Since the original wildfire article with this title was written six years ago, the frequency and severity of these real-world natural catastrophe learning laboratories continue to challenge our understanding of the insurance mechanism and its ability to assist policyholders to recover after such events. While we could focus on the expanding world of extreme natural catastrophes, this…
Is it time to re-visit the methodology used by agents to determine replacement costs and/or re-construction costs? How confident are you that the real property replacement values that you develop are sufficient to either replace or rebuild? If a natural catastrophe hit your community, would you have the same confidence in your replacement or rebuild…
With hurricane season a concern and unpredictable weather on the rise, homeowners’ losses can be devastating. After your insureds submit a claim, the insurer will request they document their damaged contents. Remind your insureds that homeowners’ claims are always much easier to settle if they prepare a home inventory before they experience a loss. Now…
Charts are probably the most helpful resource for keeping track of key Homeowners’ policy provisions. Being able to see key information in one, easy-to-read form aids in memory and retention; besides, it allows easy recall because the charts can be printed for easy reference. ISO’s release of its 2022 multi-state homeowners’ filing requires two different…
ISO’s first major change to the Homeowners’ program has been filed. These changes are scheduled to take effect beginning March of 2022. Although this sounds like a long time from now, the time will go quickly. Review the coming changes now and print this for future reference.
An agent asks: We hired a new personal lines manager and realized we never developed any homeowners’ charts; do you have any you can share?
An often asked question is, “Which is more appropriate when writing a townhouse within a homeowners’ association that purportedly provides the real property coverage for the entire building?” This is a really good question because in these situations, the agent must choose between the HO-3 and the HO-6.
The concept of actual cash value (ACV) is far more complicated than “replacement cost minus physical depreciation.” In fact, the meaning of replacement cost differs based on the state. To further complicate the “problem” with defining ACV is whether or not labor is depreciable. Again, the answer differs based on the state in which the…
When your insureds use Yelp, Twitter or even Facebook they open themselves up to charges of libel and defamation of character. Is your personal lines client protected? A Yelper is out $20,000 because of this problem.
Valued policy laws require the insurance carrier to pay the face amount of the policy if the structure is a “total loss.” In these situations, it does not matter if the replacement cost is less than the face amount. This article links to a list of states with valued policy laws and the particulars of…
