Category: Personal

Thorough After-Flood Cleanup Minimizes Mold Growth

Posted on by shasha insurance

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

Posted on by shasha insurance

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

Posted on by shasha insurance

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.

Risky Behaviors Behind the Wheel Can Lead to Car Crashes

Posted on by shasha insurance

Drivers do the strangest things when they’re behind the wheel, but how many of those activities actually cause accidents? Dr. Sheila Klauer, a senior research associate at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and her research team examined driver behavior to find the answer to this question.

The researchers, sponsored by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, looked at the daily driving habits of more than 240 study participants in and around Washington, D.C. The drivers’ vehicles contained five digital video cameras and a “black box” that registered following distance, lateral acceleration, speed, forward acceleration, braking and other data.

After viewing videos of 82 collisions, 761 near-crashes and 8,000-plus incidents in which the study participants were involved, researchers identified four specific behaviors that increase the odds of having a crash:

·   Speeding-The researchers defined speeding as driving faster than prevailing traffic or driving at a speed “inappropriate” for conditions.

Speeding nearly tripled the crash odds.

·   Driving while drowsy-Drowsy drivers were defined as those who stare fixedly through partially closed eyes. The chief characteristic of this type of driver is lack of eye movement. Most drowsy-driving episodes occurred during broad daylight. This behavior also tripled the crash odds.

·   Becoming distracted while driving-The distractions that caused accidents required drivers to look away from the road for two seconds or more. They included such activities as applying make-up, dialing a cell phone, searching for a CD or reading behind the wheel. This kind of behavior doubled the crash odds, and the increased crash risk shows how quickly and unexpectedly traffic conditions can change. Even when the driver maintained a safe following distance, this didn’t prevent distraction-related accidents. For example, many of the rear-end crashes in the study occurred while a driver was keeping a greater-than-two-second headway behind the car in front.

·   Aggressive driving-Researchers defined aggressive driving as using a vehicle to menace another driver or pedestrian. This included behaviors such speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, running stop signs, tailgating and frequent lane changes. Oftentimes the driver exhibited a combination of these activities. Aggressive driving doubled the risk of a crash.

The researchers’ work has a number of potential applications. For example, the risky behaviors can be studied independently to determine how they contribute to crashes when associated with particular types of drivers, and videos and black-box readings can be used to develop collision-avoidance systems. But most importantly, for each and every driver on the road, this research shows just how important it is to stay alert and keep your eyes on the road at all times.

Hurricane Preparedness Best Practices

Posted on by shasha insurance

It’s only May, and the southeastern United States has
already experienced two named storms.

Hurricanes are destructive and potentially deadly storms
that can cause a tremendous amount of property damage and, occasionally, people’s
lives. Longtime residents of coastal Florida, the Carolinas, Texas,
Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are familiar with the drill – but there are
always new people and always procrastinators every year. Hurricane preparedness
takes time! Don’t leave it to the last minute. Here are some things to keep in
mind:

Hurricane season is normally June through November. But that
doesn’t mean the occasional storm can’t come early or late. Don’t get
complacent.

  • Maintain situational awareness. Keep an eye and
    ear on national and local media, and monitor developing weather systems.
  • Track the projected path of storms, using
    websites like National Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov).
  • Do a risk assessment for your home. Assess
    vulnerability to storm surge, wind damage, and flooding. A Category 5 hurricane
    could result in storm surge of 30 feet above ground level in some areas. You
    can find a storm surge risk map at https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/risk/.
  • Plan on at least a three-day wait before substantial
    government assistance is in place. FEMA can’t put its trucks and trailers in
    the direct path of the storm. It takes at least three days for state and FEMA
    resources to be put in place.
  • Cut down large trees overhanging your house
    and garage. The tree could fall, taking out part of your house.
  • Expect a run on hurricane supplies in the last
    48 hours before the storm. Buy your batteries, bottled water, fuel cans,
    generators and other supplies before you need them.
  • Invest in hardened windows, shutters and doors.
  • Failing that, buy your plywood well ahead of
    time, along with a drill and screws to board up your windows.
  • Obey evacuation orders. If you receive an
    evacuation order, you are getting it because the authorities know they will not
    be able to reach you in an emergency. Many people in coastal communities are
    killed by hurricanes – or vanish forever – when they ignore orders to evacuate.
  • Keep your homeowners or renters coverage updated
    with the current replacement value of your home and belongings.
  • Inventory your belongings. You can use sites like:
    Lockboxer.com, Knowyourstuff.org (a creation of the Insurance Information
    Institute) and Stuffsafe.com. These
    resources are free or very low cost, and will facilitate compensation from your
    insurance company if your home is damaged or destroyed by a weather event.
  • Fill your gas tank. Many times, gas stations
    run out of fuel in the day or so before a storm. If you can’t fuel your
    vehicle, you can’t evacuate. And you may not be able to function.
  • Get a battery-operated radio. Don’t
    count on cell phones working for a number of days after a storm.
  • You may be without power for as long as two
    weeks and sometimes longer. Keep nonperishables, batteries and flashlights.
  • Keep your generator outdoors. Every year, people
    die from carbon monoxide poisoning because they moved their generator indoors
    to protect it from theft.
  • Understand your generator’s capacity. Generators
    have a limited load. This is especially important to know when you start up
    electrical items connected to the generator, because startups cause a spike in
    electrical demand.
  • Know your neighbors. Your neighbors may have a
    harder time preparing or evacuating from storms than you do, because of
    frailty, disability, young children, poverty or lack of reliable
    transportation.
  • Look out for family members of emergency
    responders. Police, fire department, National Guard members and medical
    personnel often have to concentrate on preparing for the mission, and have less
    time to attend to their own homes and families.
  • Know your community emergency management contacts.
    You can find an online listing at https://www.ready.gov/community-state-info
  • Don’t underestimate tropical storms. Just
    because it’s not a hurricane doesn’t mean it can’t do a lot of damage locally.
    Tropical storms can dump as much rain as a hurricane.

By understanding these guidelines, you can be an asset to
your community in the event of a hurricane, instead of a drain on emergency
resources. You will also have an easier time getting reimbursed by your
insurance company for any damage done, and be doing your part to keep overall
hurricane insurance premiums down.

State Minimum Auto Liability Coverage is Inadequate

Posted on by shasha insurance

Sure, you’re a responsible driver. But is your state-minimum, bare bones auto insurance coverage really sufficient to cover your risks?

Yes, every state imposes a minimum on liability insurance coverage. This coverage not only protects you against having creditors forcibly seize your assets and land you in bankruptcy court; it also helps protect others around you, by ensuring that no matter what their medical issue or damages, there is enough liquidity on the table to make sure they are economically protected.

But state minimums aren’t designed for most individuals, especially the affluent and do not provide them with the real protection they need. State legislatures must set liability minimums low enough so that insurance coverage is affordable even for poor families – so at least they’ll get something rather than drive completely uninsured. State minimums are not designed to provide really adequate protection for drivers who have assets or make a decent income and are those who are targets for legal action.

The Owner is At Risk

Remember, even if you lent your car to someone else for the weekend – if he or she crashes it, and causes damage, it’s you, as the car owner, who is ultimately responsible. Owners are first in line, ahead of drivers, when plaintiffs’ lawyers start looking to collect on damages not covered by auto insurance.

How Big Can Judgments Be?

Judgments for damages in auto accidents are very frequently $50,000 and over and can range into the millions. We looked at actual judgments obtained by just one small law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada, and found instances like these:

  • $200,000 in liability for just one accident involving a motorcycle.
  • $265,000 for a T-bone auto accident.
  • $300,000 for a leg injury to a pedestrian.
  • $750,000 for a rear end accident with injury.
  • $2,000,000 for another rear-end accident with serious injury.
  • 2,900,000 for a wrongful death claim.

Your state-mandated minimum of $15,000 to $100,000 per accident should cover most fenderbenders, but it is woefully inadequate for the real risk. If you are sued, and the plaintiff wins, you will be held responsible for the whole judgment over the amount of your coverage.

Asset Protection

If someone involved in an accident sues you and wins, he will receive a payment from your insurance company, up to the limit of coverage.  When the payment is inadequate, they may take additional action. They may sue to seize your personal assets – your bank account, your vehicles, property, business and even your home in some jurisdictions. They may also file to garnish your wages. The fallout could easily force you into bankruptcy – and severely disrupt your life.

If you have any kind of hard-earned assets that are at risk of creditor action, you may want to consider buying extra liability coverage. The more assets you have, the more likely you are to be targeted. After all, plaintiffs’ lawyers know that judgments are easier to collect from the affluent than the poor. But even middle class people have a lot to lose by carrying inadequate liability insurance coverage.

Liability Insurance

You may consider two kinds of insurance: additional liability insurance for your car, over and above the state-mandated minimum, and umbrella coverage, which helps protect your assets against losses from a wider variety of sources. This can be especially important for parents of teenagers who are risky drivers and who may drive someone else’s car, or have a party at the house while you and other adults are out of town. When a youngster leaves the party at your house after drinking, and has a wreck, you could be held liable.

To assess your exposure, sit down with a licensed insurance professional, your attorney, or both. It’s easy to tailor a remarkably affordable plan to provide more realistic protection against the actual risks of liability – but you have to do it before the accident.

  • Fill your gas tank. Many times, gas stations
    run out of fuel in the day or so before a storm. If you can’t fuel your
    vehicle, you can’t evacuate. And you may not be able to function.
  • Get a battery-operated radio. Don’t
    count on cell phones working for a number of days after a storm.
  • You may be without power for as long as two
    weeks and sometimes longer. Keep nonperishables, batteries and flashlights.
  • Keep your generator outdoors. Every year, people
    die from carbon monoxide poisoning because they moved their generator indoors
    to protect it from theft.
  • Understand your generator’s capacity. Generators
    have a limited load. This is especially important to know when you start up
    electrical items connected to the generator, because startups cause a spike in
    electrical demand.
  • Know your neighbors. Your neighbors may have a
    harder time preparing or evacuating from storms than you do, because of
    frailty, disability, young children, poverty or lack of reliable
    transportation.
  • Look out for family members of emergency
    responders. Police, fire department, National Guard members and medical
    personnel often have to concentrate on preparing for the mission, and have less
    time to attend to their own homes and families.
  • Know your community emergency management contacts.
    You can find an online listing at https://www.ready.gov/community-state-info
  • Don’t underestimate tropical storms. Just
    because it’s not a hurricane doesn’t mean it can’t do a lot of damage locally.
    Tropical storms can dump as much rain as a hurricane.

    • By understanding these guidelines, you can be an asset to
    your community in the event of a hurricane, instead of a drain on emergency
    resources. You will also have an easier time getting reimbursed by your
    insurance company for any damage done, and be doing your part to keep overall
    hurricane insurance premiums down.

    Know When to File an Auto Insurance Claim

    Posted on by shasha insurance

    If your car has become damaged in an accident, through vandalism or from another cause, filing a claim with your auto insurance company isn’t always the best course of action. For example, if your deductible is more than the cost of the damage, it’s a good idea to pay for the repairs yourself and not report the claim. Each time you do decide to file, even if the damage is less than your deductible, the report goes on your insurance record. Although small claims don’t affect your individual premium, insurance companies use information from policyholders to establish the overall premium rates they charge their entire customer base. The more accidents reported, the higher the premium rates the company charges.

    Legally, you aren’t required to report an accident to your insurance company. The reason your company requests that you report every accident is so that it can protect itself against possible fraudulent claims. Documenting each accident helps an insurer spot a current claim for damages that really happened in an earlier accident.

    If you already have a speeding ticket on your record, and your car is damaged at a later time, you have another reason to think twice about filing a claim with your insurer. That’s because in some states, if you file a claim for an at-fault accident and you have been previously ticketed, you may not be able to renew your auto insurance policy.

    However, if there’s another car involved in the accident, or someone else in the car with you at the time, it’s important to report the accident. You never know if the passenger or other driver will file a claim on your insurance, and you should report the accident to make sure that your side of the story is documented with both the police and your insurer.

    Another reason to report an auto accident involving another car or passengers is that injuries are not always immediately apparent. Your carrier should have a report on file in the event you, or someone else involved in the accident, sustain injuries that show up the next day and which require medical treatment.

    While you should always consider carefully before you file an auto accident claim, you should never stockpile comprehensive claims. It may seem logical to file a number of small damage claims together; however, insurers watch for excessive repair estimates for comprehensive claims and your carrier may question the validity of the claim.

    There is a growing trend toward nonrenewals and tighter restrictions on what is covered across the industry. Save your car insurance for expensive damage, and plan ahead so you can pay for the smaller repairs yourself.

    Reduce the Dangers of Driving in the Dark

    Posted on by shasha insurance

    With winter’s arrival, most people find themselves spending more time driving in the dark with decreased visibility. While you can’t change the fact that there are fewer daylight hours, you don’t have to be hampered by poor visibility.

    Protect your night vision by wearing a hat and sunglasses during the day when exposed to bright sunlight. The retina in the human eye contains photoreceptors, which have pigments that change shape when struck by light. This change process is called “bleaching.” Very bright light, like sunlight, may bleach so many of the pigments in a photoreceptor that it cannot respond to any other visual stimuli for a while, which means your eyes can have trouble adjusting to the dark. The longer your eyes are exposed to the sun, the worse your night vision gets.

    Consider taking a daily multi-vitamin to enhance your vision. In numerous studies and clinical trials antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamins A, C, and E, have been linked with eye health. They help to maintain healthy cells and tissues in the eye.

    There also are things you can do to your car, and steps you can take while driving at night, to enhance visibility-

    ·   Clean your windshield at least once a week. Light is refracted through a dirty windshield, which intensifies glare. In addition, a clean windshield will have less reflection. Wash your headlights as well. Even a thin layer of grime can reduce the light headlights emit by as much as 90%.

    ·   Dim the dash lights. The dimmer the light inside the car, the better you can see outside. Your instrument panel should just be bright enough for the instruments to be readable.

    ·   Adjust your outer (side view) mirrors. Sit in the driver’s seat, and tilt your head until it rests against the window. Adjust the driver’s side outboard mirror until you can see the rear fender at the edge of the glass. Then tilt your head to the right until it’s at the center of the car. Adjust the passenger side outboard mirror until you can see the rear fender at the edge of the glass. These adjustments will reduce blind spots, and prevent the bright spots in trailing cars’ headlights from shining directly into your eyes. 

    ·   Avert your eyes away from the lights of oncoming cars. When oncoming headlights shine into your eyes, look at the white line marking the edge of the pavement.

    ·   Fill your gas tank with one eye closed. This helps you recover from “flash blindness,” the condition that results when a few seconds of brightness temporarily interfere with your night vision. Closing one eye preserves night vision in that eye, and you can use it when you resume driving while your other eye adjusts to seeing in the dark.

    Though nighttime driving is a time of reduced visibility, you can make it a safe driving time by following these suggestions.

    10 Essential Hurricane Claim Tips

    Posted on by shasha insurance

    Hurricane Irene’s destruction has left many people facing extensive property damage. Individuals who must file a claim have several things to do. First, make any emergency repairs that are necessary to prevent further damage. Don’t attempt any non-emergency repairs until an insurance adjuster is able to assess the property. Be sure to take clear photos of the damage. Next, contact an individual insurance agent. If the number was lost in the damage, consult the Insurance Information Institute’s list of claim phone numbers for various insurance companies. Before contacting an agent, consider the following common questions and valuable claim tips.

    1. What To Do After Filing A Claim
    The most important thing to do is prevent further damage. Make sure property is secure, board broken windows, dry carpets and board damaged roofs. Don’t attempt any major non-emergency repairs until an adjuster can see the damage. Keep receipts for emergency repair supplies and temporary accommodations.

    2. How To Speed Up The Claims Process
    Keep in mind that priority is given to the most severe cases after a disaster. Larger claims are settled in steps. Try these following tips to help make the claims process quicker:

    •Get at least two repair estimates for the adjuster to review.
    •Take pictures of the damage. If photos of the property before the damage are available, make copies of them.
    •Construct a list of all damaged property. Include a description, original cost, age, purchase location and estimated replacement cost of each item. If receipts are available for any of these items, make copies of them.

    3. What To Do If The Property Is Uninhabitable
    Remember that most homeowners policies cover extra living expenses resulting from hurricane damage. As long as the policy has provisions for hurricane damage, the company should provide reimbursement for living expenses. If unsure whether this is included, consult the policy to review the exact provisions. Remember to keep all costs in line with regular living expenses.

    4. Food Spoilage Due To Power Outages
    Unfortunately, most policies don’t cover spoiled food. However, some companies provide limited coverage for food that spoils during a power outage. The amount is usually between $250 and $500.

    5. Coverage For Fallen Trees
    Unless a tree damages a house, fence or garage, there is no coverage for damage to trees resulting from perils of weather.

    6. Damage From Power Surges
    When the power comes back on after an outage, surges often damage electronics or other equipment. Most insurance policies have a provision for sudden or accidental damage from artificially generated electrical currents. This excludes computer chips, transistors and some similar items. This means televisions and computers are excluded.

    7. Claim Checks That Aren’t Enough
    It’s important to understand whether cash value or replacement costs are awarded. If the amount received is lower than expected, consult an agent to discuss individual provisions.

    8. When To Expect A Check
    After the adjuster visits and assesses the damage, he or she completes the paperwork for processing. Once it has been processed, the carrier issues a check to the claimant. The turnaround time for receiving a check varies depending on how many claims are being processed. Some companies provide status reports for claim progress. If the check is slow to arrive, call an agent to see if the company has any progress reports on the claim.

    9. Understanding The Difference Between Replacement & Cash Value
    Replacement cost is the amount it costs to replace or repair an insured item today. It doesn’t cover the full original value of the item. The only limits are based on the amount of coverage purchased. Cash value policies pay for the cost of replacement of the item minus depreciation.

    10. What “Underinsured” Individuals Should Do
    Sometimes an agent tells an individual that they don’t have enough insurance. This is usually because homeowners don’t review their coverage regularly. Adding a room or making another change can have a significant impact on a policy. Be sure to contact an agent when any improvement or change is made to the home.

    Keep in mind that agents are busy. If a copy of the policy is available, try to find the answers in the document before making a call. However, if there are questions that the policy provides unclear answers about, be sure to contact an agent. It’s important to file hurricane claims as quickly as possible.

    Electronic Delivery of your Insurance Policy

    Posted on by shasha insurance

    Whether or not you have already received any of your policies via email in recent years, you will see more and more of your insurance documents delivered electronically, in most cases in a PDF file format. As insurance companies update their policy delivery procedures, they are updating their technology so that policies are delivered electronically and most have already implemented this. There are several different methods of electronic delivery and the best news is you are getting your policy faster than ever.

    The current trend of electronic delivery is through an email alert advising you of a new policy, a renewal or any updates. You would then log into your account online and retrieve your documents. Another method is that some companies are delivering this to the insurance agency, then the agency is turning around and delivering this to you as an email attachment. If you ever have a problem with retrieving your documents, you should immediately contact your agency. If you don’t already receive your policy electronically, it may be available on demand from your agency, and the best thing to do is to call your agency and inquire if the policy can be delivered electronically. Finally, some carriers give you the option; you can either go on their website to find out what the procedures are, or you can contact your agency.

    When you get your policy, the best options are to either save your policy on your computer or save it into an online cloud file account. If you have a backup service for your computer, saving on your computer may be fine. If you don’t have a backup service, you may want to consider getting a Google Docs, a Box.com or Dropbox account. Many online document storage services offer free accounts for the first so many gigabytes of storage. In addition, since many companies are giving you access online to these accounts, as long as you have your user name and password you should have access to your policy. Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to download them and save these on your system.

    Online document delivery has been the trend for delivery in recent years for banking, financial brokerages, and delivery of billing statements and is now the trend for the delivery of insurance documents. While the available technology is the driving force behind this, it is also a green business practice that saves paper and energy. After twenty years since the internet has become commercialized, we continue to see more and more utilization of the benefits that it provides.