Most RV Owners Fail to Obtain Standalone Coverage

Purchasing an RV has become an increasingly popular way to vacation, especially for families. Models are available to fit most budgets, from folding travel trailers that cost, on average, close to $7,000, to conventional Class-A motor homes with an average price tag of over $140,000.

The one characteristic all RVs share is that they represent a sizeable investment for the purchaser. Despite this fact, according to a 2007 Progressive Insurance survey, most RV owners cover their vehicle under an auto policy, rather than secure standalone insurance coverage.

In the survey of more than 1,000 RV owners, researchers found that just 28 percent bought a standalone insurance policy with specialized RV coverage. Fifty-four percent of the respondents said they added the RV to their auto policy, and 14 percent said they didn’t obtain any coverage for their RV.

An RV is a hybrid vehicle that serves as both a home and method of transportation. As a result, it requires specialized coverage that combines the protections offered by both auto and homeowner’s policies. Rather than add your RV to your auto policy, consider insuring your RV under its own insurance policy. Without standalone coverage, you’ll have major gaps in your coverage. Consider the following:

·   You may keep personal items in your RV that you would never keep in your car, such as clothing, jewelry, binoculars, VCRs, satellite dishes, laptops, camcorders or outdoor gear.

·   When you park your RV at a campsite, you may be liable for the area around your RV. If someone is injured, you may be responsible.

·   If your RV is damaged while you’re traveling, you’ll need a place to stay and a way to get there.

If you insure your RV under a standard auto policy, none of these scenarios would be covered in the event of a loss, which could cost you a considerable amount of money.

When you insure your RV with its own policy, you can rest assured knowing that you have a broad range of coverage for a wide range of possible incidents.

Hiring a Public Claims Adjuster to Handle Your Homeowner’s Insurance Claim

Imagine that your house has just been badly damaged by an earthquake, fire, hurricane, or other disaster. Not only can you not find your policy, but you can’t remember the last time you reviewed your coverage. Not that it matters, since most people don’t understand the terms of their policies because they are written in legalese. The good news is that with home or property damage, consumers can turn to public claims adjusters to interpret their policies and obtain a fair settlement from their insurance company.

You don’t need to hire an adjuster for minor damage, such as negligible smoke damage from a stovetop fire. However, you should hire an adjuster if your lifestyle is significantly disrupted. That is, bring in a public adjuster when you can’t handle finding new living arrangements, filing a large claim, and arranging for a survey of extensive damage to your property.

Public claims adjusters know the insurance process inside and out, so they can minimize the hassle that comes with collecting documents and evidence, and then negotiating with the insurance company. The adjuster will file all your pertinent paperwork with the insurance company, arrange for the inspections of your damaged property if needed, and haggle with the insurance company if it refuses to pay your full claim.

If you do decide to have a public claims adjuster help you out with your claim, expect to pay them between 5 and 50 percent of your claim settlement. As the settlement amount increases, the adjuster’s cut generally goes down.  Adjusters’ fees also depend on the nature of the claim and your marketplace.

What you should look for when hiring an adjuster:

-Experience is a must

-Check the adjuster’s certifications

-Do a background check

-Ask for a referral from a friend

-Confirm the adjuster is licensed in your state (if applicable)

How do you know if you need an adjuster? Depending on who you talk to, you may or may not need a public adjuster. One piece of advice is to seek a public adjuster’s service as soon as possible. Often it’s nearly impossible for consumers to know what to expect from an insurer in a homeowner’s claim situation, even after they read their policies. In addition, it’s difficult for an adjuster to come in after a claim is already being processed. On the other hand, insurers contend that their claims staffs are professionals who make the claims process easy for their policyholders, and they assert that it’s questionable whether a policyholder comes out ahead when the adjuster’s fee is subtracted.

Keep Track of What You Own with a Home Inventory

If you suddenly experienced a catastrophic incident where all of your possessions were destroyed, would you be able to remember everything you’ve accumulated over the years? Like most people, your answer is probably “no.” That’s why having an up-to-date home inventory is so important. It can help you settle your insurance claim faster, because it represents an accurate and immediate accounting of what you lost. A home inventory can also be used to determine if you have enough insurance to replace the items you own, as well as verify losses for your income tax return.

To help you create an accurate home inventory, the Ohio Insurance Institute offers the following guidelines:

·   Use your wedding registries to document new possessions if you have just been married.

·   Update your inventory regularly, adding new items when you buy them. Be sure to keep receipts and take photos.

·   Take close-up shots of expensive items such as jewelry, fine art, stamp collections, china, furs, antiques and silver. Items, like artwork, antiques and collectibles may increase in value over time. They may require appraisals for authentication and value.

·   Don’t forget to inventory the contents of closets, drawers, the basement, the garage and outbuildings.

·   Include toys and CDs in your inventory.

·   Copy the inventory onto a disk/CD and store it off-premises in a safety deposit box or at a friend or relative’s house.

·   Be sure to delete items from your inventory when they are no longer in your possession.

·   Update your inventory every few years, when you move, or when you make a major home improvement.

Home inventory software is available that allows you to add digital photographs of your items. If you only own a film camera, you can scan print photographs or have the film developer save the images to a disk. The software also allows you to scan in copies of your receipts.

Another way to create an inventory is with a video camera. Walk through your house or apartment videotaping the contents and describing the items as you go, including information like the make and model of home electronics and appliances, or the type of upholstery fabric used for expensive furniture. You can do the same task using a tape recorder; however, be sure to have detailed photographs that serve as a backup to the verbal descriptions.

A third way to create a home inventory is to use a personal finance software package. These often include a homeowners room-by-room inventory program.

Protect Yourself Before Disaster Strikes

Tornados that have recently devastated parts of the Midwest could pop up anywhere. While there is generally little to no warning before these storms strike, there are some steps you can take to protect your family and your home from disaster.

1: Construct a safe room

Homeowners living in an area known for tornados should consider a safe room, which is built to withstand wind speeds of over 250 miles per hour. Usually, a safe room is located in a central, ground-floor area of the home for additional protection as well as accessibility. To find out more about safe room plans, check out the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov.

2: Reinforce the garage

Most residential tornado damage starts when wind enters through the garage, so you should make sure your garage doors are reinforced.

A qualified contractor can determine if the garage door system is able to resist high-speed winds and, if necessary, replace it with a stronger system. If your garage doors are more than eight feet wide, you should consider installing permanent wood or metal stiffeners.

3: Install impact resistant doors and windows

If you are replacing your patio doors or building a new home, consider installing impact-resistant doors made of laminated glass, plastic glazing or a combination of plastic and glass.

Likewise, if you’re thinking about replacing your home’s windows, be sure to install impact-resistant windows.

4: Remove clutter from the yard

Keeping your yard free of debris can also help to minimize storm damage. Prune weak branches and remove trees that could fall on your house. If you use gravel or rock landscaping material, consider replacing it with mulch.

FTC Says Credit Scores Are a Valid Risk Predictor for Auto Insurance

A report issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that credit scores are an “effective predictor” of risk when underwriting auto insurance. The study titled, Credit-Based Insurance Scores: Impact on Consumers of Automobile Insurance, confirms what industry professionals have always believed, that credit-based insurance scores provide an objective and reliable tool for determining which drivers present a greater risk and should therefore pay higher rates.

Insurance companies have always tried to correlate premium rates as closely as possible to the actual cost of claims. This practice helps insurers stay competitive and keeps them from hemorrhaging money. The majority of consumers also benefit from this correlation because they are not subsidizing people more likely to file claims than themselves.

Credit information has been used for a number of years to help underwriters decide whether or not to accept insurance applications. Developments in information technology have led to the creation of insurance scores, number rankings based on a person’s credit history, which give insurers a far more accurate way to assess the risk of future claims.

Statistically, people with a poor credit history are more likely to file claims. Insurance scores are used to help underwriters differentiate between lower and higher insurance risks, which enables them to charge a premium appropriate for the level of risk assumed.

However, some in the insurance industry oppose this technique because they feel credit scores don’t always present an accurate picture of a person’s credit history. Credit scores don’t reflect the good payment records of consumers who pay their bills in cash. Credit scores may also provide an incorrect image of consumers who normally have good credit, but have been negatively impacted by one-time unexpected events, such as medical emergencies.

Despite these instances, the FTC report says the use of credit-based insurance scores provides benefits for consumers.Evaluating credit scores allows insurance companies to calculate risk with greater accuracy. This enhanced capability may make them more willing to offer insurance to higher-risk consumers for whom they would otherwise not be able to determine an appropriate premium.Using credit scores also may make the process of granting and pricing insurance quicker and cheaper, cost savings that can be passed on to consumers.

Does Your Homeowner’s Insurance Cover a Stolen Cell Phone?

You just realized your cell phone has been stolen. Not only are you out the cost of the phone, but more than likely, the thief is placing hundreds of dollars of charges on your phone bill right now.

As people increasingly rely on cell phones, this type of loss is becoming more common. In fact, a recent Better Business Bureau report indicated that an estimated 600,000 cell phones will either be lost or stolen this year. Unfortunately, a homeowner’s policy probably won’t be of much help in protecting you in this unfortunate event. Here’s why.

The most popular homeowner’s policy, the HO-3, provides the broadest coverage. It insures you for direct physical loss to all personal property described in Coverage C, as long as the loss was caused by a covered peril and not specifically excluded. The theft of the phone is considered a direct physical loss of property, but not the thief’s subsequent use of the phone. Unlike charges made on a stolen credit card, which have limited homeowner’s insurance coverage via a separate “Additional Coverage” grant, there is no such grant for unauthorized cell phone charges.

Here’s how to protect yourself from cell phone theft and fraudulent charges:

                    Keep as close watch on your cell phone as you would your wallet or purse. Be mindful of where your phone is at all times and be careful about who you lend it to.

                    Password-protect your phone. Read the user guide that came with your phone to find out how to “lock” your phone or enable the “password” feature to prevent a thief from making unauthorized calls.

                    Call your cell phone provider as soon as you realize your phone is missing. Be sure to keep detailed records, including the date and time you called your carrier, the name and ID number of the representative to whom you spoke, and what instructions you were given.

                    File a police report. This is an official record of the theft and your carrier may require you to provide a police report number when you report your missing phone.

                    Ask your carrier to open an investigation. If your phone company isn’t working to resolve the situation, request an investigation. This should stop collections agencies from taking action, as well as delay the reporting of non-payment of charges to credit bureaus.

                    Contact the Federal Communication Commission. The agency will forward your complaint to your service provider and mandate that they respond within 30 days. You can log on to https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html to file a report.

                    Contact your state attorney general’s office. They handle complaints about cell phone fraud, in addition to disputes about contracts. Find your state attorney general by logging on to https://www.naag.org/ag/full_ag_table.php.

                    Contact your state’s public utility commission. You can find your state’s commission by logging on to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners web site at https://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15.

Minimize the Likelihood of a Homeowner’s Insurance Non-Renewal or Rate Increase

Almost three million households have lost their homeowner’s insurance since 2003 according to a 2007 national telephone survey conducted on behalf of Trusted Choice and The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.  Two-thirds of the households that lost coverage were located in the South. Only half of the non-renewed households said they were able to find other coverage.

As part of the current study, respondents were asked about changes they’ve made since 2003 to secure their home in the event of a natural disaster. Overall, a mere 28 percent of households indicated they have taken steps to secure their homes. Even in the South, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual occurrence, only 31 percent indicated that they had secured their homes.

The survey results also showed that about 35 percent of all American households had experienced a homeowner’s insurance rate increase in the previous 48 months. Twenty-two percent of the respondents answered that they had received anywhere from an 11 to 25 percent rate hike, while 13 percent said that they had received more than a 25 percent increase.

Trusted Choice offers the following tips to lessen the possibility of non-renewal or rate increases:

·   Monitor your claim activity – Insurance companies track how many and what type of claims you file. Frequent claim activity, no matter how small, can impact your rates and chance for renewal.

·   Stick with one insurance company – An insurance company is more inclined to look past an item on your claims record if you are a long-term customer. Changing insurance companies on a regular basis makes it difficult to build a relationship with an insurer.

·   Bundle your coverages – Keeping your homeowner’s and auto policies with one insurer makes you a more attractive customer. An insurance company may think twice about dropping your homeowner’s coverage if it may mean losing your auto insurance business, too.

·   Review your deductibles – Make sure that your deductible isn’t so small that you will be submitting every potential claim for payment, nor so large that it will cause financial hardship in the event of a loss. 

·   Home improvements help – Your home’s wiring, plumbing, heating and roofing should be in good repair at all times. At least twice a year, walk through your home and inspect it for developing problems.

·   Know a house’s claim history before you buy it – Ask for a disclosure report, which can be obtained from your real estate agent or the seller’s agent. Insurance companies will be wary of a home with previous structural or water-damage claims.

·   Consult your insurance agent – Working closely with an agent may be the easiest way to stay insured affordably.  And they will be your advocate when you have a claim or other problem.

Thorough After-Flood Cleanup Minimizes Mold Growth

If you and your home are the victims of a flood, your cleanup must be thorough to ensure that mold growth is eliminated to the greatest extent possible. You should completely dry wet structures as soon as possible after the event. However, while you want to act quickly, approach the cleanup process carefully, to avoid the mishaps and accidents that can occur in the less-than-safe environment that a flooded home can be.

The following tips, courtesy of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, can help you to thoroughly clean up while protecting your own health and safety:

• Keep children and pets out of the area until you have completely cleaned it.

• Wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles during cleanup.

• Discard items that cannot be washed and disinfected, including mattresses, carpeting, carpet padding, rugs, upholstered furniture, cosmetics, stuffed animals, baby toys, pillows, foam rubber items, books, wall coverings and paper products.

• Discard drywall and insulation that has been contaminated with sewage or flood water.

• Clean all hard surfaces such as flooring, concrete, molding, wood and metal furniture, countertops, appliances, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures with hot water and laundry or dish detergent.

• Use fans, air conditioning units and dehumidifiers to help dry the area.

• Wash your hands with soap and water after you have finished cleaning. Use water that has been boiled for one minute and then cooled. You can also disinfect water for personal hygiene by creating a solution of household bleach mixed with water.

• Wash all clothes worn during the cleanup in hot water and detergent, separately from uncontaminated clothes and linens. Use a self-service laundry for washing large quantities of clothes and linens until your onsite wastewater system has been professionally inspected and serviced.

• Get immediate medical attention if you become injured or ill.

If you need to turn off the main power and have standing water inside your home, remember to do so only when you are in a dry location. If you must enter standing water to reach the main power switch, call an electrician to turn it off. Never use an electric tool or appliance to turn off power while standing in water. Be sure the electrician checks the house’s electrical system before turning on the power.

If the house has been closed up for several days, enter only long enough to open doors and windows, and then leave them open for at least 30 minutes before you stay inside for any length of time. This allows potentially hazardous air to circulate out of the rooms, while letting fresh air inside.

As always, don’t hesitate to call a qualified professional for advice and/or help with the cleanup process.

The History of Insurance Throughout the World

Insurance has a history that dates back to the ancient world. Over the centuries, it has developed into a modern business of protecting people from various risks. The industry has been profitable for many years and has been an important aspect of private and public long-term finance.

In the ancient world, the first forms of insurance were recorded by the Babylonian and Chinese traders. To limit the loss of goods, merchants would divide their items among various ships that had to cross treacherous waters. One of the first documented loss limitation methods was noted in the Code of Hammurabi, which was written around 1750 BC. Under this method, a merchant receiving a loan would pay the lender an extra amount of money in exchange for a guarantee that the loan would be cancelled if the shipment were stolen. The first to insure their people were the Achaemenian monarchs, and insurance records were submitted to notary offices. Insurance was also noted for gifts of substantial value. These gifts were given to monarchs. By recording their gifts in a register, givers would receive help from a monarch by proving the gift’s existence if they were in trouble.

As the ancient world evolved, maritime loans with rates based on favorable seasons for traveling surfaced. Around 600 BC, the Greeks and Romans formed the first types of life and health insurance with their benevolent societies. These societies provided care for families of deceased citizens. Such societies continued for centuries in many different areas of the world and included funerary rituals. In the 12th century in Anatolia, a type of state insurance was introduced. If traders were robbed in the area, the state treasury would reimburse them for their losses.

Standalone insurance policies that were not tied to contracts or loans surfaced in Genoa in the 14th century. This is where the first documented insurance policy came from in 1347. In the following century, standalone maritime insurance was formed. With this type of insurance, premiums varied based on unique risks. However, the separation of insurance from contracts and loans was a major change that would influence insurance for the rest of time.

The first book printed on the subject of insurance was penned by Pedro de Santarém, and the literature was published in 1552. As the Renaissance ended in Europe, insurance evolved into a much more sophisticated form of protection with several varieties of coverage. Until the late 17th century, many areas were still dominated by friendly societies that collected money to pay for medical expenses and funerals. However, the end of the 17th century introduced a rapid expansion of London’s importance in the world of trade. This also increased the need for cargo insurance. London became a hub for companies or people who were willing to underwrite the ventures of cargo ships and merchant traders. Lloyd’s of London, one of London’s leading insurers, is still a major insurance business in the city.

Modern insurance can be traced back to the city’s Great Fire of London, which occurred in 1666. After it destroyed more than 30,000 homes, a man named Nicholas Barbon started a building insurance business. He later introduced the city’s first fire insurance company. Accident insurance was made available in the late 19th century, and it was very similar to modern disability coverage.

In U.S. history, the first insurance company was based in South Carolina and opened in 1732 to offer fire coverage. Benjamin Franklin started a company in the 1750s, which collected contributions for preventing disastrous fires from destroying buildings. As the 1800s arrived and passed, insurance companies evolved to include life insurance and several other forms of coverage. No type of insurance was mandatory in the United States until the 1930s. At that time, the government created Social Security. In the 1940s, GI insurance surfaced. It helped ease the financial difficulties of women whose husbands died while fighting in World War II. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the need for car insurance grew enough that steps were taken to make it mandatory. Although insurance is an established business, it is still changing and will change in the future to meet the evolving needs of consumers.

Choose a Safe Car for Your Teenage Driver

If you’re the parent of a teenager, you may have very mixed feelings about the day your teen gets a driver’s license. On the one hand, you’re proud that your teen has reached this milestone, but on the other hand, you’re worried about reckless driving and safety issues.

You have good reason to be concerned. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control, accounting for 36% of all deaths in this age group. In 2004, 4,767 teens ages 16 to 19 died due to motor vehicle crashes, and during 2005, nearly 400,000 teens sustained nonfatal injuries serious enough to land them in the emergency room. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), per mile driven, teens are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.

The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), together with the IIHS, advises parents of teenage drivers to do more than worry. They should take a proactive role in protecting their teens. This starts with selecting a safe vehicle:

-Avoid vehicles that encourage reckless driving. Teen drivers not only lack experience…they also lack maturity. As a result, speeding and reckless driving are common. Sports cars and other vehicles with high performance features, such as turbo charging, can encourage speeding. Choosing a vehicle with a more sedate image will reduce the chances your teen will be in a speed-related crash.

-Don’t let your teen drive an unstable vehicle. Sport utility vehicles are inherently less stable than cars because of their higher centers of gravity. Abrupt steering maneuvers-the kind that can occur when teens are fooling around or over-correcting a driver error-can cause rollovers where a more stable car would, at worst, skid or spin out.

-Pick a vehicle that offers good crash protection. Teenagers should drive vehicles that offer state-of-the-art protection in case they do crash. Review the IIHS and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration test results when selecting a vehicle.

-Don’t let your teen drive a small vehicle. Small vehicles offer much less protection in crashes than larger ones. However, this doesn’t mean you should put your child in the largest vehicle you can find. Many mid- and full-size cars offer more than adequate crash protection. Check out the safety ratings for cars in this group.

-Avoid older vehicles. Most of today’s cars have better-designed crash protection than cars of six to 10 years ago. For example, a newer, mid-size car with airbags would be a better choice than an older, larger car without airbags. Again, before you make a final choice on the car your teenager will drive, consult crash test results and safety ratings.

With time and experience, your teen will become a seasoned driver and move out of the highest-risk category. Incorporating these suggestions into your car selection will help him or her to get there, safely.