Quality Claims Management Exhibits at the San Diego Spring Home Show

Quality Claims Management had the opportunity to participate in the San Diego Spring Home Show this past weekend.  The free event was open to the public and held in Downtown San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center.

Exhibitors from all avenues of home improvement were present to inform homeowners about their featured home products and services.  We were excited to share more about our company with the public and to offer advice to any attendees who may have experienced a disaster to their home or business.

Home insurance rates likely to go higher

By Adam Belz, USA TODAY
Homeowners insurance premiums are starting to rise after tornadoes, hail, winds and lightning slammed U.S. insurance companies' balance sheets throughout 2011.

Storms along the East Coast, tornadoes in the Southeast and in Joplin, Mo., and earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand wreaked havoc on insurance company finances, especially firms that might have too many policyholders in certain geographic areas, says Bob Skow, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa.

The numbers aren't in yet, since renewals don't all happen at one time, but Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, says customers are starting to feel the cost of years of heavy losses, particularly in the Southeast and Midwest.

"We've had record losses for four straight years," he said. "My sense is that premiums will probably rise 4% to 5%."

In 2008, the average annual cost of homeowners insurance was $791, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Average premiums rose slightly to $799 in 2009 and $807 in 2010. Hartwig predicts that 2011's average premium will be about $840.

Insurers are charging more to cover higher loss projections and the rising cost of reinsurance — insurance on their insurance.

"Everybody got clobbered," Skow says.

Insured losses in the U.S. in the first half of 2011 were $17.8 billion, more than the $13.6 billion insurers paid in all of 2010, according to Munich Re, a giant European reinsurance company.

A few companies took enough losses they either had to scale back their exposure or became insolvent. Alfa Insurance, the second-largest home insurer in Alabama, announced in June that it would send non-renewal notices to 73,000 homeowners in the following 16 months. The late April outbreak of 300 tornadoes across the South — especially in Alabama — was the costliest storm in Alfa's history, the company reported

Three small insurance companies in Joplin became insolvent because of the May tornado that destroyed much of that town. The Missouri Farm Bureau is taking over policies for the companies, which had to pay out $48 million and didn't have adequate reinsurance to cover their losses, according to the Missouri Insurance Department.

ARTICLE SOURCE

Worst Natural Disasters of 2011 and Their Impact on the Insurance Industry

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Sergio Leal
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that 2011 was a record year for natural disasters in the U.S. According to the Insurance Information Institute (the “I.I.I.”), insurance companies will pay more than $32 billion in claims to help people rebuild homes and businesses damaged or destroyed by natural disasters in 2011, a record year for federal disaster declarations. Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the I.I.I., said that “[t]he $32.6 billion figure doesn't even include the significant insured losses which arose after the pre-Halloween snowstorm, which caused enormous damage to multiple states along the Atlantic seaboard. Coupled with other events in 2011’s fourth quarter, direct insured losses could exceed $35 billion this year.”

Additionally, the I.I.I. reports that the federal government declared on 99 separate occasions this year that a major disaster existed after a natural disaster had occurred, easily breaking the previous record of 81, which was set in 2010. The 99 disaster declarations are nearly triple the average of 34 per year dating back to 1953, the I.I.I. added.

The federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) announced that the U.S. was the site of 12 separate disasters, each of which caused at least $1 billion in aggregate damage in 2011. The previous record, set in 2008, was nine.

With all of these new records, you would think that the private insurance industry would be in a lot of trouble. Not so. According to the I.I.I., policyholders’ surplus –insurers’ net worth measured according to Statutory Accounting Principles – fell only four percent to $538.6 billion as of September 30, 2011, compared to $559.2 billion at year-end 2010. You read that right. Even though the insurance industry experienced one of its worst years ever, their net worth dropped by a mere 4%.

For more information, including a list of the 12 separate billion dollar disasters click here.

ARTICLE SOURCE

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Warns Californians to Prepare Now for Forecasted Winter Storms

Reminds Residents That Standard Homeowners Policies Do Not Cover Flood Damage; and Flood Insurance Policies Typically Take Effect 30 Days After Purchase

Weather forecasters predict severe storms will hit parts of already fire-impacted California early next year. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones urges residents to review their insurance coverage regularly, including supplemental policies like flood insurance, and to conduct an inventory to ensure that their home and possessions are properly covered.

"Flooding can occur anywhere," said Commissioner Jones. "I strongly encourage all homeowners to document their possessions before any type of disaster strikes. It's stressful enough to lose your belongings when severe weather hits. But being prepared by having good records, including serial numbers, so you can better replace your possessions can lessen the blow."

Commissioner Jones reminds residents that in California, most standard homeowner's insurance policies do not cover mudslides. Residents are urged to contact their insurers to determine exactly what their current policies will cover and if buying flood insurance is the right option for them. A flood insurance policy typically takes effect 30 days after it is purchased. So with heavy rains predicted in the coming weeks and during the first three months of next year, now is the time to consider your options.

In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance program (NFIP) in response to the rising cost of taxpayer-funded disaster relief for flood victims and the increasing amount of damage caused by floods. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), flood insurance covers building contents. The cost is determined by several factors, including the region's flood risk, year the structure was built, and type of structure insured (residential versus commercial, single-family versus multiple-family).

FEMA manages the NFIP, which makes federally backed flood insurance available to homeowners, renters, and business owners in communities participating in the NFIP. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, in California, less than 255,000 households are protected by flood insurance, which equates to fewer than 2.5 percent of residents and business owners having flood insurance. To assess your need for flood insurance, go to the California Department of Insurance web site at http://www.insurance.ca.gov/. Additionally, the NFIP offers flood related bulletins and newsletters.

For more information about documenting your possessions or to receive a free home inventory guide, call the California Department of Insurance at 800-927-HELP or visit our web site.

Please visit the Department of Insurance Web site at http://www.insurance.ca.gov/. Non media inquiries should be directed to the Consumer Hotline at 800.927.HELP. Callers from out of state, please dial 213.897.8921. Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD), please dial 800.482.4833.

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.