the adjuster all the damage and be as thorough as
possible. If the adjuster doesn’t want
to spend to time to review it all, make a note in your log, and have them (or
someone else) come back when they have more time. Review the adjuster’s estimate in detail, until you
understand it completely. Request a licensed contractor or other professional review
the insurance company estimate and provide an independent quote.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the insurance company refuses to pay for anything at all,
demand they explain why – in writing. Even if they explain why in writing, get
a second opinion. I can’t tell you the number of times we have gotten claims
fully paid after the insurance company initially denied the claims, in writing,
including the exact policy language they relied upon to deny the claim to begin
with. My motto is, “the claim is covered until I say it is not”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be persistent and don’t give up. Appeal up the chain of
command. Too many policyholders give up too easily, and as a result, I am
convinced they leave many tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars in the
insurance companies’ bank accounts every year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, lastly, seek professional assistance when needed. Whether
from a public adjuster, attorney, contractor, engineer, politician, consumer
reporter, or anyone else you think can help. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span> <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-7520042661292078402016-09-09T10:50:00.000-07:002016-09-09T10:52:43.354-07:00The Calm After the Stormby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjml0vYLQu0qzem1Ni6afbcxJZ5TKd0YJ1J14P4F-FJ533XQTN69QN5-NqVRgF9iGL1gC7mV_I3RWjomDON2xbDq4X3A4qw1-jzVy4OMHsbp39RhGb2Z_4fIRHsayPUHBQ9xS4nSuHwVGU8/s1600/hurr+danny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjml0vYLQu0qzem1Ni6afbcxJZ5TKd0YJ1J14P4F-FJ533XQTN69QN5-NqVRgF9iGL1gC7mV_I3RWjomDON2xbDq4X3A4qw1-jzVy4OMHsbp39RhGb2Z_4fIRHsayPUHBQ9xS4nSuHwVGU8/s320/hurr+danny.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone talks about the calm before the storm when what they really should be forcused on is the calm AFTER the storm. In the wake of Hurricane Hermine last week, I wanted to talk
about some storm insurance basics. First, a little about myself, just so you know I’m
qualified to speak on the subject. I’m a Florida native, and have seen my share
of tropical storms and hurricanes over the past 50 (or so) years. I have a
Bachelor of Science degree in Insurance from the University of Florida, and my
diploma is hanging on the wall behind me. I’ve been a licensed insurance
adjuster in Florida since 1987. I spent 17 years with one of the country’s
largest insurance companies, and personally handled or managed the handling of
hundreds of thousands of claims, in many states across the country. In 2004, I
decided to leave my job at the insurance company, start Gold Star Adjusters,
and adjust claims for policyholders, not insurance companies. A few years
later, after seeing too many terrible things happening to so many insurance
claim victims, I wrote and self-published my first book, “UNCOVERED: What
Really Happens After The Storm, Flood, Earthquake or Fire”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So with that out of the way, here are some little-known
facts about property insurance:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, how do you think about your relationship to your insurance
company? How many of you think of
yourselves as a “customer”? Do you want to know what you really are? – You are
a financial and legal adversary. That’s right. Now, if you have an insurance
agent, especially and independent insurance agent, you may feel like a customer
to them, and to be honest, they probably feel the same way about you. But to
the claims department of the insurance company, as soon as you file that
insurance claim, you are asking the insurance company to share their profits
with you. To get an idea of how well that goes over with them, think about asking
Microsoft to share profits with you the next time you buy a computer. Good
luck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPxZszPjLy79ZyAUpf17MsI66Ur5zKe78GaeKSkOrWym-kMQPL0VF_uEGK_AZgtSDuiUHgGkTJBP0VHxHrGjy3mTEpCGkTXrdFURSh9-QICSGj0q1vXNIWvax7fyld-QxjFNzy5puFtiN/s1600/rainstorm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPxZszPjLy79ZyAUpf17MsI66Ur5zKe78GaeKSkOrWym-kMQPL0VF_uEGK_AZgtSDuiUHgGkTJBP0VHxHrGjy3mTEpCGkTXrdFURSh9-QICSGj0q1vXNIWvax7fyld-QxjFNzy5puFtiN/s320/rainstorm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that although insurance is generally marketed
as a “product”, your insurance policy is actually a legal contract? The
insurance company writes the contract, and when you buy the insurance, you are
accepting the contract. Did you also know that while you <i>can’t</i> negotiate how the contract is written, you <i><u>can</u></i> negotiate the settlement of a
claim? The catch is, even if you knew you could negotiate the settlement, who
do you suppose knows more about insurance? - the insurance company, or you, the
policyholder?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not only <u>can</u> you <i>negotiate</i>
an insurance claim, but did you know you can <i><u>re</u></i>-negotiate a claim after it has been paid (or denied), or
that you can re-open a claim <i><u>years</u></i>
after it has been closed, or even after it has been denied? You can. In Florida, you have 5 years to
pursue your claim (except after a windstorm or hurricane like Hermine). But again, even if you know this, how well are you going to
do against the insurance company’s experts? You see, while you weren’t looking, your insurance company, their
lobbyists, and your state representatives changed that a few years back. Now
you only have 3 years to pursue your hurricane claim. Two years, gone, just
like that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that just because your insurance company sends
an official letter, complete with policy language or other legalese, stating
your claim has been closed or denied, that doesn’t make it so? We get many of these denied claims paid every
year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKiws0XgHNaAE6PYQ05ctXDq29UmcDFUJ79wR5-A4EN7-d71gF6JC2dsQtQwsbluF3SiXQ-nLd037VwNzqsBN7L8kjxY4g8mXzhZUvj3wkjL4cvYbNXB8xOeFbKFqVX1RHPLJhakwGhsE/s1600/coverwebsite.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKiws0XgHNaAE6PYQ05ctXDq29UmcDFUJ79wR5-A4EN7-d71gF6JC2dsQtQwsbluF3SiXQ-nLd037VwNzqsBN7L8kjxY4g8mXzhZUvj3wkjL4cvYbNXB8xOeFbKFqVX1RHPLJhakwGhsE/s320/coverwebsite.png" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Get a free copy of my book.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
OK, now that you’ve learned a little more about the
insurance industry than you probably wanted to know, let’s talk a little about
how you can make the best of it, should you ever need to file an insurance
claim (a lot of this comes from a section in my book, UNCOVERED, detailing my
“10 commandments of claims”):</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Know your insurance policy. Meet with your agent and have
them explain it to you, and make sure you have the proper coverages, endorsements,
limits, and deductibles, based on your individual needs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Fill out the form below for your free copy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Flood is not covered
by homeowner’s insurance, so consider buying a flood policy</b>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just because you’re not in a designated flood
zone, doesn’t mean you won’t get flooded. Flood zone maps are created and
updated by the federal government. If you trust their accuracy now, you may be
one of 1000s filing for government assistance later. Think about it, we (especially
in Florida) are surrounded by water. I don’t care what the flood map says, if
you live in Florida, you stand a real chance of flooding.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take photos or video of your property and valuable
possessions, and store important documents where they can’t be damaged (the
cloud, family, safe deposit box, etc.). These photos and videos could prove to
be invaluable when it comes time to documenting your loss.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t try to pull one over on your insurance company – be
thorough, but honest. Many of their best adjusters work in their “fraud” units.
It would be nice if their best and brightest adjusters were the ones <b>paying</b> claims, instead of being the ones
<b>denying</b> claims, but that’s another
story, and a testament to the priorities of the insurance companies. Inflating
a claim is just not worth risking a felony conviction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take notes of everything that’s damaged and keep a detailed
log of all conversations with your insurance company, your contractor, and
everyone else. Show the adjuster all the damage and be as thorough as
possible. If the adjuster doesn’t want
to spend to time to review it all, make a note in your log, and have them (or
someone else) come back when they have more time. Review the adjuster’s estimate in detail, until you
understand it completely. Request a licensed contractor or other professional review
the insurance company estimate and provide an independent quote.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the insurance company refuses to pay for anything at all,
demand they explain why – in writing. Even if they explain why in writing, get
a second opinion. I can’t tell you the number of times we have gotten claims
fully paid after the insurance company initially denied the claims, in writing,
including the exact policy language they relied upon to deny the claim to begin
with. My motto is, “the claim is covered until I say it is not”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be persistent and don’t give up. Appeal up the chain of
command. Too many policyholders give up too easily, and as a result, I am
convinced they leave many tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars in the
insurance companies’ bank accounts every year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, lastly, seek professional assistance when needed. Whether
from a public adjuster, attorney, contractor, engineer, politician, consumer
reporter, or anyone else you think can help. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span> <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-67598006125358443212016-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:002016-08-29T11:12:42.823-07:00When the World Comes Tumbling Downby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunqgQ9G_40iyNKDiuxpTaeNGkwFP2l0Tmk5Jvh39xCiZJ6doeYDE5mFNs79JLHodNIU8Ind7GzFLbck-cXHVfrovwpfp-YRaJx_FJE3G2f9d-lfXB-3kC7frjHapjYY6I0FmDLkVEaQQA/s1600/earthquake+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunqgQ9G_40iyNKDiuxpTaeNGkwFP2l0Tmk5Jvh39xCiZJ6doeYDE5mFNs79JLHodNIU8Ind7GzFLbck-cXHVfrovwpfp-YRaJx_FJE3G2f9d-lfXB-3kC7frjHapjYY6I0FmDLkVEaQQA/s320/earthquake+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By now most everyone has seen the terrible images from
central Italy, where a magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck in the middle of the
night earlier this week. Small towns substantially damaged, hundreds of
casualties, and many more wounded. While there have been some dramatic rescues,
including a girl about 8 years old that was pulled out of rubble the day after
the quake, at least 250 lives were lost. Compounding matters were the fact that
the earthquake struck at night when most people were inside and sleeping, in
buildings that were not specifically built to withstand this type of stress.
Add to this the fact that at least one of the areas was busy with tourists, and this makes it difficult
to accurately know how many people are still missing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTy4Ts1P2js_brIVmsRnZAXLtuT1NgVss_x5qOJstugi5DpHWPW7mdkG-rv9xkP8YOTS8e0IbHQQVxG-cmgQ10kVk6M0rC2337rmYFUAKj58e-l8cFnbGtqz0Mmp94ohQ0gYGPxDWHju1A/s1600/wildfirwa+xommona+wilimedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTy4Ts1P2js_brIVmsRnZAXLtuT1NgVss_x5qOJstugi5DpHWPW7mdkG-rv9xkP8YOTS8e0IbHQQVxG-cmgQ10kVk6M0rC2337rmYFUAKj58e-l8cFnbGtqz0Mmp94ohQ0gYGPxDWHju1A/s320/wildfirwa+xommona+wilimedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wilimedia.org/">commons.wilimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is scenes like these that should cause people to take
account, not only of all that they have, but of all that could be lost, from
loved ones, to property, belongings, pets, if a sudden disaster were to strike without warning. It seems so distant when
it comes to us via cable news from half way arount tha world, but events like this
happen all too often. Right now there are wildfires burning out of control in California,
incinerating homes and leaving virtually nothing behind. There are floods
devastating entire neighborhoods, and storms brewing in the Atlantic. All of these
have, can, or will bring heartbreak and loss to hundreds or even thousands of people. Yet there is
only so much that can be done about it (and even less to prevent it).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Italy, it is still very early on in the aftermath of the
earthquake. I am sure there will be much discussion (and finger pointing)
revolving around the construction methods, design, and engineering of the
buildings that were destroyed. Hopefully, they can move past that point and
quickly develop consensus on how these buildings will be repaired or replaced.
Improved construction materials, methods, design, permitting and inspections
can greatly impact the ability of structures to withstand whatever nature has
in store.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7dqrcZsLHC-VCi4TfAImLnkLhBeu1_0bjHoHp3bHOdYFWPfJZcR__0MP917HPZC1lz_VVuiW43TeI5Rp4Lqowx2qkqvbTnI3YMbMdthY3LPv4tyiW6kJvuIvPnLdhCjowgJf2aV26dnA/s1600/tornado+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7dqrcZsLHC-VCi4TfAImLnkLhBeu1_0bjHoHp3bHOdYFWPfJZcR__0MP917HPZC1lz_VVuiW43TeI5Rp4Lqowx2qkqvbTnI3YMbMdthY3LPv4tyiW6kJvuIvPnLdhCjowgJf2aV26dnA/s320/tornado+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter the type of disaster, there are things that can
be done to increase your chances for survival. For example, you can carefully
research and choose where you live. In insurance terms, this is called <b>risk avoidance</b>. Terrified of tremors?
Don’t live on or near a fault. Have a fear of fires? Avoid wildfire-prone
areas. Scared of cyclones? Don’t reside in areas known as “tornado alley”.
Frightened of floods? Pick a home on elevated grounds and far from large bodies
of water. Harried by hurricanes? Move far inland, but hopefully not near a
fault line, tinder-dry canyon, low-lying riverbank, or tornado area.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s face it, no matter we live, we face some risk of
widespread damage by a catastrophic event. The next consideration is to accept
the possibility of loss, but to take steps to reduce the potential impact on
your way of life. The applicable insurance term for this is <b>risk transfer</b>. Typically, this involves
buying the appropriate insurance, and thereby transferring the financial risk from you, to
the insurance company.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTQSm7dHXm5znM-mUwleFYqkLhzX-U-uosvMM3O1gdDtXyzhDd4Zd0Hd1_oKQf3kU7InUmm_ewZ_TRK8w41vRES9mokA0BTq5lQMQUO5GDY_ztq9c4jJsJR74wS5_nbTdLvNbEON02mlv/s1600/impact+windows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTQSm7dHXm5znM-mUwleFYqkLhzX-U-uosvMM3O1gdDtXyzhDd4Zd0Hd1_oKQf3kU7InUmm_ewZ_TRK8w41vRES9mokA0BTq5lQMQUO5GDY_ztq9c4jJsJR74wS5_nbTdLvNbEON02mlv/s1600/impact+windows.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Impace windows courtesy of <a href="http://homeritejacksonville.com/aluminum-single-hung-windows/">HomeRute</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Along the way, you can do other things, like being sure your home is built to withstand various calamities as best as you are able. If you live in areas prone to storms, spend a few extra dollars to have wind resistant windows installed. If in a low-lying area, homes on raised pilings are a
plus. And of course, homes built to withstand earthquakes would be
preferred if you live in areas that periodically experience earth tremors. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And finally, you need to take steps to minimize loss of life.
Besides the steps mentioned above, this would include anything from living in
areas known for early warning systems, well planned escape routes, and responsible
civil authorities, to developing your own plans for escape (which should
certainly include heeding evacuation calls), communication, regrouping,
and subsistence, as well as having a well built and well stocked basement or storm
shelter. Plans for all types of disasters abound freely on the internet, so it
would be senseless not to take advantage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOplgigutus9J0q6ovBmHQZrANBSzAtxcFdEZPoWYYaKkb96rOBxE8HZ0-91JmFl6QivrWnP3GfN4smSRqeLib0bJugRmTM89XvjGY0x-LsBMmQ7rBV47fqmcXEsm2Su9Z_237JA-DNuoo/s1600/book2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOplgigutus9J0q6ovBmHQZrANBSzAtxcFdEZPoWYYaKkb96rOBxE8HZ0-91JmFl6QivrWnP3GfN4smSRqeLib0bJugRmTM89XvjGY0x-LsBMmQ7rBV47fqmcXEsm2Su9Z_237JA-DNuoo/s320/book2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Fill out the form below to get a free copy of Mark's book.</b></div>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nobody can guarantee a life free of natural catastrophes, but
there are plenty of things you can do to reduce the likelihood, degree of
impact, and overall consequences, no matter what Mother Nature has in store for
you. Please keep our friends in Italy, and in Louisiana, and Colorado, in your
thoughts and prayers and be proactive before the world comes tumbling down around you. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-39519120247935903722016-08-15T08:27:00.000-07:002016-08-15T08:27:07.528-07:00Your Vacation Checklistby Mark Goldwich<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyVAxAu1ymoDk2BoUX-Kkz5lelUnRzE4aoDhOwnZZD_OopfPjVrUc1FWuSaaIVcSWIr5n1Grp1KOyInXujd2ww_kFU7tY-BNTXJf2VIZqOaujS8tJaICD1zEhs0Yy-2dzYOrMOz3MGGpp/s1600/vacation+pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyVAxAu1ymoDk2BoUX-Kkz5lelUnRzE4aoDhOwnZZD_OopfPjVrUc1FWuSaaIVcSWIr5n1Grp1KOyInXujd2ww_kFU7tY-BNTXJf2VIZqOaujS8tJaICD1zEhs0Yy-2dzYOrMOz3MGGpp/s1600/vacation+pixabay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Summer break is nearly over, but vacations happen year round, so it is never too late (or too early) to learn a thing or two that could really come in handy should disaster strike while you are away, from the perspective of an insurance claims professional.<br />
<br />
First, be sure you have insurance to begin with, and that it is the right insurance for you and your property, with the right coverages, endorsements, and deductible. Whether you are going on vacation or not, you should meet with your insurance agent yearly, or you should review your policy carefully if you don’t have an agent. Why? As you might imagine, insurance policies differ from company to company, and each insurance company may also have policies that differ. Some policies are actual cash value only, meaning they will deduct for depreciation in the event of a loss, while other policies are replacement cost value, meaning they will not deduct for depreciation, but fully pay whatever it costs to replace what you had that was damaged, lost, or destroyed. Even this is not consistent, in that some policies say they are replacement cost, but will only pay the full replacement value if you replace the item, and they will not pay actual cash value until or unless you actually replace the property first.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUksekWqYxUImoNugsOsHNFKuBb_h7kZnBqnKRnHHWwLfh01SybL0suL8mjJsfR3GvyoKqQjgNANfOWsQZ1r5EcWBd35c0BNs0IthGlD62TWY77nPyDxf26Bu76wGdOEgTSKbfg6GM6spV/s1600/burglar+pexels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUksekWqYxUImoNugsOsHNFKuBb_h7kZnBqnKRnHHWwLfh01SybL0suL8mjJsfR3GvyoKqQjgNANfOWsQZ1r5EcWBd35c0BNs0IthGlD62TWY77nPyDxf26Bu76wGdOEgTSKbfg6GM6spV/s1600/burglar+pexels.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pexels.com/">pexels.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another consideration that needs to be made when researching insurance options is what I call “internal limits”. Most people understand their policies have overall policy limits for which their property is covered, like a limit for all items related to the structure, and another limit for all of their personal belongings. However, some don’t realize there are usually internal or sub-limits for items, usually for personal property. For example, all your personal property may be insured for $50,000, but your policy may have multiple sub-limits for items like jewelry, cash, antiques, camera equipment, business property, stamps, firearms, silverware and goldware, watercraft, trailers, expensive rugs or tapestries, and even computers. Sometimes these limits apply only if the property is damaged under certain circumstances (like theft), and sometimes these limits apply regardless of what caused the damage.<br />
<br />
In short, it’s important to have an idea of what these limits and circumstances are, and whether or not you can buy additional insurance to cover your property. Oftentimes you can, but unless you know what the limits are, how can you know whether you need to buy more insurance or a better policy? Early in my career as an insurance company adjuster, an associate and I inspected a claim for a theft loss that highlights this well. As we interviewed the homeowner, he explained that while he was out of town, thieves broke into his home and stole a number of items, including jewelry, cash, and designer clothing from his wife’s boutique. Other items were stolen and damaged as well, but the items listed above were all subject to relatively low internal limits.<br />
<br />
The cash limit was $200, the jewelry limit was $2,500, and the limit for clothing used in his wife’s <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLi_rCelQLMFh4ppA8fYXyCgSYPX6yNcyzt1hfOUlG0E7KKwbc73vCxA7lYlxK-0-xt9x4lwD9nseNuN3wsdss_YFeHBt7ofY7U5QByeRBwB9DNW8pIvh1ArHdWcpbkpWvmokEjsmXc24l/s1600/jewelry+pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLi_rCelQLMFh4ppA8fYXyCgSYPX6yNcyzt1hfOUlG0E7KKwbc73vCxA7lYlxK-0-xt9x4lwD9nseNuN3wsdss_YFeHBt7ofY7U5QByeRBwB9DNW8pIvh1ArHdWcpbkpWvmokEjsmXc24l/s1600/jewelry+pixabay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
business was $1,000. Normally, this wouldn’t be so dramatic, but in this case, the amounts he was claiming were extraordinarily high. You see, he was claiming the amount of cash stolen exceeded $200,000, the amount of jewelry exceeded $100,000, and the clothing exceeded $50,000 in value. We were shocked, he could probably sense in our questions that we doubted his story, but he assured us he could document and prove all the items and quantities being claimed. He even noted the money was still in the U.S. Marshall’s bags from when the money was recently returned to him. A strange claim, indeed! And to say he was upset about the shortcomings of his policy sub-limits would be an understatement – I was glad to make it back to the office alive! No doubt most people will never experience a loss of this magnitude, but it well illustrates the point of internal policy sub-limits, and the importance of being familiar with those in your policies.<br />
<br />
And for similar reasons, it is crucial to have at least a basic understanding of all other aspects of the policy. Without this basic knowledge, it is impossible to know whether or not you have the right policy and endorsements for your needs. Once you are confident of your policy, you can be a bit more at ease when you leave for vacation.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X3BBe2X-urbii4csKXRcJxtaoS0TLlvepZX16jD_KZIRX8xhQDZ_JijlyPJzbCRJaSasVLXs5_d2A8aZPPaaFp8OkY3ybNydQRMC9Tj5w7YAlYDfWxWoJZ96XCCTgSQpmev17t967NvG/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X3BBe2X-urbii4csKXRcJxtaoS0TLlvepZX16jD_KZIRX8xhQDZ_JijlyPJzbCRJaSasVLXs5_d2A8aZPPaaFp8OkY3ybNydQRMC9Tj5w7YAlYDfWxWoJZ96XCCTgSQpmev17t967NvG/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill our the form below for a FREE copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<center><script type="text/javascript" src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707"></script></center><br />
<br />
But just having the right policy is not enough. You need to have a plan as well. This can include how to prepare your home to make it less attractive to thieves, to be less susceptible to electrical and plumbing losses, and general life and home protection ideas, including a contact list to use in the event of some disaster, and a step by step strategy for beginning to deal with the claim remotely. I actually found some very good ideas and tips on insurance websites for www.Nationwide.com and www.Travelers.com (hey, just because I don’t trust those guys to help you after a loss doesn’t mean I won’t recognize any of their good works).<br />
<br />
With a comfortable knowledge of your policy, a plan in place, and your home prepared, it’s time to pack your bags and enjoy your trip!<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-4571077759987921452016-08-03T09:19:00.000-07:002016-08-03T09:20:16.314-07:00Public Adjusting Takes a Vacationby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvq9WaS1Yguh1VKpZH8aYos4_i34Etl6j74PczOKWm2MRbqOnwEGUxObA2ZAHF0ViDssitIqg2GNNyr_GQxkTDS3tV7h2mAJ07ue8MB4JT8FPuk2XB7RO92VEAVWoIvHehbO-RpCj_BNvI/s1600/vacation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvq9WaS1Yguh1VKpZH8aYos4_i34Etl6j74PczOKWm2MRbqOnwEGUxObA2ZAHF0ViDssitIqg2GNNyr_GQxkTDS3tV7h2mAJ07ue8MB4JT8FPuk2XB7RO92VEAVWoIvHehbO-RpCj_BNvI/s320/vacation.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like many other Americans, this week the family and I are on
our last vacation of the summer. Vacation is a bit different for me as a
business owner versus my decades as an employee for a large national insurance
company. Back when I worked as an employee of the insurance company, I could
just go. My job and the office would be there when I returned, but I didn’t
have to worry about work while I was away on vacation. Now when I go on
vacation, I have to be sure to take my phone and laptop (and chargers) with me,
both of which allow me to communicate in various ways with coworkers, insureds,
and others. With the systems we use, I can work virtually from anywhere, as
long as I can connect to a network, or get Wi-Fi, without missing a beat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, just yesterday, as I was completing the last
driving leg of our trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, I got a call from an
adjuster I was expecting to hear from the day before, and in just less than 10
minutes at highway speeds, we were able to settle the claim. My insured, Ms.
“P”, will be very happy. Ms. “P” suffered a water leak in April when the shower
valve in her daughter’s bathroom sprang a leak in the wall cavity between the
bathroom and the laundry room. They immediately shut off the water and called a
plumber, who located and repaired the source of the leak. She then called a
contractor who extracted the water and dried the structure. In the meantime,
Ms. “P” got a closet-full of shoes out of her daughter’s room, and began drying
and cleaning them. A few days later, the insurance adjuster showed up, and Ms.
“P” said she could tell it was not going to go well from the start. The
adjuster began by saying he needed photos of odd things, like the mailbox, and
the exterior of the home (none of which had any damage or were related to the
claim in any way). The adjuster suggested the water was leaking for “quite some
time” and questioned the insured’s truthfulness regarding certain aspects of
the claim.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYXKM_c_0U4VvA6Y6sgdCVeinjhc-KKQWW9Ya1q9FCfkEJ0cZsGI0PLzrzwZ5iQth11ptJfUJX0e-AxS1BYYcAVM4iRK5oQQYbIkQKVztuq8Kl5LyOLV3XviQKpJuFAzVXhPRJoDJxjqy/s1600/leak+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYXKM_c_0U4VvA6Y6sgdCVeinjhc-KKQWW9Ya1q9FCfkEJ0cZsGI0PLzrzwZ5iQth11ptJfUJX0e-AxS1BYYcAVM4iRK5oQQYbIkQKVztuq8Kl5LyOLV3XviQKpJuFAzVXhPRJoDJxjqy/s1600/leak+flickr.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sure enough, about a week later, the insured was officially
told her claim would be denied because the insurance company felt the water
leak was an ongoing maintenance issue that occurred for weeks or months, and
not just hours or days as the insured had claimed. Fortunately for Ms. “P”, her
water restoration contractor told her about me, and one month after the leak
was discovered, she hired me to help recover on the claim. As soon as I saw the
damages, exactly as the insurance company adjuster saw them, I knew with
certainty the loss should have been covered. I took my photos, made some notes,
and had an estimate prepared. The estimate was sent in to the insurance company
with a request to meet with an adjuster (either the same one, or a new one).
They sent a new one, about a month later. When we met back at the house, the
adjuster acknowledged he was not familiar with the claim, or why it was not
covered, but assured us he would consider it with “fresh eyes”. I remained sure
the claim would be paid. Ms. “P” was encouraged, but not yet convinced. Until
today, when I communicated (via email from 3 states away), the general terms of
the agreement the adjuster and I came to in the car yesterday. He confirmed
they agreed to fully cover the claim, and even agreed to the vast majority of
my estimate, plus something to compensate the insured for saving and cleaning
her daughter’s shoes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclP1EcHBoiOkSjIhwwBYuTZSpzIszoQF3WMK-JoRWa1vdg1OxgWJI8R0U3mxxK48Izp5UdxISoXJhPEI1gRaaeg2WY6ra2GZpIrHISbOAhEbcVU0FNZxuhbZZo8uEKYZ7r8z4pHk8cUqC/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclP1EcHBoiOkSjIhwwBYuTZSpzIszoQF3WMK-JoRWa1vdg1OxgWJI8R0U3mxxK48Izp5UdxISoXJhPEI1gRaaeg2WY6ra2GZpIrHISbOAhEbcVU0FNZxuhbZZo8uEKYZ7r8z4pHk8cUqC/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below to receive a FREE copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While on vacation, the TVs where we are staying are
programmed to have the weather channel appear when the TVs are turned on. For
most guests, I imagine this is so the visiting tourists can check the weather
and plan their days. Of course, for me, I get to see where the storms are, and
remain in “work-mode”. Today, for example, I see Tropical Storm Earl is heading
for Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and that Maryland is recovering from recent
heavy flooding. So, while my family is at a local theme park, I am taking the
day off from vacationing to catch up on some emails and write this blog.
Tomorrow, though, it is back to family vacation fun, I promise – but I may need
to take a work call or two, and check email and text every few hours. And I
wouldn’t have it any other way. I love that I can help people any day of the
week, no matter where I am!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-74938345961886990242016-07-19T07:51:00.000-07:002016-07-19T07:55:36.830-07:00Record Losses For Allby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EQIJuuFpLqiSM0khdx97C6G3dd6HtNvJAcLej3YZfZ6lofIKBmxFcHes1DxjhpwK73W_TT69JfOgV_948u2-XL3Kv1D1vNyCvh4cgkfViYgB4pVaCqg3b3Yi_asHBIwXqtfbUl23hfc4/s1600/weathrchan+commonswikimediaorg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EQIJuuFpLqiSM0khdx97C6G3dd6HtNvJAcLej3YZfZ6lofIKBmxFcHes1DxjhpwK73W_TT69JfOgV_948u2-XL3Kv1D1vNyCvh4cgkfViYgB4pVaCqg3b3Yi_asHBIwXqtfbUl23hfc4/s1600/weathrchan+commonswikimediaorg.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Weather Channel’s website, weather.com, recently
published an article, “Eight Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters Have Hit the U.S.
So Far in 2016”. The article noted this was only for the first 6 months of
2016, and that just one of the storms alone accounted for over 3.5 billion
dollars of that damage. Also of note were the facts that 5 of the 8 weather
disasters occurred in Texas, including 2 flooding events, and the damage totals
did not even include late June flooding events in West Virginia. All told, at
over 12 billion dollars, this could end up being the costliest January to June
weather disaster period in recent history (it is already ranked #2, behind
2011’s tornado superoutbreak in April).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now let’s try to break down who has to pay for all these
damaging weather events, and how this could translate into insurance terms.
First, remember that not all such losses are covered by insurance. Some
properties are uninsurable, some properties are insurable but the owner chooses
not to insure, can’t afford to insure, or decides to self-insure, and still
others are insured, but not all the damages are covered by insurance. For
example, if a 50-foot tall, 100 year old oak tree comes down in a storm, and does
not land on covered property, there is no coverage for cutting up the tree and
hauling it off of the property – and the bill for that could be thousands of
dollars. Now, consider how many trees come down in all of these storms without
landing on anything. As another example, flood insurance only covers certain
types of buildings, and only up to certain limits (it is not like other types
of property insurance where you purchase the amount of insurance you need).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, out of the 12 billion dollars in damages, let’s say only
7 billion dollars are covered by insurance – that is still a great deal of
money. Fortunately, the insurance companies have that money sitting in
reserves, collecting more interest than you or I can get. And, let’s not forget
that just because the damages are covered by insurance, and the policies are in
place, and the premiums are paid, that doesn’t mean the insurance companies are
going to willfully <b>pay</b> that money to
their insureds, who have now crossed the line from (pre-loss) “customers”, to
(post-loss) “legal and financial adversaries”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMkBacMrAXtNYEzSO0s9wNiLtj-w_TLM0R9X52GwAXcIzC60sd60lQ702RowJefvSC6zQF-fkSUy3BP-kdpQvPz2Rgp1DY_YBgUCQbBNp_DXIWYHTUsIwRpxVOnS2xG0EnJ0hlZGnE1hb/s1600/change+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMkBacMrAXtNYEzSO0s9wNiLtj-w_TLM0R9X52GwAXcIzC60sd60lQ702RowJefvSC6zQF-fkSUy3BP-kdpQvPz2Rgp1DY_YBgUCQbBNp_DXIWYHTUsIwRpxVOnS2xG0EnJ0hlZGnE1hb/s1600/change+flickr.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small change image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Care to guess how much I would predict insurance companies
would offer premium paying customers with covered losses, if the covered
damages were actually 7 billion dollars? Don’t read ahead. Just think about it
for a minute before scrolling down. Don’t peek! If they owe 7 billion, how much
would they pay without question? Should be 7 billion, right? OK, maybe they try
to hold back a little – after all, some people probably try to inflate their
claims, and mistakes happen, but they would probably pay at least 5 billion,
don’t you think?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I don’t. My experience tells me they would try to pay
a mere 1.75 billion dollars of the 7 billion dollars owed. Good thing we’re a
litigious society, with tons of lawyers at our disposal, and we won’t let
anyone take advantage of us like that, huh? Don’t count on it. Accounting for the
small percentage of policyholders that would fight their claims – either on
their own, or with the help of a professional public adjuster or attorney – I
would doubt the figure would rise above 2 billion dollars. That makes for a
nice additional profit of about 5 billion dollars on covered losses owed, but
not paid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why do I think the insurance companies would offer so
little? That would be based on my own experience, supported by a governmental
agency, the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
Accountability that published a report in January 2010, which showed insurance
payments were up to 747% higher when policyholders were represented by public
adjusters for claims related to hurricanes (catastrophes). This report supports
my own experience when dealing with insurance claims, and especially when
dealing with catastrophe claims. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Exhibit 6 <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Default">
<b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Public Adjuster Representation Typically Resulted in Larger Payments to
Policyholders <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmszewyvqG8NdHzv1ed6Yx9GU4UD_oCJNPfuRFwBw1tGxqQM3VugbSB_-9vxpz2HGuTLn-3fxkNx5EXTkF4_iFTh801Pkq_IY8G9ph3QsOM8O3f4KQwo7Bijk-CbZbIq7Dx4hdHNTplWZ/s1600/adj1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmszewyvqG8NdHzv1ed6Yx9GU4UD_oCJNPfuRFwBw1tGxqQM3VugbSB_-9vxpz2HGuTLn-3fxkNx5EXTkF4_iFTh801Pkq_IY8G9ph3QsOM8O3f4KQwo7Bijk-CbZbIq7Dx4hdHNTplWZ/s1600/adj1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="Default">
<b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "zapfcalligr bt" , "serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:159pt;
height:111pt'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Carl\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"
o:title="OPPAGA graph"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "zapfcalligr bt" , "serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Source: OPPAGA
analysis. Data refers to the median (50</span><span style="font-family: "zapfcalligr bt" , "serif"; font-size: 5.0pt; line-height: 115%;">th </span><span style="font-family: "zapfcalligr bt" , "serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">percentile
or typical) payment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "zapfcalligr bt" , "serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consider these two examples of actual claims I handled
recently:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In one case, an insured was paid just over $2,600 for damage
to his roof from a storm. The insurance company acknowledged that about 50% of
the insured’s roof needed to be replaced due to a covered wind event, but
decided not to pay to replace the entire roof as was required by building code
(and the insured had the proper endorsement to address this). I thought it
would be a simple matter of letting the insurance company know of their
mistake. Instead of quickly paying the correct amount, an adjuster blustered
about the amount I had estimated, misrepresenting a number of facts about the
size of the roof and the cost of the repairs. It took a few months to get
someone else involved that agreed the prior adjuster did not respond properly,
and an additional $7,750 was paid, on top of the $2,600 initially paid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In another case, a woman had a pipe leak inside a wall
between her bathroom and laundry room, damaging some drywall, a vanity, floor
tiles, and some of her daughter’s shoes. The insurance company adjuster was
very difficult with her, suggesting the leak must have been occurring for an
extended period of time, and questioning the insured about some items that were
completely unrelated to the claim. She said she could tell there was going to
be a problem within just a few minutes of him entering her home. Sure enough,
she soon received a letter denying the claim altogether. She then hired me, and
I recently met with another adjuster, who agreed to pay for the damages,
totaling over $6,000.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbj-m3jhEL5MpjEfUmEb7NVu7IKaVFgjYYWpwaVIuaGzfZp3MgCrsQtaxntS_2LmoVVsdXtEp2Hnp3cd2wulHFMinb16oPM2aeQ7Y2TfrFN0XnARB1VLQAJZ-woXI2lVOQN8hKhYVZvyO/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbj-m3jhEL5MpjEfUmEb7NVu7IKaVFgjYYWpwaVIuaGzfZp3MgCrsQtaxntS_2LmoVVsdXtEp2Hnp3cd2wulHFMinb16oPM2aeQ7Y2TfrFN0XnARB1VLQAJZ-woXI2lVOQN8hKhYVZvyO/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below to receive your FREE copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keep in mind these are small losses, not resulting from
major weather catastrophes, yet the amounts the insurance companies were
attempting to avoid paying were relatively significant for such small claims.
If you consider the hundreds of thousands of claims that would have been filed
for the weather related catastrophes in the first 6 months of 2016, and have
confidence as I do in the amounts that could be recovered with professional
representation, you can begin to see why I believe the insurance companies
could be avoiding as much as 5 billion dollars or more in covered claim
payments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, the insurance industry might be making record payments
on record numbers of weather disasters, but their insureds are also suffering
record losses as well. The difference is, the insureds paid their full premiums
with their hard-earned money, and don’t have the 5 billion dollars I believe is
being shorted, and the insurance companies do have the money. The insureds who
refuse to settle for less than everything they are owed are fully compensated –
I hope that includes you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-28101349364898131732016-07-15T07:49:00.002-07:002016-07-15T07:52:41.450-07:00Collateral Damage - Can your insurance policy become a casualty of war?by Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxprDpuBcrktIygVSG4vut4PzIImTx4Nd_RZ1unQinma7w26u9W_PqDrI8IhXNMR6PK_7v4u2Pkot5SPWZaeFDzvl9KGUt0xJld2JbVwdVlbwrysoKQJrrjZ0Ckus1EecZTJpCW2mRNp1h/s1600/bomb+damage+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxprDpuBcrktIygVSG4vut4PzIImTx4Nd_RZ1unQinma7w26u9W_PqDrI8IhXNMR6PK_7v4u2Pkot5SPWZaeFDzvl9KGUt0xJld2JbVwdVlbwrysoKQJrrjZ0Ckus1EecZTJpCW2mRNp1h/s1600/bomb+damage+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/"> en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While just about everyone in America is talking (if not
listening) about the racial problems facing the nation, and all the theoretical
reasons for the discord, as well as the perceived solutions, I was also
thinking about the real life property damage consequences from the Dallas
attack and other demonstrations that sometimes begin peacefully, but don’t
always end peacefully, as well as events such as the Orlando and San Bernardino
attacks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After giving the obvious due consideration for the loss of
life, and everything that goes along with that loss of life, and the acts that
led to the loss of life, I couldn’t help but think about the property damage involved
in these types of events. Often, the property that is damaged does not belong
to either the victims, or the perpetrators. Instead, the owners of the property
that is collaterally damaged or destroyed are additional innocent victims of
the various types of mayhem that seem to be more and more common. In fact, in
Dallas, the explosive that ended the event, was introduced and detonated by the
police, not the assailant. Should this make a difference? I thought, “If I’m wondering
about this, maybe other people are as well.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what about it? Is property damaged like this covered?
First, we’d need to break down the causes of the property damage, because
determining coverage always begins with the cause of the damage. And as you
might imagine, the cause might depend on who you are asking. Was the event a
riot, a civil commotion, civil unrest, looting, arson, terrorism…? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdLmszrjJWbxXMgPgZQ3r-GkkX8c3C6rVtJZLEdfJtwzSc8x20uGdX9d6jBCuz2kBNerhaUtAfe-15AqZDNdOBqOuIPJSHF-xDCGufHSEcFECUm2K0S-c11-EzPOoQ2A3XwwqSbFxqrWU/s1600/terror+youtube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdLmszrjJWbxXMgPgZQ3r-GkkX8c3C6rVtJZLEdfJtwzSc8x20uGdX9d6jBCuz2kBNerhaUtAfe-15AqZDNdOBqOuIPJSHF-xDCGufHSEcFECUm2K0S-c11-EzPOoQ2A3XwwqSbFxqrWU/s1600/terror+youtube.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://youtube.com/">YouTube</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because we are talking about insurance, these terms are
usually defined in either the policy, or in case<o:p></o:p></div>
law (a legal ruling or
judicial interpretation based on a past case, usually with similar facts).
Still, what one person interprets as “riot”, another may consider “terrorism”.
Without even getting into this very deeply, you can probably see that what
should be clear cut, with just a little wordsmithing can be made to be as
confusing as which bathroom should be used by someone born with male parts.
Some will say, “that’s easy”, while others will promptly chime in, “not so
fast.”<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To illustrate how quickly and easily key terms can be
interchanged, Brendan McKenna in a 2006 article found at Insure.com noted, “At
9:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, shortly after learning about the crash of a second
airplane into the World Trade Center in New York City, President George W. Bush
called the events an "apparent act of terrorism." Standard
property/casualty insurance contract forms provided to the industry by the
Insurance Services Office contain clauses excluding "war, including
undeclared or civil war" and "warlike action by a military force,
including action in hindering or defending against an actual or expected
attack, by any government, sovereign, or other authority using military
personnel or other agents." Just over a day later, Bush said that
"the deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday
against our country were more than acts of terror. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmrhgEtMs2Zz3E4bT1P0z7MBZftEyeLaO-FZL-phw0b7aFNDo_WcaNw6_EDv8Vpzb19j2wL6k2XmE0EyAeZp6V_GLPlF3ClDpbRBGOENB5oBVqm5mbnv738aOYMsE5kUztFISYhtNN7U1/s1600/911+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmrhgEtMs2Zz3E4bT1P0z7MBZftEyeLaO-FZL-phw0b7aFNDo_WcaNw6_EDv8Vpzb19j2wL6k2XmE0EyAeZp6V_GLPlF3ClDpbRBGOENB5oBVqm5mbnv738aOYMsE5kUztFISYhtNN7U1/s400/911+flickr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They were acts of war."
While the President’s words have unequivocally stated the position of the
United States, they may have muddied the waters concerning the insurance issues
around the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Many
property/casualty insurance policies are written to exclude coverage for acts
of war, but not for acts of terrorism. If the act-of-war exclusion clause of
the insurance contracts is invoked, insurance companies can refuse to pay the
benefits on the policies, including payments on businesses, homes, and cars
that were damaged or destroyed.” That would have been ruinous to countless
Americans who suffered tens of billions of dollars in direct and consequential
damages.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most standard Homeowner’s or Business insurance policies <b>exclude</b> damage caused by war, and most <b>do</b> <b>cover</b>
damage caused by riot or civil commotion, but so far, I have not seen or heard
of many policies having specific coverages for, or exclusions against,
terrorism (especially on the Homeowner’s policies – some Business policies already
exclude terrorism, but allow terrorism coverage to be purchased). So far, at
least, this trend benefits policyholders, as most of the events we are
referring to here would not be considered “war”, even though we generally talk
about “war on terrorism”, or note that radical jihadis have declared “war” on
America. As far as I know, no insurance company would consider any of the cases
above to be “war”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpRyJdXlTRS6mBw2oId9kjZ-i45GqbbkuYXtU9DYtH1XXCpkUY6BZ3uD57SNqKlPEr1VysRlwFDipIaz-j3cAtyk3XeGiQ9xfO_5YXqknz_gIaVa1kEj9oY7SxYwfz4W6ivVvfYYKpJ-B/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpRyJdXlTRS6mBw2oId9kjZ-i45GqbbkuYXtU9DYtH1XXCpkUY6BZ3uD57SNqKlPEr1VysRlwFDipIaz-j3cAtyk3XeGiQ9xfO_5YXqknz_gIaVa1kEj9oY7SxYwfz4W6ivVvfYYKpJ-B/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to an article by Gwen Moran in HouseLogic.com, “Several
states, including Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Texas, forbid terrorism exclusions, according to a report on terrorism’s
impact on homeowners insurance from the Missouri Bar Association.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the topic of terrorism insurance, according to the
Insurance Information Institute (<a href="http://www.iii.org/">www.iii.org</a>),
most personal policies cover terrorism, and most commercial/business policies do
not, and even if a business did have a terrorism policy or endorsement, some losses
associated with terrorism could still not be covered (fire, nuclear,
biological, chemical, radiological, and cyber-terrorism), so it is increasingly
important to sit down with your insurance agent to consider these threats,
especially if you own a business. While talking with an agent, it may be
worthwhile to see how your various insurance policies (home, condo, rental,
auto, business, life, health) would react to the scenarios mentioned above.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In conclusion, there are still many questions left
unanswered with regard to the insurance coverage of these types of events, and
changes continue to be made as additional events occur and more data is
gathered by underwriters. That said, you can be pretty sure insurance
executives everywhere are meeting at conferences and other industry events to
consider how to address the seemingly growing costs associated with paying
claims from these types of events. Whether they will adjust policy definitions,
limit exposure to these types of losses, or exclude more of these events
altogether, remains to be seen, but I have a hunch they will eventually
determine a strategy for maximizing profits. They always do.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
ps: As I write this I am reminded that terror is an international scourge. This morning's news is filled with the tragic terror attack in Nice, France that claimed at least 50 lives, 2 of whom are American.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-70512889013928297652016-07-15T07:49:00.000-07:002016-07-15T07:49:44.601-07:00Collateral Damage - Can your insurance policy become a casualty of war?by Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxprDpuBcrktIygVSG4vut4PzIImTx4Nd_RZ1unQinma7w26u9W_PqDrI8IhXNMR6PK_7v4u2Pkot5SPWZaeFDzvl9KGUt0xJld2JbVwdVlbwrysoKQJrrjZ0Ckus1EecZTJpCW2mRNp1h/s1600/bomb+damage+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxprDpuBcrktIygVSG4vut4PzIImTx4Nd_RZ1unQinma7w26u9W_PqDrI8IhXNMR6PK_7v4u2Pkot5SPWZaeFDzvl9KGUt0xJld2JbVwdVlbwrysoKQJrrjZ0Ckus1EecZTJpCW2mRNp1h/s1600/bomb+damage+en+wikipedia+org.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/"> en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While just about everyone in America is talking (if not
listening) about the racial problems facing the nation, and all the theoretical
reasons for the discord, as well as the perceived solutions, I was also
thinking about the real life property damage consequences from the Dallas
attack and other demonstrations that sometimes begin peacefully, but don’t
always end peacefully, as well as events such as the Orlando and San Bernardino
attacks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After giving the obvious due consideration for the loss of
life, and everything that goes along with that loss of life, and the acts that
led to the loss of life, I couldn’t help but think about the property damage involved
in these types of events. Often, the property that is damaged does not belong
to either the victims, or the perpetrators. Instead, the owners of the property
that is collaterally damaged or destroyed are additional innocent victims of
the various types of mayhem that seem to be more and more common. In fact, in
Dallas, the explosive that ended the event, was introduced and detonated by the
police, not the assailant. Should this make a difference? I thought, “If I’m wondering
about this, maybe other people are as well.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what about it? Is property damaged like this covered?
First, we’d need to break down the causes of the property damage, because
determining coverage always begins with the cause of the damage. And as you
might imagine, the cause might depend on who you are asking. Was the event a
riot, a civil commotion, civil unrest, looting, arson, terrorism…? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdLmszrjJWbxXMgPgZQ3r-GkkX8c3C6rVtJZLEdfJtwzSc8x20uGdX9d6jBCuz2kBNerhaUtAfe-15AqZDNdOBqOuIPJSHF-xDCGufHSEcFECUm2K0S-c11-EzPOoQ2A3XwwqSbFxqrWU/s1600/terror+youtube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdLmszrjJWbxXMgPgZQ3r-GkkX8c3C6rVtJZLEdfJtwzSc8x20uGdX9d6jBCuz2kBNerhaUtAfe-15AqZDNdOBqOuIPJSHF-xDCGufHSEcFECUm2K0S-c11-EzPOoQ2A3XwwqSbFxqrWU/s1600/terror+youtube.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://youtube.com/">YouTube</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because we are talking about insurance, these terms are
usually defined in either the policy, or in case<o:p></o:p></div>
law (a legal ruling or
judicial interpretation based on a past case, usually with similar facts).
Still, what one person interprets as “riot”, another may consider “terrorism”.
Without even getting into this very deeply, you can probably see that what
should be clear cut, with just a little wordsmithing can be made to be as
confusing as which bathroom should be used by someone born with male parts.
Some will say, “that’s easy”, while others will promptly chime in, “not so
fast.”<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To illustrate how quickly and easily key terms can be
interchanged, Brendan McKenna in a 2006 article found at Insure.com noted, “At
9:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, shortly after learning about the crash of a second
airplane into the World Trade Center in New York City, President George W. Bush
called the events an "apparent act of terrorism." Standard
property/casualty insurance contract forms provided to the industry by the
Insurance Services Office contain clauses excluding "war, including
undeclared or civil war" and "warlike action by a military force,
including action in hindering or defending against an actual or expected
attack, by any government, sovereign, or other authority using military
personnel or other agents." Just over a day later, Bush said that
"the deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday
against our country were more than acts of terror. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmrhgEtMs2Zz3E4bT1P0z7MBZftEyeLaO-FZL-phw0b7aFNDo_WcaNw6_EDv8Vpzb19j2wL6k2XmE0EyAeZp6V_GLPlF3ClDpbRBGOENB5oBVqm5mbnv738aOYMsE5kUztFISYhtNN7U1/s1600/911+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmrhgEtMs2Zz3E4bT1P0z7MBZftEyeLaO-FZL-phw0b7aFNDo_WcaNw6_EDv8Vpzb19j2wL6k2XmE0EyAeZp6V_GLPlF3ClDpbRBGOENB5oBVqm5mbnv738aOYMsE5kUztFISYhtNN7U1/s400/911+flickr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They were acts of war."
While the President’s words have unequivocally stated the position of the
United States, they may have muddied the waters concerning the insurance issues
around the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Many
property/casualty insurance policies are written to exclude coverage for acts
of war, but not for acts of terrorism. If the act-of-war exclusion clause of
the insurance contracts is invoked, insurance companies can refuse to pay the
benefits on the policies, including payments on businesses, homes, and cars
that were damaged or destroyed.” That would have been ruinous to countless
Americans who suffered tens of billions of dollars in direct and consequential
damages.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most standard Homeowner’s or Business insurance policies <b>exclude</b> damage caused by war, and most <b>do</b> <b>cover</b>
damage caused by riot or civil commotion, but so far, I have not seen or heard
of many policies having specific coverages for, or exclusions against,
terrorism (especially on the Homeowner’s policies – some Business policies already
exclude terrorism, but allow terrorism coverage to be purchased). So far, at
least, this trend benefits policyholders, as most of the events we are
referring to here would not be considered “war”, even though we generally talk
about “war on terrorism”, or note that radical jihadis have declared “war” on
America. As far as I know, no insurance company would consider any of the cases
above to be “war”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpRyJdXlTRS6mBw2oId9kjZ-i45GqbbkuYXtU9DYtH1XXCpkUY6BZ3uD57SNqKlPEr1VysRlwFDipIaz-j3cAtyk3XeGiQ9xfO_5YXqknz_gIaVa1kEj9oY7SxYwfz4W6ivVvfYYKpJ-B/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpRyJdXlTRS6mBw2oId9kjZ-i45GqbbkuYXtU9DYtH1XXCpkUY6BZ3uD57SNqKlPEr1VysRlwFDipIaz-j3cAtyk3XeGiQ9xfO_5YXqknz_gIaVa1kEj9oY7SxYwfz4W6ivVvfYYKpJ-B/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to an article by Gwen Moran in HouseLogic.com, “Several
states, including Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Texas, forbid terrorism exclusions, according to a report on terrorism’s
impact on homeowners insurance from the Missouri Bar Association.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the topic of terrorism insurance, according to the
Insurance Information Institute (<a href="http://www.iii.org/">www.iii.org</a>),
most personal policies cover terrorism, and most commercial/business policies do
not, and even if a business did have a terrorism policy or endorsement, some losses
associated with terrorism could still not be covered (fire, nuclear,
biological, chemical, radiological, and cyber-terrorism), so it is increasingly
important to sit down with your insurance agent to consider these threats,
especially if you own a business. While talking with an agent, it may be
worthwhile to see how your various insurance policies (home, condo, rental,
auto, business, life, health) would react to the scenarios mentioned above.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In conclusion, there are still many questions left
unanswered with regard to the insurance coverage of these types of events, and
changes continue to be made as additional events occur and more data is
gathered by underwriters. That said, you can be pretty sure insurance
executives everywhere are meeting at conferences and other industry events to
consider how to address the seemingly growing costs associated with paying
claims from these types of events. Whether they will adjust policy definitions,
limit exposure to these types of losses, or exclude more of these events
altogether, remains to be seen, but I have a hunch they will eventually
determine a strategy for maximizing profits. They always do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-34769872170726433102016-06-25T08:41:00.000-07:002016-06-25T08:41:39.029-07:00There Goes the Neighborhoodby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t remember the last time I heard about an extreme
weather event in West Virgina, but I sure did today. And if you were on any
major news network, you probably saw it too. Video footage of an entire home,
floating down a swollen river while ON FIRE! It was absolutely remarkable to
watch - the power of the water, and the contrast of water and fire. It was just
spectacular, but in the worst possible way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFf2CxTpiukI6oCLF91esmyDYlNJ_aSezP2bLbC6ikCRny1xbs7hgO1ozlf0FMUDfGUueUQBNozLNQHSilA7dQp_fL6rokGpG2Yl_MN9nTcb1TWerrTJyN0v15O7PoAadACW5u5R1sZHL/s1600/wvflood1+enwidkipediaorg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFf2CxTpiukI6oCLF91esmyDYlNJ_aSezP2bLbC6ikCRny1xbs7hgO1ozlf0FMUDfGUueUQBNozLNQHSilA7dQp_fL6rokGpG2Yl_MN9nTcb1TWerrTJyN0v15O7PoAadACW5u5R1sZHL/s320/wvflood1+enwidkipediaorg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now imagine you are the owner of that home. When you can
finally return to your former neighborhood, which could be in just a few days,
or it might not be for several weeks, it will be almost impossible to
recognize. Street signs could be gone, major landmarks might be missing, and if
you can find where your home used to be, we already know the home will not be
there. Just a clean slab, next to several other clean slabs. It must be
absolutely devastating to the mental state of the family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For younger children, it might have been the only home they
have ever known. For older kids, it might represent their childhood and
friends. For the parents, it was where they started their family, and built
their lives. And for older folks, it may literally be their entire world. But
for all of them, it is time to start over, ready or not, but definitely not by
choice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So where do you start when that is not just something
happening on the news, but it is your reality? My suggestion would be to start
by reaching out to loved ones. Get help, if at all possible, because you are
going to need it. And then, in no particular order, take pictures or video.
Grab a pad of paper and start taking notes. List your activities and your
expenses. Call your insurance agent and report the claim. Go online and learn
what you can about what just happened to you, and what you can expect to go
through in the coming months and years (note – I did not bother to include “days” or “weeks”, because that is simply not how you are going to be measuring
this journey – sorry, trust me). Figure out what assistance is available to you
(Red Cross, FEMA, etc.).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGkkXONUmmwNG99WH8Gs41Fsn3wsHy8MFjhOKcsxm9U4mSxjp8tUsZ3iIxpgiriD1ac42K2N6aLNQKuk3qCTMaGsriJvw9cCee8EntMzBv4_I7lGiglSVHpP0lo1x4MmLf_XFwq0AnNG1/s1600/flood+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGkkXONUmmwNG99WH8Gs41Fsn3wsHy8MFjhOKcsxm9U4mSxjp8tUsZ3iIxpgiriD1ac42K2N6aLNQKuk3qCTMaGsriJvw9cCee8EntMzBv4_I7lGiglSVHpP0lo1x4MmLf_XFwq0AnNG1/s320/flood+flickr.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of flickr.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I would always recommend professional insurance claim
assistance, but especially in this case, where you have damage caused by flood
AND fire. Maybe you have insurance that protects against both flood and fire –
it would be great if you did, but you could still use help to determine which
policy you would want to use to cover which of the items damaged. Just knowing that could make a significant difference as to what damages you attributed to which
policy. This alone could more than pay for the fee charged by the insurance adjuster.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what if you only had insurance that would protect you
against one of the two events (flood and fire)? Then you really are going to
need help, because imagine this scenario: you have fire insurance, but your
insurance company tells you ALL the damage to your property is caused by flood
– even though there is plenty of news footage showing your home floating down
the river, fully engulfed in flames. While I don’t think there would be an
argument for the slab, or maybe even the flooring, or even the baseboards, I
would certainly argue a lot of other items were damaged by fire alone. They
could still argue if not for the flooding, there would have been no fire. They
could also argue that even if the home never caught fire at all, the home and
everything in it, would have eventually been destroyed by the flood. As you
might guess, I would take on that fight every day of the week. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Conversely, if you only had a flood policy, but no insurance
to cover your home for fire, they could argue the majority of the damage to your
home, and the belongings inside, were damaged by fire and not flood. If so, I
would simply argue the opposite. Is it wrong that I changed my position just
like that? I would say no. My job is to fight for the insurance coverage you paid for, not to accept
the exclusions they raise. You paid good money for that insurance coverage, and
you certainly did not intend any of your premium to be spent on policy exclusions – those just seem to come free
with the policy. So yes, quite plainly and openly, I will fight to find any
applicable coverage I can, based on the facts of the loss. In other words, if two homes were floating down the river
on fire, and one of them only had flood insurance while the other only had fire
insurance, I would argue both should be covered, for opposite reasons. And if
that sounds like I “want my cake and eat it too”, I’d counter that cliché with
“what’s good for the goose is good for the gander!” Anyone who has ever had to wrestle with an insurance company over a claim knows exactly from where I speak.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EldGpHUf-N0mBnZ8AxoPAUwlHB3eaX9AJi3mVFYWiZioNmUSwmUrdLoWdEsEP5R75XNDWX7DiSYxQy1iZv_fzcLJISeNxb8eH631iE_qVdS1aSsRgh0QkL76KaCOR3h0beKVtn2S4fws/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EldGpHUf-N0mBnZ8AxoPAUwlHB3eaX9AJi3mVFYWiZioNmUSwmUrdLoWdEsEP5R75XNDWX7DiSYxQy1iZv_fzcLJISeNxb8eH631iE_qVdS1aSsRgh0QkL76KaCOR3h0beKVtn2S4fws/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once coverage is secured, it is time to start proving your
loss. This is going to be difficult as well, since there would be little left
to identify, making it difficult to assign a value to it. But it has all been
done before. It’s a step by step process, and it does take time, but with the
right assistance, you can get back on your feet again. And one day (too long
for most people to imagine), you are relocated to a new neighborhood, or your
old neighborhood starts to slowly return. Here comes the neighborhood!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-63959014177641012962016-06-05T07:57:00.001-07:002016-06-05T07:57:56.747-07:00Winning by Losingby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jKIQl4rUb0uUvtfVfno7MDu6FGIffsle40MX6xX3m4GWlMk9YUmXI52tHk_jZcwmh8gVFRcqe09zNDuvjSe17S4Puu4xWiJ8kP8Xe_GswVsei9V3OGX96K4jMePes_-imWD-zYqZMOPu/s1600/bigloser+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jKIQl4rUb0uUvtfVfno7MDu6FGIffsle40MX6xX3m4GWlMk9YUmXI52tHk_jZcwmh8gVFRcqe09zNDuvjSe17S4Puu4xWiJ8kP8Xe_GswVsei9V3OGX96K4jMePes_-imWD-zYqZMOPu/s200/bigloser+flickr.jpg" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People who are pessimists may say, “I can’t win for losing,” This translates to, "If it weren’t for all the bad things happening to me, I would be
fine." There are plenty of people in Texas and other areas of the
country who can probably relate very well to this phrase, even if they are not
normally pessimistic. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Imagine you just bought a new home, or just moved into a
better rental, or finally opened up your business, when historic flooding beyond anyone’s expectations suddenly washes everything away.Or maybe an early
morning tornado flattens your home, leaving you homeless, with nothing but the
clothes on your back, and the gratitude to have survived. Such calamity could
lead almost anyone to wonder if the powers that be have it in for them, and
that they can’t win for losing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then again, there are some people that might utter this
phrase whenever less tragic events take place, be it a relationship break-up, a
minor fender-bender, the passing of a pet, or the stubbing of a toe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether you can only relate to the more extreme cases of
this saying, or any of them at all, as you might have guessed, especially if
you are familiar with my writing, I can take this otherwise pedestrian phrase
and spin it to show how differently insurance companies view the world. Better still, I
can even back it up with examples.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For insurance companies, whose profits are measured in
hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars, they see the world in a very
different light indeed. Insurance companies don’t accept the notion of a phrase
like “can’t win for losing”. No, for them, even when they lose, they win. In
fact, I would argue part of their “winning strategy” is to knowingly (if not
purposely) lose – and lose <b>BIG</b> – at
least sometimes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I realize it seems inconsistent to suggest that large
insurance companies, with ivy-league business school minds at the helm, who
are very much about winning at all costs, are at all OK with losing, ever. Hang
in there for just a bit, and I'll explain how it works.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PmDI4JCVdRCx-COqqLvZkdDusLXGU1tO8ckFHceZjig-mffJfF7PSOWh8XTDThNorIWTQEmUUSrJNTTohw_NIlxci-va6L9wsk5z_GW8Rm3BGZ7CI1Obl5q3Q1xD5bUq2gizXMxqnNW8/s1600/scrooge+pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PmDI4JCVdRCx-COqqLvZkdDusLXGU1tO8ckFHceZjig-mffJfF7PSOWh8XTDThNorIWTQEmUUSrJNTTohw_NIlxci-va6L9wsk5z_GW8Rm3BGZ7CI1Obl5q3Q1xD5bUq2gizXMxqnNW8/s320/scrooge+pixabay.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">Pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several years ago I handled a claim that has since stuck in
my mind because of the way it turned out. It was really not unlike many other
claims I have handled, but in this particular case, the insurance company took
an unusually hard stand against paying the claim in full. In the end, we could
not get the carrier to make a reasonable offer, and the insured had to retain
an attorney. It took over a year for the attorney to reach a settlement before
the case was to go to trial, but the insurance company agreed to pay over <b>8 times</b> as much as we were willing to
accept prior to the attorney’s involvement. Even after the insured’s attorney
was paid, and my fee was paid, the insured was left with about 3 times as much
as she was willing to accept before an attorney was retained. That “8 times” number has stuck with me
ever since. By the way, that “8 times” number does not include the insurance
companies defense costs, because we are not privy to that information, but an
educated guess would mean the insurance company really paid 10 to 12 times as
much as they could have settled for. That’s 1000%, to 1200% more. Good thing
they are loaded!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The insurance company was willing to pay up to 12 times as
much as we were previously willing to accept. “Why would they do that?”, I
wondered for the longest time. As with many things, over the years I figured it
out. If the insurance companies are good at one thing, it is the actuarial
science. An actuary, according to Wikipedia.org, is “a business professional
who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name
of the corresponding profession is actuarial science. These risks can affect
both sides of the balance sheet, and require asset management, liability
management, and valuation skills. Actuaries provide assessments of financial
security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and
their mechanisms.” Actuaries use
mathematics, statistics and financial theory to study uncertain future events,
especially those of concern to insurance. In laymen’s terms, they are “bean
counters”, and very good at it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIIFIB-a7mjmt0iG8JoriPgVA_I6C6H9LHHtEV65lZEYtvd_bYxg5CX19uj278Ql2ZqL9TnbNjRexvg_-78ZD7cAKOLfPCezfNz4Is5U7cyOmds1m_vFQuD5dWbwfV7eO8AEDPRjKWLgA/s1600/courtroom+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIIFIB-a7mjmt0iG8JoriPgVA_I6C6H9LHHtEV65lZEYtvd_bYxg5CX19uj278Ql2ZqL9TnbNjRexvg_-78ZD7cAKOLfPCezfNz4Is5U7cyOmds1m_vFQuD5dWbwfV7eO8AEDPRjKWLgA/s320/courtroom+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I don’t believe they would ever come right out and say
it, I am convinced the insurance companies have determined there are only so
many people that would argue about a claim settlement. Of this small number of
people, there is an even smaller subset that would hire an attorney to pursue
their appropriate claim payment. And of this small group, there is an even
still smaller subset that will pursue their litigated claim all the way into
the courtroom. Consider this, in the nearly 12 years that I have been a public
adjuster, handling thousands of claims, only a small fraction have required
attorney representation, and <b>less than 5</b>
have ever made it into a courtroom. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The insurance companies might say these claims settled
because the insured’s did not want to take their changes in court, but given
the settlement numbers, I would argue the exact opposite is true. In fact, I
cannot think of a single claim where the insurance company did not settle for a
significantly higher amount than what they had previously offered. The “8
times” number was a bit of an anomaly, but I would venture to guess 3 or 4
times would be more common.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, why in the world would an insurance company pay even
3 or 4 times as much as they could settle a case for, and why would they <b>ever</b> pay 12 times as much? Simple, it
costs more to pay everyone top dollar to begin with. If they make it easy,
everyone will do it. So, they are willing to pay a whole lot more than needed
on a select <b>few</b> claims (lose big),
than to pay even a tiny bit more on <b>every</b>
claim (lose bigger). <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7L4TKpWfy1OhFLQzFF3pv2xVoQZGczJLwfCeDjnk2CwhcCyY5xUuqo3pI7sslNcq54HvhXm-pvD-Qvgpaj-jbctZPEDLQXUqF_Yv-0cTMVWm3Qwy0zNYMwq_bOXSW1aeyM1rvL-kZFTAe/s1600/10comms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7L4TKpWfy1OhFLQzFF3pv2xVoQZGczJLwfCeDjnk2CwhcCyY5xUuqo3pI7sslNcq54HvhXm-pvD-Qvgpaj-jbctZPEDLQXUqF_Yv-0cTMVWm3Qwy0zNYMwq_bOXSW1aeyM1rvL-kZFTAe/s320/10comms.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below for your FREE copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s all a matter of how much, and how often they must lose,
in order to maximize the winnings overall. If you are good with math, you
quickly see how this makes perfect sense, and how the insurance industry has
figured out how to win by losing. Just don’t give up on your claim, and you can
win as well!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.891311299999998 -82.303844499999983 30.7730563 -81.007457499999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-45948716967174027542016-05-07T06:31:00.001-07:002016-05-07T06:33:16.345-07:00What Are They Up to Now?by Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a title like, “What are they up to now?”, you might
think I’m writing about my kids, the presidential candidates, politicians in
general, or some other high-profile group. What I’m talking about in today's blog are Insurance Companies. You see, earlier this
week I attended a two-day conference presented by the Florida Association of
Public Insurance Adjusters. The conference is billed as an educational and
networking event designed to improve our skill sets, become better at what we
do, and network with other industry professionals.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfE3mSgtTRdeeQIHaj85UUKDAG-fAUkbRhOmsZB2aZ9gPBCBhnXLu1c7gjh_TCAHvdAIF1mcV7y4Yflro1gfJPIBSyVEE865xEQvVoq9_MjWcE-UUwdV39MGS3ibCiB1M_FWPUUv6yruf/s1600/consumer+protect+pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfE3mSgtTRdeeQIHaj85UUKDAG-fAUkbRhOmsZB2aZ9gPBCBhnXLu1c7gjh_TCAHvdAIF1mcV7y4Yflro1gfJPIBSyVEE865xEQvVoq9_MjWcE-UUwdV39MGS3ibCiB1M_FWPUUv6yruf/s1600/consumer+protect+pixabay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">Pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the main takeaways from the conference was learning
about significant trends in insurance industry tactics and strategies. These
strategies are usually marketed as “consumer protections”, which also just
happen to help insurance companies stuff billions more into their collective
coffers. A happy coincidence, I’m sure (that’s sarcasm, for those of you who
are unfamiliar with my writing style). Those of us whose job it is to protect
the insured from their own insurance companies, see these tactics and
strategies for what they really are, profit boosters. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rather than bore everyone with all of the topics discussed,
I’m going to focus on one key strategy, “Repair Cost Control”, which I will
separate into two popular methods, “Managed Repair” and “Our Option”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The idea behind “Repair Cost Control” is fairly
straightforward – if the insurance companies can exert greater control over the
repair process, repair costs will decrease, and profits will increase. They
will naturally argue that reduced costs and increased profits translate into
lower premiums, but just ask yourself when was the last time your insurance
premiums were significantly reduced, despite the fact that your coverages were
significantly reduced? Answer: You’re kidding me, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To gain even greater control over repair costs, as if having
professional adjusters, estimating programs created with insurance industry
input, and a host of repair professionals and attorneys at their disposal was
not enough, the insurance companies have come up with “Managed Repair”
(sometimes referred to as “Managed Care” to make it sound more benevolent), and
“Our Option” (which could more accurately be renamed as, “Butt out, this claim
is none of your business!”).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Under the “Managed Repair” process, the insurance company
“guides” insurance victims to hire contractors who are “preferred vendors” that
have special relationships with the insurance company, <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJzo11x-uTFIvhp8LYC2XBAU8zGwe4LtLcJtwGARhV_OrsKt2oUv_Zn_NywDa8I7JW7Gy2fZEZVkx0w3BzdUPAwFUHgjhKnXGhOim02B55tDptBOxNijMoHZepQSa3AcoEbl-0rwYmTTZ/s1600/construction+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJzo11x-uTFIvhp8LYC2XBAU8zGwe4LtLcJtwGARhV_OrsKt2oUv_Zn_NywDa8I7JW7Gy2fZEZVkx0w3BzdUPAwFUHgjhKnXGhOim02B55tDptBOxNijMoHZepQSa3AcoEbl-0rwYmTTZ/s320/construction+commons+wikimedia+org.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
rather than contractors
of the property owner’s choosing. You can imagine how lucrative it could be for
a contractor to enjoy such favored status. A large insurance company could
provide so much work that the contractor could all but eliminate their
marketing budget, which previously could have been tens of thousands of dollars
each and every month. Gone! That doesn’t sound so bad, especially for the
contractor and the insurance company. But think about it – the contractor gets the
claim job “gifted” to them from the insurance company, and gets direction from
the insurance company's adjuster. This includes coverages, limits, and exclusions,
which are all outside the scope of the contractor’s job, both realistically and
legally, and the contractor gets included on claim payments, rather than getting
paid by the insured property owner. Is it any wonder these contractors tend to
forget they are working for the property owner, and tend to feel they are
really working for the insurance company?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what happens when the work done by a “Managed Repair”
contractor is good enough for the insurance company, but not satisfactory to
the property owner? “No problem,” the insurance company says, “<b><i>you</i></b>
signed a contract with the contractor, so it is <b><i>your</i></b> responsibility to
deal with them.” Nice!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what of this “Our Option” mentioned as an alternative to
“Managed Repair”. In my opinion, it’s even worse. Most property insurance
policies have an “Our Option” clause that basically says, “we may elect to repair
or replace the damaged property with a contractor of our choice.” Most
insurance companies interpret that to mean that they can buy contractors, or
enter agreements with contractors, so that if the insurance company agrees a
loss is covered, they pay the contractor directly for the repairs, and the
insured has no voice in the repair of their own property (usually, their home).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Think about that. The insurance company can literally own
the construction company, or employ the contractors, and if the insurance
company agrees to pay the claim, they pay <b><i>themselves</i></b>, instead of paying <b><i>you</i></b>.
Talk about keeping it in the family! If someone can explain how that is <b><i>not</i></b>
a clear conflict of interest, well, you’d be the first person to explain that.
But, so far as we can tell, no state agency has even thought to <b><i>ask</i></b>
that question, let alone <b><i>demand</i></b> an answer to it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGUERhOhe2ATZWv2vHbWo2kM8PGLVyEnVl-6qvYo1PLBOkCvedNX7gytAqXWDJgC3bTelep4Ro0sf-1Ee2a2WuRXp2UtM_HqxtDqQUK_lA3RtutUnPjz78YCtS1wrBq1hLWjqUuLF7Q1J/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGUERhOhe2ATZWv2vHbWo2kM8PGLVyEnVl-6qvYo1PLBOkCvedNX7gytAqXWDJgC3bTelep4Ro0sf-1Ee2a2WuRXp2UtM_HqxtDqQUK_lA3RtutUnPjz78YCtS1wrBq1hLWjqUuLF7Q1J/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below to receive your FREE copy</b>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what’s a property owner to do in light of these trending
strategies that remove you from the process while growing insurance company
profits? First, you need to know that these strategies exist, and how they
work. Done! Next, you need to decide whether you want to believe the insurance
company is doing this in your best interests and go along with the plan, or if <b><i>you</i></b>
want to maintain control over who repairs <b><i>your</i></b> property, how they repair it,
and with what workers and materials. If the latter, you need to know your
rights, and be willing to fight for your rights (otherwise, you will probably
lose those rights). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope I was able to bring to light, in an easily
understandable way, a couple strategies trending with insurance companies that
we as insurance consumer advocates recognize are detrimental to property
owners, and primarily serve to benefit insurance companies. Feel free to
research the topics on your own, and learn how to protect yourself. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-41693669376674054142016-04-30T15:02:00.000-07:002016-04-30T15:02:43.089-07:00Seems Absurd, But It Must Workby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today I wanted to highlight a pair of recent claims that
provide great insight into the strategies employed by property insurance
companies (I could do a lot more than two, but for the sake of brevity I’ll just use the two). As we go
through these together, you will note a few things both have in common, even
though they are being handled by different adjusters at different insurance
companies. And one thing is for sure, you don’t want to be treated like any of
these people.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4UlvP7XGq9LQqe2yyMNQquJi5mTG3sDGaMQMyWYrFuWcFGDOqp2D6eOwlPiLGi723-KBznY9Uv8ZS-Lpcm9e_aPvjg4havalxr2gB-_DgoO7nVTTdP8Uel6gzadMaYl5p6vx7bZtVMxH/s1600/waterline+enwikipediaorg+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4UlvP7XGq9LQqe2yyMNQquJi5mTG3sDGaMQMyWYrFuWcFGDOqp2D6eOwlPiLGi723-KBznY9Uv8ZS-Lpcm9e_aPvjg4havalxr2gB-_DgoO7nVTTdP8Uel6gzadMaYl5p6vx7bZtVMxH/s1600/waterline+enwikipediaorg+.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the first claim, a family experienced a failed supply
line to an upstairs commode. This is fairly common, as all toilets have supply
lines that remain under pressure, just waiting for the next flush, and these
supply lines tend to be made of fairly inexpensive material with very simple
connections. These lines can easily go unnoticed for decades (until they fail).
When they do fail, the water does not usually drip out. Rather it pours out at
a rate that can be measured in gallons per hour. And I’m not sure how these
plastic lines know, but they seem to prefer to rupture in the middle of the
night, or when people are away on vacation. Devious little suckers, right?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this case, the line failed during the night, and spewed
water for hours until the next morning, when both the upstairs and downstairs were
inundated with water. And wouldn’t you know it; the upstairs bathroom where the
line broke was right above the kitchen, where all the cabinets became soaked as
well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sounds pretty straightforward - and it should be. But for
some reason in this case, the insurance adjuster who initially inspected the
loss only estimated about $18,000 in damages, and the insured wanted a second
opinion after we were recommended to her by a co-worker of hers. It turns out
her co-worker friend was right, and our estimate was more than double that of
the insurance company.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weeks turned into months as the carrier dragged its feet at
every turn. First they wanted the adjuster to go back out to try to correct
the estimate; then they wanted a national contractor to complete what they call
a “peer review” estimate. The idea is the national contractor will write a
fair estimate for what they would do the work for. In reality, the
contractor knows they are usually not getting the job, and even if they do get
the job, they know they can always submit a “supplemental” invoice to their
pals at the insurance company so they can make a good profit. In this case, the
national contractor rep told me before coming out that they will never do a job
when a public adjuster is involved. Company policy. So, what do you think that
does to the value of their estimate? If you guessed, “they write a low
estimate”, then your intuition matches my experience. The rep was there for less
than 20 minutes, mainly taking photos, and rarely measuring the room sizes,
since we were giving him our estimate as a reference.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDhvHEa4cqplUSKbK8z0ZC-Sd4Bi-zhQ3GPlvJvbBA5YWWDKqAPkohaeGm9v8sNUHLL43bbEQULHQVQXOuvDVEK7UI2X0JBoy0OM5IMPIo3pOCWI4F3Bpqm1o8CcD2hyphenhyphen2JcywqM7ZosJK/s1600/burntmoney+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDhvHEa4cqplUSKbK8z0ZC-Sd4Bi-zhQ3GPlvJvbBA5YWWDKqAPkohaeGm9v8sNUHLL43bbEQULHQVQXOuvDVEK7UI2X0JBoy0OM5IMPIo3pOCWI4F3Bpqm1o8CcD2hyphenhyphen2JcywqM7ZosJK/s1600/burntmoney+flickr.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Low and behold, the national firm generated an estimate that
was much higher than the insurance company adjuster’s estimate, but it was
still $12,000 less than our estimate. It is now 4 months since this loss took
place, the insurance company has paid less than half of the contractor’s
estimate, which is still $12,000 less than our estimate, and the insured is seriously
considering accepting their offer, as they are tired of the claim dragging on.
And trust me, if we were not helping her, she would have already accepted much
less, just to get on with her life. Absurd, but it works.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the next case, someone I have known for years recently
asked me to look at his insurance settlement, admitting he had no idea whether
it was fair or not. He had suffered wind damage to his roof, and the insurance
company quickly paid to repair the damage, which totaled about half of his entire
roof. So far he (and the insurance company) was lucky, as no water had leaked
inside despite a number of severe rainstorms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Immediately upon inspection of the roof and the paperwork he
had received from his insurance company, I could see they were not just off on
the amount being offered, they had failed to bring to his attention key facts
which clearly warranted their paying for his whole roof to be replaced. They
must have made a mistake, I thought, and this should be easy for them to fix. I
told the insured I would let the insurance company know of their mistake, and
if they simply corrected it and paid him in full, I would charge him
nothing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJ3_c8t591xPYHSnuKOKzfT5RwBeKkH5CGxXUPEgXCPFx29_rmg0OOXLMnUmB44FxfmS4uIj9GkZsgjguiJPEmmzq2S2zgFg39E6nvoTcZqLON4_28dhbWkPSx9789aSI97KWBfb1mnIy/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJ3_c8t591xPYHSnuKOKzfT5RwBeKkH5CGxXUPEgXCPFx29_rmg0OOXLMnUmB44FxfmS4uIj9GkZsgjguiJPEmmzq2S2zgFg39E6nvoTcZqLON4_28dhbWkPSx9789aSI97KWBfb1mnIy/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below to get your FREE copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I wrote the insurance company a half page letter, clearly
explaining what their error was, why it was an error, and I even provided them
with an estimate for the proper amount. After days of no response, I called the
carrier, and was told the adjuster no longer worked for the insurance company.
OK, I said, but didn’t you get my paperwork? Isn’t someone else going to handle
this now? The rep politely said the claim was closed. I understand, I answered,
but when you received my paperwork asking for the claim to be reevaluated, why
wasn’t it reopened and given to someone else to handle. I could tell that if I
never called them, they certainly were never going to call me. She then
stammered a bit and suggested they just received my paperwork the day before(this had in fact been faxed
and emailed to them about 10 days prior). Then she said she would get
the claim to a manager to review it. When I asked how long it would take for
someone to contact me, she admitted she had no idea. You could hear the
embarrassment in her voice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few days later, I received an email from the new claim
handler. It was very brief, and simply said he wanted to offer an initial
compromise settlement of about $4,000 more than what was previously<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXmW1VFpsY7nw0jM06-DPNX3DgR5KiZo5zcBYVJ7ubCoOafPRNlAbj3A2kQ4ZrKnmqisPSb_-IND8iBmOA7CQuz51y2V0zgqXuixeZxPRddBAsIrC-YHbcutXbGq08GE0wy79YuMlZPtJ/s1600/roofdamage+pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXmW1VFpsY7nw0jM06-DPNX3DgR5KiZo5zcBYVJ7ubCoOafPRNlAbj3A2kQ4ZrKnmqisPSb_-IND8iBmOA7CQuz51y2V0zgqXuixeZxPRddBAsIrC-YHbcutXbGq08GE0wy79YuMlZPtJ/s1600/roofdamage+pixabay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
paid. A
compromise?, I thought, this was very straightforward. They completely ignored
their own policy and state statutes calling for a full roof replacement, which meant they owed about $10,000 more. What was there to compromise? So I responded in
considerable detail, showing my math for exactly how I reached the amount I claimed was due, and asking him to point out any error in my math or in my
reasoning. He responded by suggesting I was inflating my measurements, and
overestimating the costs. He did so by misrepresenting actual numbers presented
by myself, the original adjuster, and our local property tax appraiser’s
website. His misrepresentations were clear and obvious. If he thought he was
being tricky, he was quite mistaken. So I factually pointed out each and every
misrepresentation that he made, and again offered him the opportunity to do the
right thing.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You would
think at this point, seeing that I was not falling for any of his tricks, let
alone all of them, that he would just give up and pay the claim in full. No, he
simply dusted himself off, and in another very brief email, offered another
$1,000 to settle the claim. He was still about $5,000 short. I am certain here
too, that if I were not involved, this insured would in all likelihood have accepted the
additional money. This would have forced the homeowner to take out a loan to get the roof replaced. Another absurd attempt to get an insured to settle for less than what was owed. I can’t help but believe that it must work on the vast majority of
insureds, or they wouldn't resort to these tactics so often.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-25823007960072133812016-04-23T11:40:00.002-07:002016-04-26T12:05:52.729-07:00When Things Go Wrong and Then Rightby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week I wrote about an insurance claim that actually
went right from start to finish (a fairly rare occurrence in my experience).
This past week I was reminded of the awful reality of how rare that is, and how
terrible it can be when things go wrong (at least until they go right).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2S3QCpm1thx1M4wFaSdWGHhJCSlOl4e3_e-hJnEExcOIwWMvCNjGAIvvCXmDj7ZyEY-rwkpFFs7nuZUUAWQyCqH-vwFVW-nVqejV89iwl-rbA2nFU6kesBj22_wXfKnkbEyINOzh1SoMo/s1600/housefire+flickr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2S3QCpm1thx1M4wFaSdWGHhJCSlOl4e3_e-hJnEExcOIwWMvCNjGAIvvCXmDj7ZyEY-rwkpFFs7nuZUUAWQyCqH-vwFVW-nVqejV89iwl-rbA2nFU6kesBj22_wXfKnkbEyINOzh1SoMo/s320/housefire+flickr.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Imagine you are the grandmother of 5 children, and you are
their sole caretaker and guardian. That sounds pretty tough enough, doesn’t it?
Now imagine that the home the 6 of you live in is completely destroyed in a
fire…2 days before Thanksgiving! Are you crying, yet? If not, just wait.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now imagine you contact your insurance company of many
years, and they assure you (on the phone) that everything will be alright, and
they will send an adjuster out right away. An adjuster does come, but instead
of paying you for the loss, or even advancing you some money for a place to
live, or for clothes to wear (other than those on your backs), or for your next
meal, you are told they will be sending an expert to investigate and determine
the cause of the fire, and that you will have to make yourself available for a
recorded statement. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During that recorded interview, you are asked about your
finances, your medical history, your relationships, if you have a criminal
history, whether you are taking prescription medications, where you were and
what you were doing when the fire broke out, whether you or anyone you know had
anything to do with the fire starting, and just enough other questions to make
you feel like a suspect in the arson of your own home (when it wasn’t even
caused by arson to begin with).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMbXW88zmLARF0exS_WDSSBAiGL_58nSwyevAxG1J7vS7bVc8mHUZPqrHe1n7shG9-QvZWl_Bqz4jyIUeqFlOrHdn_XRisYQeLQCUHaIAk869H9CcqhqIDDt8rRRUqr_ooz8R7RBffnfd/s1600/8+kids+-+enwikipedia.org.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMbXW88zmLARF0exS_WDSSBAiGL_58nSwyevAxG1J7vS7bVc8mHUZPqrHe1n7shG9-QvZWl_Bqz4jyIUeqFlOrHdn_XRisYQeLQCUHaIAk869H9CcqhqIDDt8rRRUqr_ooz8R7RBffnfd/s320/8+kids+-+enwikipedia.org.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia,org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weeks pass as adjusters and investigators inspect the home
and consider whether or not to pay any part of your claim. All the while you
are forced to live with a relative who has 3 children of their own (that’s now
a household of <b>8 kids</b> for those of
you with rusty math skills!). Weeks turn into months, and you don’t hear
anything from your insurance company well into January (certainly you have a
tear at this point, right?).<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is easy to understand how anyone could begin to lose hope
at this point, but fortunately one of the fire restoration companies that came
around looking to bid on the job told you about a public insurance adjuster
that might be able to help get the claim processed. You contact them, agree to
hire them, and finally things start to go right. Within days you get a $5,000
advance so you can move into your own place while your home is being repaired.
The mere sight of the check causes you to completely break down. And not long
after that, your public adjuster calls to say another $235,000 is on the way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is what countless numbers of people go through every
year in dealing with their insurance companies. And it is what gives me great pride
and satisfaction in my chosen career. I was at a networking event with the adjuster that handled
this claim recently, and we told the story of this claim. When we were done, the woman sitting next to me (vice
president of a local credit union) was staring at me, with a mixed look of
shock and disgust, and said, “I don’t get it, why wouldn’t they just pay her?”
to which I replied, “Why would they want to do that?” “Isn’t that the whole reason for insurance?” she
asked. “Yes” I said, “but if they paid her, their profits would be less,
wouldn’t they?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Z_TRcO3_YOm8QpJdzacPcn_cjq1-2rBKJtfzLSYQjsj6-cCiKF0_m3BzjOO7jX5F9XaPFjNU2r2zPrp-BvTjJB-lu5xjOk5nJOuM225AWrLOsDCja34V0brsDTXr-5UgQDruEcm-aKqL/s1600/smiling+faces+pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Z_TRcO3_YOm8QpJdzacPcn_cjq1-2rBKJtfzLSYQjsj6-cCiKF0_m3BzjOO7jX5F9XaPFjNU2r2zPrp-BvTjJB-lu5xjOk5nJOuM225AWrLOsDCja34V0brsDTXr-5UgQDruEcm-aKqL/s1600/smiling+faces+pixabay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">Pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously, I was toying with her a bit, but she soon realized
what I have been saying for years – the smiling faces you see on TV and the
catchy jingles you hear on the radio for insurance
companies are <b>not</b> what you will
likely be faced with when you actually file a claim. You will go from loyal
customer to financial adversary. Every penny they pay out in claims is money
taken from their bottom line. And they don’t like that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This story illustrates that things can go very wrong in
the course of an insurance claim. But as we have seen, things can also go
right, either straight from the beginning or after they started going wrong.
Unfortunately, most people will never be told they have the option of hiring a
professional adjuster to assist them on their claim.
For them, the ending to the story could be just as heart-wrenching as the
beginning. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83LgTYIcgCGYtDbKzCbged_Sdh8QDWApQUsaooW2E2XG5trQdBgwNY8mxr6gY0fZcHMEbJl2p3Sxqkny_g2oia6ApbMbeMmuxd7Mrp6dN91jnIqXtZCtoX-0lcSXzEhp8wyByNWLIS5po/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83LgTYIcgCGYtDbKzCbged_Sdh8QDWApQUsaooW2E2XG5trQdBgwNY8mxr6gY0fZcHMEbJl2p3Sxqkny_g2oia6ApbMbeMmuxd7Mrp6dN91jnIqXtZCtoX-0lcSXzEhp8wyByNWLIS5po/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Get your FREE copy by filling out the form below.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this is why I network, promote, talk to people, and use social media blogs. I want <b>everyone</b>
to know they don’t have to settle for less than everything they are entitled
to. I want them to know they have options, and they don’t have to simply accept
poor treatment from an insurance company. They don’t have to hire me. They
don’t have to hire anyone. I just want them to know they have the <b>right</b>. I really just want them to <b>know</b>, because people who know make
better decisions that lead to happier endings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-69732753088407238022016-04-15T10:18:00.000-07:002016-04-23T11:43:51.959-07:00When Things Go rightby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My blogs typically expose the tendency of insurance
companies to either reduce claim payments, or avoid claim payments altogether.
And today will be no different. But today I want to <b><i>focus</i></b> on what happens
when claims are handled <b><i>well</i></b> by an insurance company. It
does happen, even if far too seldom (in my opinion … based on decades of
experience).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJAl2LKrlXSTvGquIZYT42EaQV9E3gs1ypODtFlGhImPFBwz0rVlJCbTdiRcIFfv5HIYnTaGtfkP0LZGA043eK1prc-uCemddEnj5vAkpTZN8xQIfbJbArkmKynxoH63jCHVJIns4ppZb/s1600/roofleak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJAl2LKrlXSTvGquIZYT42EaQV9E3gs1ypODtFlGhImPFBwz0rVlJCbTdiRcIFfv5HIYnTaGtfkP0LZGA043eK1prc-uCemddEnj5vAkpTZN8xQIfbJbArkmKynxoH63jCHVJIns4ppZb/s320/roofleak.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.com/">commons.wikipedia.o</a>rg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Recently, I was referred to an insured by a contractor who
felt the insured’s roof was damaged by wind, and who also felt some of the
screens on the pool enclosure were damaged as well. But before suggesting the
insured submit a claim, the contractor recommended I take a look at the roof
and screens, and confirm the contractor’s opinion. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe the first thing to go right for this insured was
to have a contractor who was truly looking out for the insured’s best interest,
rather than simply the contractor’s own best interest. The contractor knew if
the insurance company did not agree to pay the claim, it would still count on
the insured’s claim history, and could even result in the insured losing his
insurance with this company, and he would be forced to find insurance elsewhere
– and in Florida, that is not always easy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I determined this particular claim should be valid, the
insured signed an agreement with me to handle his claim, and the claim was
submitted. We provided his insurance company with our contract, a letter of
representation, and within just a few days we also submitted our estimate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Less than a week later, we were meeting with a
representative of the insurance company at the insured’s home. This was another
thing that went right. Typically, we are lucky to hear from an insurance
company within a week of submitting a claim, let alone meeting with them.
Often, we don’t hear anything back from insurance companies, especially if the
claim was previously submitted and closed with little or no payment prior to
our involvement. And when we follow-up with the insurance companies, we often
get the impression that if we never called them, they would never have called
us, even though we send written correspondence requesting they contact us to
schedule an inspection.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg833vC5WY8ZCShWcRez_U5XvXS0vythvnyGAuKnbkpZjxBS36Xcs4IGOixfZwVwDx3AHvX9vsE4JC7az5nXVr9Rcz68bjkR0YKzscoaIeTHVH-2Mm1Opy1X___lpD3txMAa5caSoZJNS/s1600/roof2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg833vC5WY8ZCShWcRez_U5XvXS0vythvnyGAuKnbkpZjxBS36Xcs4IGOixfZwVwDx3AHvX9vsE4JC7az5nXVr9Rcz68bjkR0YKzscoaIeTHVH-2Mm1Opy1X___lpD3txMAa5caSoZJNS/s320/roof2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we met with the adjuster, she noted that she was not
told the insured was represented by a public adjuster, so she was not aware of
my contract, letter of representation, or estimate. She then apologized for
speaking to the insured prior to my arrival, explaining again that she was not
aware of my involvement at the time. This was probably the only thing that did
not go “right”, but for me, it was not a big deal. I can understand the
insurance company did not get her the information quick enough, especially
since it had only been a few days since submitting the claim. I showed her the
original contract that I had in my file with me, allowed her to take a photo of
it, and I gave her a copy of my estimate.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With that, we proceeded with the inspection. She quickly
agreed the roof was sufficiently damaged to warrant a full replacement. Whether
or not she would have made that same determination if I was not involved, we
will never know for sure. But my experience tells me, probably not. When we
discussed the screens, she stated that she did not agree with me on my scope of
the extent of the damage to the screens, and she told me why. She also asked me
to clarify my position, which I did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She then did something few adjusters do on a regular basis
in this area. She got in her car, and instead of leaving in a huff, she told me
she would write her estimate on the spot, taking my estimate into
consideration, and see if we could settle the claim right there and then. This
is something I did hundreds of times as an adjuster for State Farm, but that
was a long, long time ago, and except in storm situations (which this was not),
we rarely see this happen today. In fact, most adjusters we meet are independent
adjusters, who are third party administrators for the insurance companies (not
employees), and they often tell us they are simply acting as the eyes and ears
of a “claim examiner” or “claim processor” who will be settling the claim, and
that they don’t have the authority to settle the claim or even say what they
think is covered (even most of the employed staff adjusters we meet do not
settle claims on the spot, and don’t always have the authority to detail what
the carrier will and won’t pay for). So this was not only another something
that went right, it was quite a refreshing change of pace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJBsm0ntn0LXliJBX4EAMFG9W0DhUSb9R2lP3GHYT9vCb4uU0Wlv5R5cvmWZ-OcssCQzImF75GPM9FjRqvcXmHUQQT2FEOcWg2lix-ETmLoCizR5Fdgy9jce8xdNQaYg7aurW1mIaqWHR/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJBsm0ntn0LXliJBX4EAMFG9W0DhUSb9R2lP3GHYT9vCb4uU0Wlv5R5cvmWZ-OcssCQzImF75GPM9FjRqvcXmHUQQT2FEOcWg2lix-ETmLoCizR5Fdgy9jce8xdNQaYg7aurW1mIaqWHR/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Get your FREE copy by filling out the form below.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center><br><br>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, she prepared an estimate that while less than
mine (they almost always are), the contractor agreed was quite adequate, so the
insured accepted it, and we were all able to shake on the agreement. The check
arrived about a week later - this was the final thing to go right! It’s great when
things go right, but especially when it comes to insurance claims, you can’t <b><i>expect</i></b>
things to go right, or <b><i>hope</i></b> things will go right, you have
to intentionally <b><i>plan </i></b>for things to go right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-91094362337852403072016-03-18T12:05:00.000-07:002016-03-18T12:10:26.643-07:00Miracle March Means Madness For Manyby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Forecasters predicted El Nino storms could drench the
Western US in general, and California in particular, calling for a “Miracle
March” that could ease the current drought conditions there. And halfway
through March, it looks like they might be – predictably – partially correct.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>"This is going to put a dent into some of the drought,
but it's not going to take it away by any stretch," San Diego-based
meteorologist Mark Moede told NBC News earlier this month. But according to
Erik Ortiz of www.nbcnews.com, “the return of the storms this month in parts of
California has drawn parallels to 1991, when a "miracle March" that
brought record rains staved off a water shortage. It was also credited
with saving the ski season.”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi466y_Wvq2FnOy5m30UFnNPVro-xg3vVLUNmlIelDJVS_IP0MoWQU-yx9nNnNAyPEuN3FR0bwjp-cbBF8MxHCT6L-kLaAVauz1MhfLO_xdPOrUEqqAKcAC2VwRs-9Kwhvlj-VENT6qpLE/s1600/ski.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi466y_Wvq2FnOy5m30UFnNPVro-xg3vVLUNmlIelDJVS_IP0MoWQU-yx9nNnNAyPEuN3FR0bwjp-cbBF8MxHCT6L-kLaAVauz1MhfLO_xdPOrUEqqAKcAC2VwRs-9Kwhvlj-VENT6qpLE/s320/ski.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the first week of March, heavy rainstorms struck
California and flooded some low-lying areas, but much more rain would be needed
throughout the state to counter years of dry weather. In the second week of
March, another round of rains helped replenish water reservoirs, and
above-average snowfall has extended California’s expected ski season beyond any
of the last several years, but it is still too soon to tell if this will be
enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And while rain and snow is certainly good for California as
a whole with regards to drought relief and snow-related industries, each storm
brings disaster to many individuals. During any significant rainstorm event,
low-lying areas tend to flood rather quickly. It may be that only 100 homes and
businesses are affected, and this may not even make local news, let alone the
national news (especially in the midst of a wild presidential election cycle),
but for those 100 families, their entire world has turned to mud.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keep in mind, also, that during most severe rainstorms,
there are high winds, hail, and even tornados that come with the many inches of
rainfall. Throw in a few mudslides on California hillsides, and you have the
makings of a disastrous “Miracle March” for many unsuspecting property owners. The storms so far have not been devastating, but streets
have been washed out by floods, highways closed by mudslides – one such slide
toppled a dump truck in the process – and homes have also been flooded or
damaged by mudslides. The uncomfortable paradox is that much more rain is needed
to make an appreciable impact on the drought conditions, but such rains would
also bring misery to ever-increasing numbers of people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_yc9mt1GBF6AgaQH-sAJ-4iW7-3H7BPZkxrP1ZFhlcRyOxjP3j1w7SwK7yP7nNGfIGH-lACI163kenHLIKBQhWJE2wS0U2R0XpmT10tRyLw6mhy4p1pFN8xvVPm8G4nRBpo-KK2FyE18/s1600/storm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_yc9mt1GBF6AgaQH-sAJ-4iW7-3H7BPZkxrP1ZFhlcRyOxjP3j1w7SwK7yP7nNGfIGH-lACI163kenHLIKBQhWJE2wS0U2R0XpmT10tRyLw6mhy4p1pFN8xvVPm8G4nRBpo-KK2FyE18/s320/storm2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having dealt with so many individuals and families suffering
through property insurance claims from rainstorms and flooding, I know how
difficult it is to recover. Homes are damaged or destroyed, personal belongings
are ruined, people are separated and displaced from their homes, and dealing
with all the insurance hoops, exclusions, loopholes, and delays can bring a
whole new meaning to the phrase “March Madness”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As always, it’s important to know they can recover, and they
will recover. The question is, at what cost? How much aggravation will they
have to endure? How much money will they recover – or how much debt will they
have to take on? Typically, the answers to those questions depend on what they
know, and how well prepared are they are to take on this challenge. I always
say, the better prepared you are before disaster strikes, the better you will
emerge from the disaster. This goes from having a disaster plan (before it
happens), to having a recovery plan (after it happens). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
Fill out the form below to get your Free Master Disaster Guide.</h3>
<center>
<div>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
</center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing is for sure, the insurance companies all have
plans. And systems. And strategies. And resources. For you to compete, you need
to have these plans in place as well, even if it just means knowing who has the
plans, systems, strategies and resources to help you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-89881678777437198972016-02-27T11:46:00.000-08:002016-02-27T11:46:03.395-08:00Sliding Down the Slippery Slopeby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KNPsbrMUwD96t9SriCn1FQ1W03gmknz2Uud_tduhb1g9W3Dasf3shdWxOJ_DwQsuFojiRhyX0FmysN-L4Z49l44xO1o3VfBAEgeNEBWiAWTWRDSPFuVFFMzwN_-o6wDbtn6sHVVbdmqw/s1600/snowmoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KNPsbrMUwD96t9SriCn1FQ1W03gmknz2Uud_tduhb1g9W3Dasf3shdWxOJ_DwQsuFojiRhyX0FmysN-L4Z49l44xO1o3VfBAEgeNEBWiAWTWRDSPFuVFFMzwN_-o6wDbtn6sHVVbdmqw/s320/snowmoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow Moon image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week brought us the “Full Snow Moon”, also known as the
“Full Hunger Moon”. Maybe I simply wasn’t paying close attention in the past,
but this was the first time I heard each moon came with its own name, based on
the month, dating back to Native Americans. With February being known as having
heavy snow falls which makes hunting more difficult, it is easy to see how “Snow”
and “Hunger” was connected to the name for the February moon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, today’s forecast once again featured a weekend warning
for strong winter storms, sure to bring huge amounts of the cold, wet, white
stuff. Sure, it looks beautiful as it is falling, but man does it ever wreak
some havoc when it lands! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So in the spirit of all the heavy snow, I wanted to point
out a few ways those cute and fluffy flakes can be dangerous to all kinds of
property, and how insurance companies might try to slide out from covering the
damage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTYyJ-_9lxSfr3HBm_7OW_bEPGjY-0dY4M7fZ2PmNXV7rksr1bFQdJh8fQEqE9De66uY1-O-oskKqhYXQtKhrslDly41tlXzIf46BhwxmmpGFTFcfy5p4iFKadJ9eeopZXVRGhMxoS9G7/s1600/cardamagedbysnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTYyJ-_9lxSfr3HBm_7OW_bEPGjY-0dY4M7fZ2PmNXV7rksr1bFQdJh8fQEqE9De66uY1-O-oskKqhYXQtKhrslDly41tlXzIf46BhwxmmpGFTFcfy5p4iFKadJ9eeopZXVRGhMxoS9G7/s320/cardamagedbysnow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While it looks a bit like whipped marshmallow topping, snow
is actually quite heavy. Accumulated snow and ice (we usually only see the snow
on top, but there is usually ice underneath) can topple trees, or at least break large branches. These trees and branches may harmlessly fall to the ground, or
they can smash anything they land on…roofs, fences, pools, walkways, power
lines, cars, outdoor furniture and swing sets…whatever gets in the way. Trees
being heavy and dense, they can really pack a wallop. I once handled a claim
where a large tree basically split a 2-story apartment building in half,
causing over $400,000 in damages. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even without involving trees, heavy snow can collapse roofs.
And what do you suppose happens to the tons of snow once it gets inside the warm
building whose roof just caved in? If you guessed, “melts into hundreds of
gallons of freezing water and soas every last nook and cranny of a home,”
you’re right!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The snow and ice can also bring down power lines that are
sparked from falling trees. When damaged by trees or just the weight of ice and
snow, once the power lines come down, the damage totals rise. Food spoils,
electrical components get spikes and surges (before or after the outage), and
temperatures inside homes drop drastically. This often makes for frozen pipes,
and in many cases, as the water inside the pipes freeze, the water expands, causing
the pipes to rupture. Since these ruptures take place inside of walls, they
can’t be seen – until, that is, the frozen pipes thaw out and water pours from
the ruptured section of pipe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmM5DnoudPV65PnvZ6BwrooJz-skK753nrLqTCO6_SNb-tcX9s-GzWQt7ejkHf__PwnEC6E0bpsel9Ejr7QM0tlLeOyeNbnryf4yndoaih1AOiecY-7FFaJ-w7gtJwNPA7rOG2-tBrcC8/s1600/carpileup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmM5DnoudPV65PnvZ6BwrooJz-skK753nrLqTCO6_SNb-tcX9s-GzWQt7ejkHf__PwnEC6E0bpsel9Ejr7QM0tlLeOyeNbnryf4yndoaih1AOiecY-7FFaJ-w7gtJwNPA7rOG2-tBrcC8/s320/carpileup.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://youtube.com/">YouTube.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Snow falling on roadways create other hazards, such as
reduced visibility, black ice, snow drifts, and generally slippery conditions
that are prime for auto accidents. Cars then slide into other cars, or other
property, making for colossal collisions costing copious quantities of cash.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you can see, when it comes down to it, snow (in one form
or another) has the ability to damage pretty much anything it comes into
contact with. Naturally, the heavier the snow even, the greater the
potential for damage. But that is why you buy insurance, right? Of course, it
is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But if you’ve been following my blogs at all, even an
insurance novice can probably begin to formulate some of the slippery excuses
some insurance companies might try to give in order to slide out from paying
these claims:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wear and tear”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Negligent maintenance”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Faulty construction, defective materials, or poor design”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Failure to maintain heat”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Failure to drain plumbing pipes”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Continuous and repeated seepage of water”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Excluded power surge”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Abandonment”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Failure to mitigate damages”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRA-mluahHkZrUcMCVMrmLH8RyORk_rNiZOfu4gAiWGBKM41tgOd-d0ONUN1rp346V_wQQpi9P_6NRghv1TvFS9Hi9p-9M_cu-6hNHx-vXp6YGs4apeZAUYZR0vGDs0vmLdgKWeJrLgmo/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRA-mluahHkZrUcMCVMrmLH8RyORk_rNiZOfu4gAiWGBKM41tgOd-d0ONUN1rp346V_wQQpi9P_6NRghv1TvFS9Hi9p-9M_cu-6hNHx-vXp6YGs4apeZAUYZR0vGDs0vmLdgKWeJrLgmo/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>To get your FREE copy, fill out the form below.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heck, some might even claim you misrepresented some obscure
and completely unrelated answer on your insurance application form when you
initially purchased the policy many years ago. If so, they could declare the
entire policy to be void, regardless of whether or not this particular loss is
covered. I call this phenomenon, “Denial by rescission”, and yes, it really
happens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even if they can’t find a way to deny the claim completely,
there are always plenty of icy obstacles they can use to delay, deflect, reduce
and defend their actions and your payments. All of these can frustrate weary
policyholders to the breaking point, where walking away from a fair settlement
seems better than continuing to engage in the mental torture an insurance claim
can inflict.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, that got cold and gloomy in a hurry! So let’s come back
around and end on a nice note, with the names of all the full moons for the
entire year (according to www.farmersalmanac.com):<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– January - Full Wolf Moon <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– February - Full Snow Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– March - Full Worm Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– April - Full Pink Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– May - Full Flower Moon <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– June - Full Strawberry Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– July - The Full Buck Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– August - Full Sturgeon Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– September - Full Corn Moon or Full Harvest Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– October - Full Hunter’s Moon or Full Harvest Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>– November - Full Beaver Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> – December - The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if you ever find yourself sliding down the slippery slope of insurance company denial, remember to call your friendly pubic claims adjuster. He knows how to cut Frosty down to size.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-19979510167088722342016-02-19T12:54:00.000-08:002016-02-22T09:43:54.547-08:00How to Write Your Way To Celebrity (Maybe)by Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in 2005, about a year into my new career as a Public
Adjuster, I was telling my wife’s boss “war stories” about claims I was
handling in the Florida Panhandle following Hurricane Ivan. After hearing me
recount how adjusters would miss appointments without as much as a phone call,
write horribly low estimates one after the other, attempt to deny items that
were clearly covered by the policy…not to mention the delays! One delay after another,
month after agonizing month. It was unbelievable, yet I could recite the
details for what seemed like hours on end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My wife’s boss, a motivational speaker and author of
multiple books who goes simply by “Pegine”, stopped me mid-sentence and said,
“Is this true? Do the insurance companies really do these things?” Absolutely,
I told her. After all, I wasn’t just repeating what I heard from someone else,
I was talking about actual claims I was personally working on. These things
were really happening, and on a regular basis. While it was not how I was
taught as a company adjuster, I quickly saw it as the status quo, especially
after a catastrophe. But she was completely beside herself, and emphatically
told me, “You need to write a book – people need to know this!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Besides,” she explained, “writing a book is a great way to
set yourself apart from your competition, and increase your credibility as an
expert in your field.” I reminded her I was not a writer, I was an insurance
adjuster. But she didn’t seem to care. Her mind was made up. She told me about
a “ghostwriter” friend of hers, and explained how it all worked. I would tell
the stories, he would make them print-worthy, and the public would be made
aware – both, of what the insurance companies were up to, and who could help
them level the playing field. It was a win-win-win situation.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-0V8P0onptg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-0V8P0onptg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So for the next several months, as I made the 5-hour drive
from Jacksonville to Pensacola Beach, and back again every week or so, I would
dictate my stories into a micro-cassette recorder (this was years before voice-to-text
smart phones), and pop them in the mail to the “writer”. He would then clean it
up, create an order for it all, as well as teach me things about writing and
publishing I had no idea about. He helped me find a graphic designer for the
cover (who also created my logo and designed my website), and an on-line
self-publisher to print the books (the first edition, anyway).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Initially, the book was going to be a “pocket book”, small
and thin, 80 pages tops, with just enough information to raise awareness and
promote myself as an expert in the field of property insurance claims. But as
the months went on, I found more and more information “needed” to be included,
and more and more “stories” were naturally generated as I continued to beat
insurance companies at their own game. The book grew in both size and
thickness, from 5”x7” and under 80 pages, to 6”x9” and over 125 pages.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2006, “UNCOVERED – What <i>REALLY</i> Happens After The Storm, Flood, Earthquake or Fire” was
born! I was very proud to be a published author, less than three years into my
new business venture. I hired a publicist to let the world know about the book
by sending press releases, and waited for the media to call. Don’t laugh. No, I
didn’t get a lot of media attention, and the books weren’t exactly flying off
the shelves of bookstores, but I did make it on a local news station’s
“Hurricane Special”, as well as a morning TV show, the local paper and business
journal, and some radio shows (local and national). I sold a few books here and
there, but mainly gave them away as door prizes during networking events, or to
clients, prospects, or strategic alliances. My point here is, don’t think you
are going to make a great living selling books, and be able to retire early
from the career you wrote the book to promote in the first place. Just accept
the fact that you are not going to be selling a ton of books, and focus on
using the books to promote your business (and/or yourself).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the book really does help. It has now been about 8 years
since I wrote my first book, and people are still impressed that I wrote a
book. I’ve had a client tell me the deciding factor for her hiring me over a
competitor was because I wrote the book (which I gave to her when she asked me
to “interview” for the claim she needed help with). The claim turned out to be
a big success. She recovered many tens of thousands more than her insurance
company initially offered, and I received a sizeable commission fee – plus she
did a great testimonial video for me. Thanks to that one book, that one claim
paid for everything that went into writing and publishing the 2,000 initial
copies of my book. Talk about a great return on investment! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, my book did not make me a celebrity, and it did not make
me rich. But it does lend credibility to me and my business, it sets me apart, and
all these years later, it still offers the opportunity to promote my business.
And that is not to say your book will not do so much more for you. Besides, you
might be surprised at how much you can learn about yourself, your business,
your industry, and your competition, by going through the book-writing process.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-87557412236543146462016-02-05T11:55:00.001-08:002016-02-05T11:57:05.441-08:00Time to Break Out the Shovelby Mark Goldwich<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT0oF5_Yw6DqrQJ5tezdvjsrwggvLffqpf0XHvsX9rttAj_gzGKLgSQJvKaPJ-PY2bbQ74FN-IydxlfhVrO0yXp5P17UQaRG2DEtL2lLzJQZY7nkqBzsaUg5udQZMgokaJxOV3_9jUQd1/s1600/snow3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT0oF5_Yw6DqrQJ5tezdvjsrwggvLffqpf0XHvsX9rttAj_gzGKLgSQJvKaPJ-PY2bbQ74FN-IydxlfhVrO0yXp5P17UQaRG2DEtL2lLzJQZY7nkqBzsaUg5udQZMgokaJxOV3_9jUQd1/s320/snow3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pixabay.com/">pixabay.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been seeing a lot of shoveling lately. Waves of major
winter storm systems bring millions of tons <o:p></o:p></div>
of snow, blanketing streets,
cities, and even entire states. With news reports and headlines calling for “Snowmageddon”
and “Snowpocalypse”, followed by images of snowplows, snowblowers, and plenty
of snow shovels, the piles of snow seem to be never-ending.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So how does insurance fit in with all the snow?” you might
be asking. Actually, there are two ways. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyIOvxwAXZ4iwQA6zKpwS42tVfM2saCula8zCLKIHhtT8d-kIc7pHWskfRSybaKrf-lzU5iBdQQrWj158ec_W6UQTGTntPWSqVMaPc7dEwIbkAcs5EUg0G4357MI43gLw12y_2DzercGW/s1600/snow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyIOvxwAXZ4iwQA6zKpwS42tVfM2saCula8zCLKIHhtT8d-kIc7pHWskfRSybaKrf-lzU5iBdQQrWj158ec_W6UQTGTntPWSqVMaPc7dEwIbkAcs5EUg0G4357MI43gLw12y_2DzercGW/s320/snow2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, all that snow (and ice) causes extraordinary amounts
of property damage in the form of auto accidents, trees and power lines downed
by the weight of ice and snow, frozen pipes that rupture and cause extensive
water damage, ice dams create roof leaks, the weight of ice and snow can
actually collapse roofs, and so much melting snow causes flooding – I actually
saw a 5 foot high ice flow move down a New Jersey street.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And secondly, the heaping mounds of snow is analogous to the
mountains of red tape, hoops, delays and other slush insurance companies use to
drown insurance victims in their time of need. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Water (that stuff snow eventually turns into) is one of the
most powerful and destructive forces on earth (think Grand Canyon, Niagara
Falls, and glaciers). I know it seems fairly harmless when portrayed as fluffy
little flakes floating down from the heavens, but in accumulations large
enough, and depending on variations in temperature, snow melts into water,
freezes to ice, and melts into water again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pe5s5UAHPL79dwriEqWjMIQXijK0LPgINa0LBKPN8qKEyLUMRt9ryzNkHinPhqXjZqbmim1qdaNQAkFPTGTNtyakyJIXW42j38oFs7TjPRvIBnE_Z4N9IyynDTJS_oYlm_MxCWyjpG_R/s1600/snow4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pe5s5UAHPL79dwriEqWjMIQXijK0LPgINa0LBKPN8qKEyLUMRt9ryzNkHinPhqXjZqbmim1qdaNQAkFPTGTNtyakyJIXW42j38oFs7TjPRvIBnE_Z4N9IyynDTJS_oYlm_MxCWyjpG_R/s320/snow4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the air, the thawing and freezing cycle can produce
damaging hail. On roofs, this thawing and freezing can produce ice dams,
allowing water to penetrate roof systems. Sometimes this damages the roof itself
as well as the interior of the structure, and sometimes only damaging the interior,
while leaving no trace whatsoever on the roof. This makes for an interesting
“who-done-it” for insurance adjusters – after all, without proof, why should
they believe the damage was caused by an ice dam, and not simply a matter of
“wear and tear”? In pipes, the cycle is usually reversed – first freezing,
and then thawing, which can inundate an entire home (just don’t call it
“a flood” as that is not covered unless it meets the definition of “flood”, and
you actually have a flood insurance policy). And outside on the ground, this
thawing and freezing and thawing again cycle can lead to actual flooding,
sometimes including large chunks of ice and accumulated debris rushing along in a torrent, destroying pretty much
anything in it’s path.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By now you get the idea. Water can be very destructive, even
when it starts out gently. And after you plow, dig, blow, and shovel
your way out from the snow, you should also be prepared to shovel your way out
from the ensuing insurance claim.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>As I alluded to earlier, snow, ice, and water can be tricky
substances. Think of all the riddles involving water in its various properties:</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>- Power enough to smash ships and crush roofs. Yet it still
must fear the sun. (Ice)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>- This old one runs forever, but never moves at all. No
lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call. (waterfall)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Fill out the form below to get your Free Master Disaster Guide.</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<center><style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script></div></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because water can take on 3 physical properties (solid,
liquid, and gas) in relatively short order, it can appear to be here one day,
and gone the next. So unless you have photos of it, it’s very existence can be
difficult to prove (especially if the one you are trying to prove it to is not
inclined to believe you to begin with). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you might imagine, some insurance adjusters might use the
elusiveness of water to minimize your claim of damages. Hailstones beating down
on your roof like 10 million marbles (or golf balls) are almost always gone
long before an adjuster ever sets foot on your roof. Depending on the size of
the hail, the damage can be anything from excessive loss of roofing granules
(tiny bits of “rock”) which protect the water-shedding shingle matting, to
bruising of the shingle matting, to actual holes in the shingles.
Naturally, the less obvious the damage, the more an adjuster may resist paying.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOeIyBz4xTtjeYSJbp3yvqkCiWsK9kMiffto1y4ZO4X0oppaAjdFhQvqPk2I4DFSUGtTB8d3qqMZBuJNhdQHZYAV1l0HmbC6781NeKyr9oE_Oe9svTcTlWxxlVqAYFTwEoCo9E_W8Ejm1/s1600/sno6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOeIyBz4xTtjeYSJbp3yvqkCiWsK9kMiffto1y4ZO4X0oppaAjdFhQvqPk2I4DFSUGtTB8d3qqMZBuJNhdQHZYAV1l0HmbC6781NeKyr9oE_Oe9svTcTlWxxlVqAYFTwEoCo9E_W8Ejm1/s320/sno6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the case of frozen pipe claims, many policies have
exclusionary clauses requiring property owners to maintain sufficient heat at
all times, or to drain the entire plumbing system. For some adjusters, the
simple fact that you suffered a frozen pipe is evidence enough that you failed
to perform your duties.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And as indicated above, in the case of ice dams, adjusters
can claim there is no evidence to prove there ever was an ice dam (since it melted
away). They could also claim the roof workmanship or maintenance was faulty.
Think about it, exclusions weren’t put into insurance policies to be <b>ignored</b>. They are there to be <b>used</b>. And some like using them more
than others. Even if they agree to pay for the inside water damage, they may
not agree to pay for damage done to the roofing system when ice built up and
crept ever-higher under shingles, causing creases, removing granules, or
loosening nails.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just be ready to dig yourself out from under a drift of insurance
legalese, skeptical adjusters, and carrier-dependent engineers. Or, you may
want to consider hiring an experienced consumer advocate. Like a dependable
snow shovel, we can plow the way for your return to normalcy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-34391600484850825502016-01-17T09:56:00.001-08:002016-01-20T09:23:35.792-08:00Has your Homeowner's Policy Sprung a Leak?by Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
At our weekly team meeting this morning, we talked about
claims we are currently handling, and how various insurance companies are using
everything at their disposal to minimize claim payments, or avoid paying
altogether – and what we can do about it. It’s one of the main reasons we meet
each week. This week, it just so happened that a few of the claims
involved water damage, and we talked about a few of the technicalities involved in
these types of losses. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In one case, the insurance company sent out an engineer to
inspect the claim. That in and of itself was not so unusual, but my adjuster
knew an engineer was not typically sent out for this particular type of water
loss. So, when my adjuster met with the engineer (as we usually meet with
anyone an insurance company sends out), he asked enough questions to learn
exactly why the insurance company picked him (a certified mold specialist) to
inspect this claim. The engineer explained there are known types of molds that
only grow after a certain number of days. Right away, this told my adjuster
more than it would ever tell even the most savvy property owner. The insurance
company was hoping the engineer could identify a species of mold that could
only grow after an extended period of time. Why? We are convinced it is so they
could try to deny the claim under a technical policy exclusion that precludes
coverage (theoretically) for “repeated leakage or seepage of water from a
plumbing system” – most property policies have an exclusion that reads
something along those lines.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyGLUMvd_0jq8zmX7HEmGVHrL9IahqZRoRx2rRmxjitS2rs0EoEFXZb5q_EWepV_VhHcgXdnJd9BuKLpO0vVbIO13vZZLFaS0QJYIogi65eB31PdUPahl0B3TvVweHy7A20vFkvmV6ypg/s1600/leak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyGLUMvd_0jq8zmX7HEmGVHrL9IahqZRoRx2rRmxjitS2rs0EoEFXZb5q_EWepV_VhHcgXdnJd9BuKLpO0vVbIO13vZZLFaS0QJYIogi65eB31PdUPahl0B3TvVweHy7A20vFkvmV6ypg/s320/leak.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/">commons.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some policies go on to say there is no coverage if the leak
goes on for at least 14 days, some exclude <b>good neighbors</b> on your street, odds
are at least 1 of them are insured by this huge national company with a catchy
jingle and endless ads on TV) doesn’t always take full advantage of this
exclusion. After all, if they did, they could deny every single plumbing leak
claim that is ever presented, since all leaks and seepages, by definition,
occur over “a period of time”. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">You have a sudden and
accidental pipe burst, and water goes everywhere, causing a lot of damage to
your home and belongings. That should be covered, right? Not so fast according
to the wording of this particular insurance company policy. Even if you were
home, and awake, and standing right where the pipe burst, how long would it
take you to get to the main water shut-off valve and turn the water off? I
guarantee the answer is “a period of time”. Now, I will say this particular
insurance company (I won’t say who it is, but if you have at least 5 good neighbors
on your street, odds are at least 1 of them are insured by this huge national
company with a catchy jingle and endless ads on TV) doesn’t always take full
advantage of this exclusion – after all, if they did, they could deny every
single plumbing leak claim that is ever presented, since all leaks and seepages,
by definition, occur over “a period of time”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br />
Instead, they simply pick and choose which they
want to cover, and which they don’t. To be honest, I don’t know how they have been able to get away with this for so long. A good public relations team, and good
lobbyists, are probably a good start. These leaks, if they result in rot or
mold, and one just says the loss is not covered if the leak “occurs over a
period of time”. Think about that for a minute (or any period of time). You
have a sudden and accidental pipe burst, and water goes everywhere, causing a
lot of damage to your home and belongings. That should be covered, right? Not
so fast according to the wording of this particular insurance policy.
Even if you were home, and awake, and standing right where the pipe burst, how
long would it take you to get to the main water shut-off valve and turn the
water off? I guarantee the answer is “a period of time”. Now, I will say this
particular insurance company (I won’t say who it is, but if you have at least 5</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will say this though – regardless of the language they
use, and the resources they employ to have the scenario appear to fit the
exclusionary policy language, we are usually able to get these claims paid.
How? Because we use technicalities too. When the carrier says the leak went on
for more than 14 days, we simply address the damages that occurred during the
first 13 days (and we usually find it is not much different than the damages
that took place from day 14 on. If they find mold that only grows after an
extended period of time, we can find other mold present that only takes 72
hours to grow. If they claim this leak resulted in rot, we may be able to
establish that the rot they are referring to resulted from a completely
different leak several years ago, and is therefore unrelated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvDZH6HKOhplPBYtIPIZZ3Ag3TEvKSc7U4TfL7D5lnWnTxI-OOkyBpCDuA2K5pRNQoxcmN_M_luUjj_wr_H54cR5IlZj0hY5kpXrnKuBnbgyNmflmD73DLPuKtJzOUZUipBCvezDolkl_/s1600/roofleak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvDZH6HKOhplPBYtIPIZZ3Ag3TEvKSc7U4TfL7D5lnWnTxI-OOkyBpCDuA2K5pRNQoxcmN_M_luUjj_wr_H54cR5IlZj0hY5kpXrnKuBnbgyNmflmD73DLPuKtJzOUZUipBCvezDolkl_/s320/roofleak.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikimedia.org/">en.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Not all leaks come from pipes. Another common leak source we
deal with frequently comes from roofs. Roofs can leak for a number of reasons,
some are covered, and some are not. Generally, if the leak occurred due to
storm damage, falling object, vandalism, or some other sudden and accidental
cause, the roof repair is usually covered; but if the leak was due to a lack of
maintenance, faulty construction or design, the roof repair is usually
excluded. What about the damage done <b>inside</b>
the home as a result of the roof leak? This again may depend on the specific
policy language. Some policies cover this interior “resulting damage”
regardless of whether or not the roof itself is covered, and some policies
specifically say a covered event must create an opening in the roof (or wall)
before they will pay for the interior water damages. When pressed on what
constitutes an “opening” that the water enters through, adjusters vary. Some
will pay if roof shingles are damaged in any way, and others insist the word
“opening” means, “if you are standing inside the home and can look up and see
the sky.” We eat those guys for lunch!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I recently wrote about two other water claims that were
vehemently denied. In one case a covered source of rainwater was improperly
denied as being “flood” or “surface water”, when in fact it was neither. And in
another case, an extensive water loss was strongly denied because the carrier
erroneously believed the loss occurred after the property was left vacant for
more than 30 days, when it was not. In both cases, a more technical
investigation of facts and policies led to payments exceeding $50,000.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQM4QEuSf2B97Xps393slowrWjf69ee8nSHbmhTcwwZjfld4fOfTmRRGR5m5oUJDGe8rNg_ArdlChsC3egKalIYZodIIoY2M88FuqXrt4VEeygkyNUyR9JfmadoYdXlGI-_qkYl_j1b1zg/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQM4QEuSf2B97Xps393slowrWjf69ee8nSHbmhTcwwZjfld4fOfTmRRGR5m5oUJDGe8rNg_ArdlChsC3egKalIYZodIIoY2M88FuqXrt4VEeygkyNUyR9JfmadoYdXlGI-_qkYl_j1b1zg/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below to receive a Free Copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707" type="text/javascript"></script>
</center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you can imagine, in a voluminous insurance policy, rife
with legalese containing coverages, conditions, exclusions, exceptions, and
exceptions to exclusions, there is plenty of room for technicalities, and for
debate over said technicalities. This is all the more reason to have an
insurance claim expert on your side, just as the insurance companies have
experts on their side. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-71141830156979447322016-01-11T06:42:00.003-08:002016-01-11T06:42:58.328-08:00Endeavor to Persevereby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I decided to write about perseverance this week, because I
have been reminded lately that perseverance plays a major role in insurance
claims, and in what we do as public insurance adjusters (advocates for
insurance consumers). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIfCleZDh7rZOq2Ho_TgELj0DkMk_IzHUssprvWc2vXQQthg14mtDRtCUCdUsmX1yNUyoRHvOt_qe-iH8FMpuqX6DVuWZy7oWOeOx3GMivUtTq0lP_v9ectdLWjJEIuCmuWqwPqWSwFLf/s1600/burnt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIfCleZDh7rZOq2Ho_TgELj0DkMk_IzHUssprvWc2vXQQthg14mtDRtCUCdUsmX1yNUyoRHvOt_qe-iH8FMpuqX6DVuWZy7oWOeOx3GMivUtTq0lP_v9ectdLWjJEIuCmuWqwPqWSwFLf/s320/burnt.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">commons.wikimedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the second time in my career (one should have been
enough), I heard of a woman who lost her home to a fire. As if that wasn’t bad
enough, she also lost her husband in the fire. To make it even worse, she was
there with him at the time of the fire. She got out just ahead of him before he
collapsed, very close to the front door. The fire department was there right
away, but the heat was simply too intense. They could hear the husband calling
out, but they just couldn’t reach him. They even grabbed a rake from a neighbor
to extend their reach, all to no avail.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was two months ago. Her homeowners insurance company
has not paid her anything. Instead, they have taken multiple statements from
her, made numerous requests for information, including cellphone records so
they can see if she was plotting this fire herself. She feels they have treated
her like a criminal, instead of like the victim. The same is true of the life
insurance company. Her husband only had $10,000 in life insurance, and nearly
all of that will go to pay for funeral costs, but the life insurance company is
still waiting for the medical examiner’s office to complete their report
listing the official cause of death.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People in these difficult circumstances often lose hope and
give up. Between the financial stress of not knowing how you will be able to pay your everyday expenses, added to the anger of being treated like a criminal by the very
people you paid to give you peace of mind should something like this happen is
enough to make even the strongest of us want to quit and walk away from the
entire process.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a public adjuster, part of my job is to help the
insurance victims stay strong, understand their rights, and build resolve to
see the process through to the finish. We do this by educating, as well as by sharing our
experiences, offering hope, and
just by being there with them throughout the claim. Sometimes we literally hold their hand, or give them a hug. We are confident if they can just outlast the
insurance company, they will almost always recover what they are owed. Our
confidence helps to bolster their confidence, which is often shaken, or even
broken, following this type of ordeal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5ytiNUDeZRtmvN-Kx6g4Q99V5cVXLWGr9s5zvlsbBs792UCE4tZKNqvMeSuv5X3hVUd5WHbMJeVF2kJedPvl16McThreM0ncVDZPXWwejJui1dn-uAhyphenhyphenmRhPekL1pHzD-0oM58eX8P7u/s1600/ind1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5ytiNUDeZRtmvN-Kx6g4Q99V5cVXLWGr9s5zvlsbBs792UCE4tZKNqvMeSuv5X3hVUd5WHbMJeVF2kJedPvl16McThreM0ncVDZPXWwejJui1dn-uAhyphenhyphenmRhPekL1pHzD-0oM58eX8P7u/s1600/ind1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thinking about perseverance quickly reminded me of a scene
from an old Clint Eastwood movie, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. In this particular scene,
Chief Dan George plays the character of Lone Watie, an aging Native American
Indian who teams up with Eastwood’s Wales character. Lone Watie recalls a time
before the Civil War when he and other leaders of Indian tribes went to
Washington to complain about their treatment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wore this frock coat to Washington before The War. We
wore them because we belonged to the five civilized tribes. We dressed
ourselves up like Abraham Lincoln. You know, we got to see the Secretary of the
Interior. And he said, "Boy, you boys sure look civilized." He
congratulated us and he gave us medals for looking so civilized. We told him
about how our land had been stolen and how our people were dying. When we finished
he shook our hands and said, "endeavor to persevere!" They stood us
in a line: John Jumper, Chili McIntosh, Buffalo Hump, Jim Buckmark, and
me – I am Lone Watie. They took our pictures. And the newspapers said,
"Indians vow to endeavor to persevere." We thought about it for a
long time. "Endeavor to persevere." And when we had thought about it
long enough, we declared war on the Union.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other words, they got the message that the politician was
just trying to placate them, maybe even mock them, and that their treatment was
not going to change for the better. While he told them to persevere, he meant
it in the way of maintaining the status quo. That is not what I mean by
persevering. By persevere, I mean to be tenacious, stop at nothing, stand one’s
ground, and not take “no” for an answer. Same words, but very different
meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I hear all the personal stories of people losing their
homes to fire, flood, or other calamity, and losing their personal effects like
photographs, records of achievement, and other sentimental mementos that simply
cannot be replaced, I think about the pompous
politician from the movie saying, in a condescending tone, “Endeavor to
persevere.” These are real people, with real families, and real feelings. They
didn’t ask for their homes to be destroyed and their lives to be turned upside
down. They deserve better than that. They paid their premiums, often year after
year, for decades sometimes, without ever submitting a claim. They deserve
better – and that’s what we offer – a better listener, a better understanding,
a better response, and a much better result.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkjh3YAzZI0Ejz3yU5ynd2f0k-Z0o4uD9VB79vXQD6XJNYXSswdx8YhhbA3Cj7rooxZDDzFKI2_EMddp8wTB0Bq7NP0qvhWbMdGD_ZkATLf_urPvQRag4HztUYisEBNAtw14JAJ2JA_cP/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkjh3YAzZI0Ejz3yU5ynd2f0k-Z0o4uD9VB79vXQD6XJNYXSswdx8YhhbA3Cj7rooxZDDzFKI2_EMddp8wTB0Bq7NP0qvhWbMdGD_ZkATLf_urPvQRag4HztUYisEBNAtw14JAJ2JA_cP/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill out the form below for your Free copy.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<Center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is why no matter what insurance company representatives
might say about me, my business, or my industry, or what they can convince
state insurance officials and even legislators about us, I know in my heart we
are doing what is right. We <b>will</b>
endeavor to persevere, not by standing around “looking civilized”, but by
declaring war on insurance companies and their representatives. And by using
our knowledge, skills, experience, and other strategic weapons, we will win the
war. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-43203609776198357662015-12-23T08:14:00.000-08:002015-12-23T08:14:34.925-08:00How the Grinches Steal Christmasby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
The sad reality is that thousands of grinches steal thousands of Christmases, every single year. They always have, and they always will. It is very unfortunate when it happens to others, and devastating when it happens to you. I’m going to try to point out the ways I have personally seen this happen in my career as an insurance adjuster, and some ways you can either reduce the risk of this happening to you, or at least ways to minimize your losses should it happen despite your best efforts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJ_U35YP2f4hUjHzTLY3FhCD1txRFis09DMqE9frq-NZdTf_LUDvTObeJeFnhKaj2GiBPw70qcuPwjLSiVoBZk8fUGqz0HU1iEffNxUCt1Zuw5dZqTeoI_5iiY5-tElAyQVFlS8nW8oix/s1600/grinch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJ_U35YP2f4hUjHzTLY3FhCD1txRFis09DMqE9frq-NZdTf_LUDvTObeJeFnhKaj2GiBPw70qcuPwjLSiVoBZk8fUGqz0HU1iEffNxUCt1Zuw5dZqTeoI_5iiY5-tElAyQVFlS8nW8oix/s320/grinch1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a class="irc_hl irc_hol i3724" data-noload="" data-ved="0ahUKEwie_c71rPLJAhUG5iYKHZkVBPwQjB0IBg" href="https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwie_c71rPLJAhUG5iYKHZkVBPwQjB0IBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fkeith-quintanilla.deviantart.com%2Fart%2FThe-Grinch-277751680&psig=AFQjCNHghQ46S7wKT0o6UOtiJCWa-Ln46A&ust=1450972716236331" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2); background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #7d7d7d; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr" style="margin-right: -2px; overflow: hidden; padding-right: 2px; text-overflow: ellipsis; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">keith-quintanilla.deviantart.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When can grinches strike? Anytime from when you are shopping for gifts, to after they are given. Thieves know the malls are full of people with extra cash and valuable gifts walking around, often distracted by sights, sounds, and smells (invariably,cinnamon). You can be targeted by pick-pockets if you are not careful, or people who are quick to snatch up a package being set down for a second, or those who will grab things right out of your arms. There are also those who scour parking lots looking for easy targets loaded with bags and boxes. A common ploy is to watch someone load up their car trunk
full of gifts and return to the mall for more shopping. There’s more than one
way to get into the trunk or car, and off they go with your goodies – receipts
and all!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the mall, you can be followed home (or to your next
destination) for another chance to abscond with the gifts before you get them
in the home, or they can simply make note of the address and return another
time. And since most homes have new purchases under the trees this time of
year, it is not difficult to look in windows and see which homes make the best
targets. Or, thieves can even wait until after Christmas, and drive around
looking at all the empty boxes being left at the curb, too large for trash
cans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have handled all kinds of these holiday theft claims over
the years, and it is always sad when someone loses all their presents (or their
family’s presents). And as an adjuster, I also know they are probably not getting
the claim paid before the New Year, and not until long after their Christmas
has been ruined.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45G8zbSqKCVKyzeT3RgvDv8-Y7YHLg17MDEPxa_r7T8WrBx4prCcEL1cbtYv1hLdHHaeJPwYZSxhTxy4gYEMQyu-kKiCExq9deFd6ZboGDb_Mb4I2Iu_RNwxSWAUzoIEVLjMskn3vRqNt/s1600/grinch3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45G8zbSqKCVKyzeT3RgvDv8-Y7YHLg17MDEPxa_r7T8WrBx4prCcEL1cbtYv1hLdHHaeJPwYZSxhTxy4gYEMQyu-kKiCExq9deFd6ZboGDb_Mb4I2Iu_RNwxSWAUzoIEVLjMskn3vRqNt/s320/grinch3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a class="irc_hl irc_hol i3724" data-noload="" href="https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmakinbacon.hubpages.com%2Fhub%2Fgrinchwallpapersdesignschristmas&psig=AFQjCNHghQ46S7wKT0o6UOtiJCWa-Ln46A&ust=1450972716236331" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2); background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #7d7d7d; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr" style="margin-right: -2px; overflow: hidden; padding-right: 2px; text-overflow: ellipsis; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">makinbacon.hubpages.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what’s the best ways to stop these grinches from stealing
your Christmas? Common sense, mostly. First, know that the threat is out there.
That alone will make you more aware of your surroundings when you are walking
around the mall, or in stores. Consider purchasing gifts with credit cards,
especially those that offer theft insurance protection. You will not only
document your purchase this way, but you may get reimbursed easier than going
to your insurance company, and without as large a deductible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you need to drop off gifts at the car and go back for
more, I recommend getting in the car after placing the gifts in the trunk, and
then driving around to the other side of the mall, so it looks like you are
just arriving to shop. When you are leaving the mall for home, beware of cars
following you, and drive past your home and go around the block, then double
back to see if anyone is following.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once home, be aware of anyone watching you bring presents
inside, and don’t leave the car unattended or out of sight for any length of
time. Close your trunk and lock your doors every time you have to take a load
of gifts into the house. In the home, be sure to lock all doors and windows,
and use an alarm if you have one. Take pictures of the gifts before they are
wrapped, and make copies of your receipts, just in case. After Christmas, don’t
put empty gift boxes at the curb – take and dispose of them somewhere else, or
cut them up so they can fit inside your garbage cans. All of these things can
reduce the size of the target, and since not everyone will do this, people
other than you will likely present an easier target for crooks looking for the
surest victims.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTdvSR62tr9Uqo2Orure6QyGyH769vaqrKtmJ97kzfeBha0gPSOS2daiYwoGHeOCghxqQtXiuyGyw5C6cfiUsvZ96iu1qhCctlz2zz14m2zMna1VlU3Ae9HXUMAoct0u4fiLEfTz2UUhW/s1600/grinch4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTdvSR62tr9Uqo2Orure6QyGyH769vaqrKtmJ97kzfeBha0gPSOS2daiYwoGHeOCghxqQtXiuyGyw5C6cfiUsvZ96iu1qhCctlz2zz14m2zMna1VlU3Ae9HXUMAoct0u4fiLEfTz2UUhW/s320/grinch4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if despite all your care, a grinch makes off with your Jing
Tinglers, Flu Floopers, your Tar Tinkers and Who Hoovers, just know if you
can document what you purchased, and that it was stolen, your insurance claim
will go that much easier. Call the police right away, and give them a complete
list of everything stolen (if they don’t get everything listed right away, be
sure to provide them with a supplemental list that includes absolutely
everything). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adjusters hear stories every year of people using Christmas
bonuses (cash, of course) to buy expensive items that are well above their
means, with no proof of purchase whatsoever. Because of this, they expect
people will throw in a few extra items from their “wish list”, even if they did
really suffer a holiday theft, and they may be extra suspicious when it comes
to paying these types of claims. Oftentimes these cynical and callous adjusters
seem as cold-hearted as the grinch that actually stole the gifts. The better
you can document your claim (receipts, invoices, credit card statements,
photos, police report, etc.), the faster your claim should be settled, with as
little hassle as possible. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdAOGRIiR92xnkuNdrxzPe0FPzDj1uJj1q_0wf6Yhmsh9lfTIojlJ_55HDvprBAai1ibEocFg3cMKmICWGWzZaACJncjgEAx5T3JZNeEL9tUjQLqLHX024WxZzBmTxQS11F_6Y4JU5Y4E/s1600/grinch5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdAOGRIiR92xnkuNdrxzPe0FPzDj1uJj1q_0wf6Yhmsh9lfTIojlJ_55HDvprBAai1ibEocFg3cMKmICWGWzZaACJncjgEAx5T3JZNeEL9tUjQLqLHX024WxZzBmTxQS11F_6Y4JU5Y4E/s200/grinch5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a class="irc_hl irc_hol i3724" data-noload="" href="https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blu-raydefinition.com%2Fdr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-1966-blu-ray-review-high-resolution-screen-captures&psig=AFQjCNHghQ46S7wKT0o6UOtiJCWa-Ln46A&ust=1450972716236331" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2); background-color: #f1f1f1; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr" style="margin-right: -2px; overflow: hidden; padding-right: 2px; text-overflow: ellipsis; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><span style="color: black;">www.blu-raydefinition.com</span></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like it or not, the grinches are out there, and we may not be able to stop
them all by singing a heartwarming (and3-times heart-growing) rendition of The
Who Song (Fahoo Fores, Dahoo Dores), but we can take a number of steps to
reduce our chances of falling victim, and if it happens anyway, learn ways to
make the recovery process go smoother. Welcome Christmas, one and all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257208474882315775.post-24148900662035466512015-12-18T10:58:00.000-08:002015-12-18T10:59:40.362-08:00Don't Let Your HVAC System Spell HAVOCby Mark Goldwich<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1e65QhUYdrvQSIJQ_z3aajnUV6FglCNkQwq6UAiWCggj-p1YH-Hkjt7cuVd3B6VEocxNmcFQMbpENrSigG1GkpyagsX7uMDSZAFzIhCiE8CBq54429pv7Zfg9H5ZY5ceQLb49d4j0gUgD/s1600/air+handler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1e65QhUYdrvQSIJQ_z3aajnUV6FglCNkQwq6UAiWCggj-p1YH-Hkjt7cuVd3B6VEocxNmcFQMbpENrSigG1GkpyagsX7uMDSZAFzIhCiE8CBq54429pv7Zfg9H5ZY5ceQLb49d4j0gUgD/s320/air+handler.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">en.wikipedia.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tucked away in hallway closets or in corners of garages, air
conditioner air handlers quietly go about their business of keeping the
temperature of your living space at a comfortable level. Year after year they
go about their duty, all while out of sight and out of mind. Wrapped in an
unassuming metal box filled with wires, tubes, and fans they use gases that convert warm air to cool
air. In the process they create a surplus of condensate (water), that must be
carried away by a drain pipe (if all goes according to plan).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>You might not expect this to be the case, but air
conditioner leaks – especially from the inside air handlers on central air
units – are a very common source of water leaks that result in millions of
dollars in property damage every year. </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I am not an expert on WHY central air conditioners leak,
or even HOW they work, but in my experience, both as a homeowner and also as a
property damage insurance claim adjuster for nearly 30 years, these A/C leaks
are typically the result of two main problems: 1) algae forming in a
condensation line; and 2) ice forming on air handler coils. To really
understand the whys and hows better, you need to talk to an HVAC professional.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When algae forms inside a relatively narrow condensation
line, leading from the air handler to the exterior of the property, it
eventually blocks the line, causing the condensed water that is trying to
escape, to back up (technically, this is a “fill up”, not a back up). This creates an overflow inside the limited space inside the pan. From there, the water having nowhere else to go, winds up on the floor, and depending
on the location of the air handler, and how long you go without noticing, you
can have anything from a small puddle, to gallons and gallons of water
everywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you ever gone outside and watched water stream from a
condensation line for a few minutes? If you have, you know the stream can be
fairly heavy, and surprisingly steady. Now imagine how much water would drain
from that line over the course of an entire day (or several, if you are away
from home). It could be a <b>lot</b> of
water. Finally, imagine the damage all of that water can cause inside your home!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Think about the damage that could create on flooring,
baseboards, drywall, paint or wallpaper, vanities and kitchen cabinets,
furniture, and anything else placed on the floor (from books to clothing to
electronics, and more). If you are lucky, the cleanup can begin <b>before</b> mildew and mold start to grow,
but the costs can still be in the tens of thousands of dollars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoV_mDyLbg_GsTaAoPy4qgvRVR-xhaqMyf8usrlhYP6G2alFGiTW4MQK2KDhqiWM-OpaHZazInoBGiCJxQd4SZOAGCbVrTsB9GKLHjbW-ejVz05sq30KjsMs3xzyLlHOdQsO05PkBYCnt/s1600/ptac3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoV_mDyLbg_GsTaAoPy4qgvRVR-xhaqMyf8usrlhYP6G2alFGiTW4MQK2KDhqiWM-OpaHZazInoBGiCJxQd4SZOAGCbVrTsB9GKLHjbW-ejVz05sq30KjsMs3xzyLlHOdQsO05PkBYCnt/s1600/ptac3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://ptac-parts.com/">http://ptac-parts.com</a>/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same can be true for ice forming on the coils, usually
because the air filter is not changed as often as it should be, and the coil
fins get clogged and fail. Once the frozen ice thaws (and it always will), the
melting water usually ends up on the floor, causing the kinds of damage noted
above, but usually in smaller amounts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately, there are ways to greatly reduce the risk for
having one of these air conditioner “meltdowns”. Proper maintenance is key.
Replace the air filters regularly, and check the coil fins for dust and dirt.
You can also have a shut-off switch installed so water won’t continue to back
up if the condensate line is blocked, and regularly use a solution to keep
algae from building up in the drain line to begin with.<o:p></o:p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.9px;">(Check out a blogpost by an HVAC professional at </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bestacparts.blogspot.com/2015/04/spring-cleaning-your-ptac-unit.html" style="background-color: white; color: #33aaff; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.9px;">http://bestacparts.blogspot.com/2015/04/spring-cleaning-your-ptac-unit.html</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.9px;">)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 18.9px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the A/C unit is in a rental property, don’t assume the
tenant is maintaining it properly. Either you, a property management company,
or a professional HVAC firm should be inspecting the unit regularly to ensure
it is being well maintained.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But let’s say you <b>do</b>
have an A/C leak, which is almost always a covered loss (unless your insurance
company has added an endorsement to exclude water loss claims, as more and more
seem to be doing) – what can you expect as a result of submitting this type of
insurance claim? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As is too often the case, the answer is…that depends. It
depends on the type of policy you have, the extent of the damage, and the
insurance adjuster assigned. It also depends on whether or not you are skilled
and experienced in handling claims like this, or if you have professional claim
representation to assist you in getting all the policy and claim benefits you
are entitled to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have personally seen cases like this denied because, as
you can imagine, A/Cs may leak some water from time to time, and sometimes it
appears as if the A/C was leaking for a prolonged period of time (which is
often excluded), rather than leaking small amounts at various times over the
years, and then suddenly leaking a large amount of water all at once (which is
usually covered).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwKKLNscuLa0ltfAcaTBIdxtnutL7DxRjVJm4ahVmT6fsrytvK9ROi-z2DMrijFTT63Tet6crUy8hqAlQEDrJPETHMwwmdfSHnOTasfm6onMnfabqZGOC9ASvUKSJQIfrDy4Fwe6Vu0tw/s1600/10cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwKKLNscuLa0ltfAcaTBIdxtnutL7DxRjVJm4ahVmT6fsrytvK9ROi-z2DMrijFTT63Tet6crUy8hqAlQEDrJPETHMwwmdfSHnOTasfm6onMnfabqZGOC9ASvUKSJQIfrDy4Fwe6Vu0tw/s320/10cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>To receive a Free Copy fill out the form below.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<center>
<style type="text/css">
.link,
.link a,
#SignUp .signupframe {
color: #edf0f2;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 13px;
}
.link,
.link a {
text-decoration: none;
}
#SignUp .signupframe {
border: 1px solid #000000;
background: #3d67e3;
}
#SignUp .signupframe .required {
font-size: 10px;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=907540&l=879&f=5707"></script></center>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The claim adjuster for the insurance company make look under
or behind the A/C, see what appears to be long-term damage to flooring or
baseboards, maybe even some rot or mold from years ago, and quickly conclude
the loss is denied based on it being a “continuous or repeated leakage or
seepage of water which results in wet or dry rot or mold”. This happens all the
time, and not just with A/C leaks, but all types of water leaks in various
places in the home or property.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And while the insurance company will send out an official
denial letter on company letterhead, with all kinds of technical language
captured directly from your insurance policy, that does not mean you have to
accept what they say. We get these types of claims paid in many cases – most of
them, actually! Oddly enough, what can look like a slam-dunk denial to an
insurance company, very often ends up being a paid claim when an experienced
public adjuster is involved.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Mark Goldwich is president of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://insurance-claims.co/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Gold Star Adjusters</a>, a group of public insurance adjusters dedicated to helping citizens get the maximum settlement for any insurance claim.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4Jacksonville, FL, USA30.3321838 -81.65565099999997829.8936813 -82.301097999999982 30.770686299999998 -81.010203999999973