Saving on your insurance

United Policyholders is an excellent online resource for insurance consumers and provides some good tips for saving money as we move into the holiday season.

Kim Cary, CPPA
Senior General Adjuster at Quality Claims

Saving on your insurance

Everyone can use some extra money in their pocket during the holiday season. UP always encourages consumers to raise their deductible. Here are a few more tips for saving on your insurance from two members of our Agent/Broker Advisory Board:

"Make sure you are taking advantage of "affinity" discounts that may be offered as a member benefit by organizations or associations you belong to."
- Corrin S. Trowbridge, Pacifica, CA.

"Broker fees are typically negotiable. Always inquire if fees are flexible or if one broker fee can be applied to all your policies"
- Ambere St Denis, San Francisco, CA.

The Great California ShakeOut!



Last week on October 20th, Quality Claims participated in The Great California ShakeOut. Everyone at QCMC dropped, got under cover and held on for the duration of the drill.

The Great California ShakeOut is a statewide earthquake drill spanning all 58 California counties and Yuma County, AZ. More than 7.9 million Californians participated in 2010, practicing Drop, Cover, and Hold On and other aspects of family, school, and organizational emergency plans.



Quality Claims Announces Partnership with Docuhome

Homeowners and Renters Now Have No Excuse for Not Documenting their Possessions for their Insurance Policy

SAN DIEGO, CA – October 20, 2011

Quality Claims Management, (http://www.qualityclaims.com) a national leader in Public Insurance Adjusting, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with DocuHome to provide the best possible online home inventory and asset protection services.

Over the years, the Quality Claims team has helped thousands of fire, flood and disaster victims and learned that one of the biggest challenges is a homeowner’s lack of any reliable inventory of their possessions. Following a disaster, insurance companies need a complete and up to date inventory of their policy holder’s possessions in order to fully reimburse them for their loss. However, creating a complete and accurate inventory list AFTER a disaster is nearly impossible.

“We always tell people to prepare their home inventory list before they need it, before a disaster actually strikes,” says Ronald Reitz, President of Quality Claims and First Vice President of NAPIA, the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. “However, most people never get around to it. They are too busy, it’s too complicated, or they think they are unlikely to really need it. We have heard every excuse! That is why we have partnered with DocuHome.”

 DocuHome is the fastest and most complete home inventory software available. By using any digital camera or even a phone camera, the DocuHome step-by-step process makes creating a home inventory simple.  Not only is it easy to use, it is very affordable – about $69 a year!

Homeowners and renters start by taking photos of their home and its contents, room by room. After uploading the photos to their DocuHome account, they use the innovative DocuHome Tagging Inventory Creation Tool to tag the items (furniture, appliances, artwork, toys, electronics) in each photo with information about cost, purchase location, when acquired, and other relevant information about its value. Once the information is securely stored with DocuHome, it is safe and protected from any kind of disaster.

“We are proud to have partnered with Quality Claims Management, recognized nationally as the leader in recovery assistance for disaster victims. Quality Claims Management's unparalleled expertise in policy coverage is critical guidance in DocuHome's mission to help homeowners be prepared if a loss should occur," says Bradford Stanley, Chief Executive Officer of DocuHome. “Not only is DocuHome very secure, as all the information is stored online, the program is easy to use and some have said, fun.”

“Choosing the best home inventory application before you get started can mean the difference between successfully completing an inventory and never finishing,” adds Mr. Reitz.



DocuHome is the most comprehensive, easy to use home inventory product on the market today. Our patent-pending photo and tagging system is so easy to use, homeowners can photograph, assign a value, and safely store all of their possessions on-line in hours, not days. DocuHome has been featured on ABC News, AOL Real Estate, and many other business and consumer publications as one the smartest new technologies to come on the market. DocuHome is a privately held company and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.



Next time I'll do it differently: Insurance regrets after disasters

 

"Be honest with your agent," says Reitz of Quality Claims  "Say, 'Here is the total square feet I have.'"

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/08/31/next-time-ill-do-it-differently-insurance-regrets-after-disasters/#ixzz1WiYAzFsn

Tenacious P(olicyholder)

... How to get your insurer to cover claim expenses

Listing and valuing damaged or stolen property and negotiating a settlement with your insurer can cost you a lot of time and money. But unless it's a business loss, you'll have to be tenacious to get your insurer to reimburse you for expenses related to documenting (preparing) your claim.

The insurance claim process after a large loss can be a full time job. Countless hours at the loss site, answering questions, making phone calls and dealing with paperwork. If you're self-employed, this means you'll lose income. Time is money. You may need to pay for professional help... an estimator, air quality tester, accountant, public adjuster or an attorney.

Business policies often specifically cover "claim preparation" expenses. If your claim is personal, you'll have to negotiate with the insurance company adjuster to get these expenses covered. Depending on the wording of your policy, you may be able to get them reimbursed under "Additional Living Expense" or similar type of coverage for extra expenses that are incurred due to a loss. Make sure to keep good records and present a clear request in writing that outlines time and money spent preparing your claim.

For more detailed tips, read our newest addition to the UP Claim Help Library: Reimbursement for claim preparation expenses.

What Is the Claims Process for Disaster Victims?

By Ron Reitz

 

The Five Steps to Recovering Your Life After Your Home and Life Have Been Destroyed
Why use a Public Insurance Adjuster?

1. Read everything carefully before you sign anything. Your insurance company's representatives will first present you with emergency money - for immediate needs and shelter. The second round of payouts is where you need to be careful. Do not sign anything that limits your rights to seek additional proceeds.

2. Find a copy of your insurance policy. If it is destroyed or is not accessible, you should be able to get a full copy of the original insurance policy with all of its endorsements from the agent who sold you the coverage.

3. Make sure your family is safe. Most insurance policies include language that enables you to find a residence similar to your existing one. Find a hotel or rental home close to work or your kids' school that is adequate in size and clean and comfortable. Find a place similar in size and accommodations to your previous residence.

4. Get some professional help. Insurance companies hire and train their adjusters to represent the interests of the insurance company and ultimately, its investors. In many instances those adjusters do a great job helping their policyholders. However, sometimes their adjusters are too keenly focused on the bottom line of the insurance company instead of paying the policyholder what they are rightly due under the terms of their insurance policy. If you have doubts about what your insurance company is telling you, or you are simply do not have enough time and expertise to completely value and settle your claim, contact a professional that will work for you and will only represent your best interests.

5. If you go it alone, go slowly and take your time. The insurance company may pressure you to speed up the process - you may be anxious to put all of this behind you as quickly as possible in order to get back to your life, but you need to resist that urge. In these types of cases, especially with homes that have many improvements and renovations, or with families with lots of possessions, haste definitely makes waste. Take your time and carefully review each and every document before signing anything. If you don't agree with the estimates for repair or replacement provided by your insurance provider, fight back.

Why use a Public Insurance Adjuster.

In many cases, the Public Adjuster is able to get more money from the Insurance Company than you will be able to on your own. Even after deducting the Public Adjuster's small percentage fee (much less than using a lawyer), you will probably still come out ahead.

For most families affected by a disaster, the biggest advantage of using a Public Insurance Adjuster is that they can get back to living their life while a professional handles all of the details. Instead of spending 20 hours or more a week, researching replacement and rebuilding costs, analyzing and completing various forms, and negotiating with insurance company adjusters and restoration experts, the Public Adjuster can do all of that. This means you can get back to your family life. Normalcy and a return to a routine schedule will greatly help you and your family adjust and move on.

For many, the time savings and the emotional satisfaction of having a professional handle the minutiae and painful negotiations is much more important than whatever added funds the adjuster is able to get for them. It's more than just the money.

http://www.qualityclaims.com/

Ron Reitz is president of San Diego-based Quality Claims Management Corp., a nationally licensed public insurance adjuster, providing hazard claim recovery services to investors, mortgage servicers, homeowners and businesses. Earlier, he pioneered the national hazard insurance claims business of GMAC-RFC (now GMAC-ResCap). He is the past president of the California Association of Public Insurance Adjusters and currently serves on the board of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Contact Quality Claims Management at (866) 450-1183 or http://www.qualityclaims.com/.

United Policyholders: Tip of the Month

June 2011

Overwhelmed and Underinsured

Those two words describe the people in Missouri, Alabama and Arizona whose homes were recently wiped out. The fact is, about 2/3 of the homes in the United States are underinsured.1 UP can help you be in the third that are not. You probably think you're already paying plenty for insurance. We couldn't agree more. But why pay all that money and still come up short?

What to do?

- Pull out your policy and calculate how much your home ("dwelling") is insured for per square foot (psf). The cost to rebuild your home will depend on its style, age and location. The cost of building most homes ranges from $150-$400 psf, so if yours is below that range, it may be underinsured.

- Call your agent or insurance company and tell them you want to make sure your dwelling is insured for full replacement value. Ask if they will send an independent estimator to your home, free of charge. Some companies will. Ask how you can adjust your policy limits without spending more. A good agent will help you do this. Take good notes on the conversations and keep them in a safe place. Consider raising your deducible and trimming non-essential coverage to lower your premium.

- Spend $7 to get a second opinion from an online home replacement cost estimator like HMFacts. Take time to input detailed information about your home.

You'll find useful tips on Picking a good insurance agent or broker, Shop Smart: Tips for Insuring Your Home, and much more at http://e2ma.net/go/7108888718/208595723/223542455/36513/goto:http:/www.uphelp.org/. Please donate to support our work in tornado and wildfire areas.

1.United Policyholders post-disaster survey results are consistent with insurance industry sources that estimate more than 60% of American homes are underinsured.

To read past Tips of the Month, click here. To suggest a future Tip of the Month, click here to submit your idea.



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