Settling A Homeowners Insurance Claim

To File A Homeowners Insurance Claim Or Not...
Your home was just damaged from a severe storm. What should you do? Who should be notified? Should you file a claim with your insurance company and if so, what should you expect from them? These are just a few of the concerns expected from a home owner facing a major loss. By having a general understanding of how insurance companies handle claims prior to filing one, you’ll likely be better prepared going into the process.

To file or not to file a claim—that is the question...Following a property loss, contact your insurance agent. Jason Shroot, or company representative with loss details as soon as possible. Discuss the chain of events with your insurance professional and determine if a claim should be filed. You might consider obtaining a contractor estimate to provide a damage assessment prior to filing a claim. Many consumers select high deductibles ($500, $1,000 or more) as a cost-savings measure. You may consider not filing a claim if the amount of the loss is close to your policy deductible or if you’ve filed multiple claims in recent years. Your insurance professional can provide guidance on what’s best for you.

If you are filing a claim, the company should provide information regarding the claims process. The insurance company will ask you to complete claim forms regarding the loss, which includes detailing your missing or damaged possessions. Having prior documentation of your personal property (through a video tape, an inventory list and/or photos) can greatly assist with the claims filing.

The insurer will assign a claims adjuster to work with you. Depending on the extent of the loss, the adjuster may conduct a personal interview regarding the claim, request an inspection of the damages for a loss assessment and possibly ask for a copy of an itemized list of the damaged property. The adjuster may want to tape record discussions regarding your claim.

Keep your insurer notified of any developments associated with a claim. For instance, if someone is injured on your property and you receive legal documents from the other party, contact your company immediately. Keep in mind that homeowners insurance provides legal defense coverage if sued as a result of such a claim.

In situations where property damage is extensive, try to protect against further losses by making temporary repairs. For example, if a tree falls and damages your roof, cover the hole with wood or plastic. Keep receipts associated with such repairs. These may be reimbursable under your homeowners insurance.

If a loss forces you to obtain a temporary residence, be sure to inform the insurance company. Most homeowners insurance policies also cover this under “additional living expenses.”

Don’t throw damaged property away unless instructed to do so by the adjuster. To save time, you may start obtaining written repair bids from licensed contractors. However, repairs should not begin without prior approval from your insurer.

7 Additional Claim Settling Tips:

1.  Track all expenses associated with the loss. They may be reimbursable under your homeowners insurance policy. Examples could include mileage and meal expenses if called into court for the claim or temporary repairs made to protect against additional damage.



2.  Keep copies of all your paperwork for future reference.


3.  Don’t start permanent repairs until the insurance company claims adjuster has assessed the damage and you’ve been given the go-ahead.


4.  You have the right to choose the contractor. Your insurer may provide you with a list of pre-approved contractors to save time and hassle, or you may be asked to obtain written estimates from a few licensed contractors of your own choosing. Regardless of the procedure, the policyholder has the final say in contractor selection.


5.  You have the right to negotiate the settlement. If you’re having a difficult time with the adjuster, contact the company directly and ask to speak with the consumer services department or the claims division manager. If you still find the settlement unacceptable, follow the appraisal procedure outlined in the insurance policy. Most appraisal procedures work by you hiring an independent appraiser at your expense. Once the appraiser reaches an agreement, the claim is settled at that amount.


6.  If you feel that you’ve exhausted all efforts with the insurance company, call the California Department of Insurance Consumer Hotline. The department, which regulates all insurance agents and companies within the state, will provide you with information and advice on how to proceed.


7.  If you still can’t reach an agreement, you always have the option of seeking outside legal advice.

 

In The Event of a Loss, Accident or Claim, We Suggest Strongly To Contact Your Local Insurance Agent - Jason Shroot & Keep Our Agency Involved In The Claim Process.

 

For Further Assistance & Quotes Please Call

Jason Shroot at 714-988-3325.

Medical Bills Contribute to 62% of Bankruptcies

Did You Know... Medical Bills Contribute to 62% of Bankruptcies ???


Many Americans are at high risk for financial ruin, and medical bills are often the culprit.
Researchers from the American Journal of Medicine found that illness and medical-related costs contributed to 62% of bankruptcies in 2007. Most of those affected were middle-class homeowners.

Health Care Costs Have Skyrocketed

A study by Fidelity Investments found that health care costs have risen 56% since 2002 and American families spend an average of $535 per month on health care, roughly one-fifth of their total expenses. Only food costs are higher.

Even those with health insurance are not immune. With many cash-strapped employers now opting for the lowest-cost plans, many Americans are paying tens of thousands in out-of-pocket costs. Roughly 75% of bankruptcy filers had health insurance when they became ill.

Health Insurance Is Still a Financial Necessity

The bottom line is that health insurance is a necessity—and a wise financial investment. Without health insurance, if you need extensive testing or surgery, you'll be faced with thousands in medical bills. An ambulance ride alone is enough to bleed your bank account dry.

With health care costs mounting, more Americans are turning to individual health insurance for financial relief. Many Americans with coverage through work find that individual health insurance is often the most affordable option.

If you’re without health insurance, compare health insurance quotes for free with Jason Shroot @ 714-988-3325. You could find a low-cost policy that covers all your health care needs with very little cost or effor.

PROPERLY insuring your Rental Property

So, you’re going to be a landlord! Since it’s nearly ALWAYS a good time to buy real estate, you’re making an excellent move. The long-term value of real estate from an investment standpoint is, in my humble opinion, the best leverage available.

Now that you’ve taken that step, it’s important to get the right kind of insurance to protect not only your investment from the ravages of fire, vandalism, smoke, and broken water pipes, but also protection from the greedy hands of your tenants should they sustain an injury on your property in the form of Liability Coverage.

There’s usually 4 primary areas of coverage you want to explore when looking into insurance for your property that you rent to others. (doesn’t matter if it’s a single family dwelling, duplex, multi-plex or a condo.

1. Building Coverage – Protection for the structure.
2. Personal Property Coverage – Protection for the contents of the unit that you own. This includes refrigerator and window treatments primarily. It would also include any other non-building type items that you own and are stored or used in the rented dwelling.
3. Loss of Rents Coverage – This pays your fair market rent value to you whenever your property is rendered uninhabitable from a covered loss.
4. Liability Coverage – This is that important coverage that protects you when tenants or their guests are injured or sustain some “other kind” of “loss” that they think is YOUR FAULT and they come after you with vengence and an attorney!

1. BUILDING COVERAGE

This coverage is identical to homeowners insurance in that it protects the building against physical loss from perils like fire, smoke, vandalism, water damage from broken appliances and pipes, falling trees, automobiles, etc. It’s usually written on an ALL RISK basis. Which is fancy insurance talk that simply means EVERYTHING except certain listed exclusions is covered. In other words, if something happens to the structure and it’s NOT listed in the exclusions… IT’S COVERED!

You’ll want to get enough coverage here to rebuild the structure at current construction costs. Ask your agent of a general contractor what current constructions costs would be for a place like yours. For a more complete discussion, read HOW MUCH HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE DO YOU REALLY NEED (the section on the building coverage walks you thru the same thinking you’ll need to determine coverage on your rented property.)

2.  PERSONAL PROPERTY COVERAGE

This portion provides coverage for items that you likely brought to the property. (Exception here might be a refrigerator or window treatments) Rule of thumb is that if it’s permanently part of the structure it’s a building item, if not, it’s likely a personal property item. Most window treatment items (curtains, blinds, curtain rods) will be personal property (check with your agent to be sure) Refrigerator is personal property. An installed dishwasher is likely a building item.

Usually you don’t need too much coverage here — $2000 to $5000 is usually enough, but add your stuff up to be sure.

3.  LOSS OF RENTS COVERAGE

This is important to provide a consistent flow of income should you sustain damage to the property that renders it uninhabitable for a period of time. Policies can pay for up to 12 or 24 mos or some offer an indefinite period of time. Usually it’s just for a short time like a few days or a week or two.

4.  LIABILITY COVERAGE

This could be one of the most important decisions you make regarding your rental property insurance. My advice is to think of $1 Milliion as a minimum. The difference between $300,000 and $1 million is likely less than $100 per year ($8.00 per MONTH) Beleive me, a WISE investment in the protection of EVERYTHING you own. Liability losses can be wide ranging and EXTREMELY varied in nature.

Here’s a quick story about one…

Just this year a policyholder called me and told me that they were being sued because their tenant’s girlfriend accidentally let the tenant’s dog out of the back yard. The dog made a beeline across the street and kicked the stuffing out of the neighbor’s dog. The landlord (NOT the tenant or the girlfriend) was being sued by the neighbor for veterinarian bills that exceeded $3000 and for mental anguish, stress, and… well, you know the drill. Fortunately my policyholder had not only their Rental Dwelling Insurance in place but also a $1 Million Liability Umbrella standing between this crazy neighbor and everything they owned. Without that, this could have been their problem…
They could have been paying off this “little problem” for years. They could have risked everything they own in addition to their FUTURE EARNINGS by not having the foresight to get adequate Rental Dwelling Insurance and a LIABILITY UMBRELLA policy.

You can insure your rental property, your personal property and your liability exposure in one simple policy. Be sure to take your time and spend a few minutes in the chaos of the transaction to talk with your insurance professional about these important coverages.

You can always Jason Shroot with Diversified Insurance Quotes with Questions & Quotes at 714-988-3325 or jason@diversifiedinsurancequotes.com

Insurance Claims - An Inside Perspective

Insurance Claims – The INSIDE STORY

Insurance claims can be a first class PITA!

With that in mind, this little bit of INSIDE INFORMATION is offered.

EVERY CLAIM HAS:

1. An Adjuster (human type)
2. A File (either electronic or paper or both)
3. A Supervisor (also the human type)

The claim process looks like this (considering the three above items)

1. The Adjuster mediates and calculates the value of the claim.
2. The Adjuster documents The File. (Why? Because The Supervisor is going to check that file)
3. The Supervisor reviews the file. (Why? Because once a year, the state insurance commission will audit the insurance company and randomly review claim files to be sure that the money paid out was justified, documented and in accordance with state insurance law. When there’s an issue, the insurance company is fined — HEAVILY! )

Here is the extremely valuable information ! When you’re negotiating with the insurance company to settle your claim, remember while making you happy is important to them, passing the eventual audit is more important. A badly documented or poorly calculated claim can cost the insurance company — MANY MORE DOLLARS than giving you a couple hundred extra for your bent fender.

Generally, the adjuster does not personally care how much they pay to settle the claim. Let me say that again.

Generally, the adjuster does not personally care how much they pay to settle the claim.

I say generally because you will occasionally run into that young buck, fresh out of ‘ADJUSTER SCHOOL” who wants to save the world and treats the insurance company money like his own. THAT’S a discussion for another day. They’re paid employees with families, bills, problems, vacation plans, and a host of other issues just like you and I face everyday.

The claim adjuster doesn’t really care what he pays to settle the claim.
The claim adjuster wants to get the file closed as much as you do.

As long as he can document the amount paid, he’ll write the check now and be done with it.

THEREFORE……

Whatever assistance you can offer to document a better value for your claim, the faster you’ll get paid.

1. When you think your car is worth more than they’re offering, get some documentation that supports that additional value.
2. When your repair job exceeds the insurance company estimate, get a letter or itemized estimate explaining the difference.
3. When the replacement cost of your kitchen exceeds what the insurance company is willing to pay, get pictures of your old kitchen and an itemized bid from the contractor that clearly indicates that you’re putting yourself back as you were — No better, no worse.
4. When the ‘facts of the accident’ are not clear, get witness statements or police report clarification.

The more you’re willing to work WITH the claim adjuster to properly document their file to justify higher payments, the more you’ll get paid for your claim.

Please Contact Jason Shroot with Diversified Insurance Services @ 714-988-3325 and let us help you with your claim process - that's why our agency is here for you !

Classifying a Business Properly

The Importance of Correctly Classifying a Business


Print Classifying a business correctly is an important step in providing coverage for a risk because proper classification supports the rating structure and allows an insurance carrier to charge a rate that is commensurate with business exposures. If a business is not classified correctly, then a consumer will not be treated fairly.

For instance, when a business is classed incorrectly, the insurance carrier may use rates that are not commensurate with exposures, losses may be reported incorrectly which will skew the rating structure, or the policyholder may unnecessarily under pay or over pay their premium. Additionally, classification errors usually get caught at time of a premium audit which can lead to an unwelcomed surprise for the policyholder.

Some reasons why classifying a business can be challenging are outlined below.

Limited Number of Classifications

There are thousands of different businesses, but only a limited number of classification codes. Workers' compensation has approximately 700 and general liability has about 1,200. This means that a single classification code typically describes more than one specific business type.

For example, the classification of "STORE: RETAIL NOC" is a kind of generic store classification that can probably be applied to about 30 different kinds of store operations ranging from cigar stores to computer stores. Also, there are classifications that are very specific and only apply to one type of business and nothing else such as "ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS – CONSULTING" which is restricted to businesses that only perform that particular type of work.

Unique Differences between Workers' Compensation and General Liability Classifications

Workers' Compensation

The first Workers' Compensation Rule for Classification Procedures states that we should assign the ONE basic classification that best describes the business of the employer within a state. With some exceptions, Workers' Compensation basic classifications include all of the various types of labor found in that business. The one exception as mentioned above is standard exceptions such as clerical office employees, outside salespersons, drivers, etc. Standard exceptions are named as such as they are standard for most businesses and exceptions to all the Rules that apply to BASIC classifications.

General Liability

There is no such thing as a basic class for general liability A rule does not exist stating that you have to find the one classification that best describes the business. Also, there is no rule about the classification within a state. Adding a classification is much easier with general liability than it is with workers' compensation. The rules for general liability state that you assign classifications based on the policyholder's business operations, or enterprises. Instead, you simply choose the classification(s) which best describes the operation or operations. More than one classification assignment may be necessary because one business may have multiple business operations or enterprises. A business may only have one legal entity, but may have several classifications based on their exposures to the general public.

What does this mean? A business may have only one classification for workers' compensation, but have several classifications for general liability.


Classifying a business correctly does take lost of insurance experience and knowledge. To ensure you have a commerical insurance policy that is properly set up please contact Jason Shroot @ 714-998-3325 or jason@diversifiedinsurancequtoes.com 

Let's Celebrate The Triumph of Labor....Happy Labor Day

Good Monday and Happy Labor Day to one and all. 

It's time for grand parades, big fun. And time to spare with family and friends, and go beyond the confines of the room.  Celebrate the historic holiday that commemorates the huge contributions the workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our nation. Time to take a break, feel the real spirit and travel to the eventful past of American labor movement and pay a tribute to the great labor force..., and of course,

 

Have A Happy & Safe Labor Day !!! 

Diversified Insurance Services 

Will Be Open Today Until 3pm PST

Please Call Jason Shroot @ 714-988-3325

jason@diversifiedinsurancequotes.com

Reviewing Your Auto Insurance Policy...

So, Its Time To Review Your AUTO Insurance Policy....

You can save TONS OF MONEY by just taking a few minutes to look over that annoying little renewal statement that has your insurance bill attached to it.

We sure get a lot of paper these days. Seems that in this paper-LESS society, we shouldn't have quite as much paper as we do. True... we can scan it, archive it, or just throw it away. There is one piece of paper that you'll want to pay attention to -- Its your Auto Insurance Renewal Statement. You'll get these once or twice a year depending on how often your auto insurance renews. You'll probably also get one whenever you adjust your coverage or change vehicles.

One of the reasons the insurance company sends these statements out to you is to give you an opportunity to pause and determine if those coverages and limits and deductibles you started with so long ago still apply to you. Things change and so should your insurance policy. Sometimes people keep up with it; sometimes they don't. By not paying attention to these renewal statements, you could be spending needless premium on coverage you no longer need or want, or you could be setting yourself for an uninsured or underinsured loss by having limits that are too low or thinking you have coverage that you really DON'T have.

Here's a few steps to help you quickly and systematically look over that statement in just a few minutes.

1. Quickly review all the basic information: Name, address, vehicle description. OK there?

2. Next take a look at the rating information. You might need a little help from your company or agent on this one. Companies apply different rating factors for different driving characteristics Thes can include how many miles you drive, your age, your years of driving experience, ticket, accidents, etc. A quick call to your company or agent and they can walk you through these in just a couple minutes.

3. Check your LIABILITY LIMITS. This is usually the first coverage listed. This is probably the most important coverage to examine. This is the coverage that stands between some accident that you may cause and everything that you own.

Individual state laws mandate different minimums. California minimums are 15/30/5.  

This means the insurance company will pay up to $15,000 for the injuries you cause to any one person, up to $30,000 for the injuries you cause in any one accident, and up to $5,000 for any property damage you may do (the car, house, light post, whatever you happen to hit). While these limits may seem like lots of money, they can evaporate very quickly. Consider a recent client of mine who sustained injuries in an accident and spent over $14,000 before ever even leaving the emergency room.

My recommendation is to think in terms of at least 100/300/50 instead of whatever your state minimum might be. Consider more if you own a home or have appreciable assets. Cut and slice and minimize on other coverages, but this one is where you protect everything you own against the possibility of a large liability lawsuit.

4. Check your Medical Payments. This is usually listed second. It's the coverage that provides (depending on your state insurance laws) coverage for injuries to you and other pople in your vehicle. There's some overlap here with your health insurance. This can be used to pay deductibles, copayment and other portions of your medical bills that may not be covered by your health insurance.

5. Check the coverage on your vehicle -- Specifically Comprehensive and Collision coverage. Collision coverage pays for your car when you sustain damage from a collision. Comprehensive covers (almost) everything else. Decide if the annual cost of these individual coverages makes sense compared to the value of your car.

6. Don't neglect Uninsured and/or Under Insuraced Motorist Coverage. There's LOTS of uninsured drivers on the road these days. Some surveys estimate as high as 25%. That means one out of every 4 drivers on the road can be uninsured. This is the coverage that for just a few dollars a year 'constructively' gives all those drivers insurance coverage to pay you if they cause an accident with you. You should consider having limits at least equal to your liability limits (#3 above.)

6. Make sure you're receiving ALL the discounts you can get. Here's where that phone call can pay some dividends. There are many discounts available. There are discounts related to your car: Airbags, alarm system, theft tracker systems and others. There are also other discounts. One of the biggest can be the Multi-Line Discount. This is where you save even more on your auto insurance if you have other policies such as homeowners or life insurance with the same company. Also remember to check for short mileage, good student, mature driver, defensive driving class, loyalty (with the same company for a long time). Just call the company and ask them to list all of the possible discounts to see for which ones you can qualify.

This process might take you a little longer the first time you do it. I suggest you make some notes right on your renewal notice and file it for next time. Then when you get your next renewal, you can get your first one out and compare and use the notes you make to ask more questions that will either save you money or better protect your hard-earned assets.

Till next time...Please Contact For Questions or Quotes:  Jason Shroot at 714-988-3325  With Diversified Insurance Quotes.