Property Insurance claim: Water Related Issues Responsible For Most Insurance Claims

Water Related Issues Responsible For Most Insurance Claims

http://www.howtoclaiminsurance.com/

Water is essential to life and covers over 70% of the planet. However, it also causes about 70% of all insurance claims. From hurricanes, winter storms, and flood events to broken pipes and plumbing overflows, these water related issues place a huge burden on homeowners, property owners, and the insurance industry.

Water Damage Denials:

Water related issues are common, not all are covered. For example, typical homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover natural flooding such as storm surges or rivers overflowing their banks. Instead, you must purchase flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program if you want this type of coverage.

In addition, water damage during storms may or may not be covered depending on how it occurred. For example, if you have a standard insurance policy and the water damage occurred because hurricane force winds ripped off your roof, than your insurance will likely cover the damage. However, if it’s determined that the water damage occurred due to the storm surge, it may be declined.

In addition, water damage due to poor maintenance of your home isn’t covered. If you let your roof deteriorate and don’t fix it, then you can’t expect the insurance company to pay for repairs when it leaks.

Water Related Insurance Losses & Natural Disasters:

home insurance claims

http://www.claimbuster.com/

Flooding cause widespread devastation and capture their fair share of the headlines. After all, it’s hard to ignore damages amounting to over $40 billion (Hurricane Katrina 2005). But, let’s not overlook the everyday occurrences of water related insurance claims which amount to significant amounts of property loss each year.

The Insurance Information Institute:

Reports that water damage and freezing claims occur about 1.5 times for each 100 homeowner’s policies per year, with an average severity of over $5000. This figure is three times higher than theft or fire claims.

Preventing or Minimizing Water Damage Claims:

Preventing hurricanes and river overflows is impossible, you can prevent many other types of water claims. The first step is to keep your home well maintained. Regularly inspect your roof and basement and other areas where water can enter the home. Prompt repairs can extend the life of the roof while preventing further damage. In addition, keep your rain gutters clear of debris.

The next step is to invest in the tools that make a difference. If you live in an area with freezing temperatures, insulate your water pipes to prevent freezing and subsequent water pipe bursts. Buy a strap for your water heater so it won’t topple over during an earthquake. Buy a sump pump for your basement. Hire a back hoe service to re-grade your lot if it’s sloped in such a manner where water collects against your house.

Teach your family members how to turn off individual and main water shut-off valves. If a plumbing mishap occurs, prompt action by family members is necessary to minimize the damage.

Water is everywhere: it flows through our rivers and through the pipes in our homes. However, a single weather event or weakened plumbing joint can send the waters flowing where they don’t belong, causing water damage, devastation, an insurance claim, and a major mess.

By: Mr. Mark Decherd

The Weird And Wonderful World Of Home Insurance Claims

http://www.howtoclaiminsurance.com/

Lloyds TSB are one of the country’s most popular home insurance providers meaning that they receive there fair claim of claims ranging from the serious to the downright outrageous. 2008s round up of claims certainly shows that there were a few eyebrows raised in the Lloyds TSB offices.

Phil Loney, managing director, Lloyds TSB Insurance, said: "I never cease to be intrigued by the variety of claims we receive day in, day out. Our 2008 quirky claims round-up highlights that it’s truly impossible to predict what’s around the corner and whilst it’s important to take sensible security, maintenance and safety steps, having a good insurance policy is vital to ensure long term peace of mind. So here are some of the weird and wonderful home insurance claims made in 2008.

http://www.annuitymd.com/

TV can’t be that bad!
One of the claims received in 2008s was from a man who had shot his TV, it had nothing to do with the fact that there was nothing on or he had just enough of Simon Cowell’s face. It turned out that the man in question restored old guns for a living and did not realise that the gun he was holding was loaded. Intentional or not it he certainly lost his no claims bonus with a bang.

Blind as a Magpie
The magpie may be famous for mating for life but many of you may not know magpies also suffer from poor eyesight as on unfortunate victim discovered. One lone eagle eyed magpie flew through the window picked up the victims glasses and then proceeded to fly straight back out again, lets just hope the magpies partner approved of its new look.

Poodle Piddle
According to one customer standing water can be a big problem in the garden and they were quick to put the problem down to a leaky drain. When the claims handler paid a visit to the home in question he discovered that there was no leaky drain but in fact the pet poodle had chosen the spot to relive himself over and over again.

X Rated Robbery
With many of us owning expensive mobile phones, digital cameras and laptops robbers seem to have easy pickings, yet one unsuspecting victim didn’t expect there private toy collection to be taken. The claims handler was slightly taken aback when they received the receipts for the items in question.

Amongst the unusual claims there where the slandered dropping the phone down the toilet or putting it through a spin cycle we have all done it at least once. Yet despite the number of silly claims it is important to remember to take out precautionary measures to protect the contents in our homes, you never know another light fingered magpie could be around the corner.

By: Swords Seamus

Florida Property Insurance Changes will Affect Most Homeowners

Florida residents may see an increase in their property insurance as results of a new bill passed at the end of March 2008.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other destructive storms, getting affordable property insurance hasn’t been easy. Many private insurers shed high risk clients after storms in 2004-2005, and raised assessments for others. For those who could no longer afford private insurance (or who were declared insurable by private insurers), state insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp is the last resort. Over the last year, the state has been attempting to keep property insurance rates low for those who are insured with CPIC. According to critics of the latest property insurance changes, however, Florida residents who are insured by private companies will end up paying more so that the rates can stay low for those insured by the state-owned company. The last week of March saw the Florida Senate approve some changes to property insurance that might end up increasing property insurance rates by around 3%.

The bill was backed by Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and approved by the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. The intended effect is to reduce Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund by $3 billion. This means the state can reduce its investment in CPIC and therefore reduce its risk. At the same time, however, the state has also voted to freeze CPIC insurance rates through to the end of 2009. CPIC insures more than 1.3 Florida residents, and the rate freeze that occurred last year was done to avoid an increase that could have seen rates up by as much as 29%.

The problem is, according to critics, that CPIC’s premiums aren’t high enough, and that the company won’t have enough cash reserves to be able to pay out claims if a major storm hits. This is why the $3 billion reduction in the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is significant. The Catastrophe Fund is a sort of safety net that can kick into action when Florida is hit by a major hurricane, and is intended to reimburse private insurers a portion of the money they pay out in claims. However, with the fund now reduced by $3 billion, the deficit is likely to be made up by rate increases for homeowners.

Last year, the state actually increased the Catastrophe Fund by $12 billion, but this year has been reduced by $3 billion. The fund was increased last year to reduce costs for insurers, and indirectly for homeowners. However, by increasing the Catastrophe Fund, the state of Florida was also increasing its own level of risk.

The state now wants to start decreasing its investment in the fund to reduce its risk. The net effect, however, will likely be the opposite of that which it originally intended. With private insurers taking on more risk relative to last year, the end result is more than likely going to be increased property insurance rates. The estimate is around 3% overall, with a slightly higher increase possible for Southern Florida residents. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink admits that an increase in rates is possible, but also says that if insurers try to increase rates to an unreasonable level, the state will step in.

Calum MacKenzie is the Broker/Owner of Real Living Southern Homes a residential real estate brokerage located in Wesley Chapel, Florida and serving the Tampa Florida real estate and Land O’ Lakes real estate markets.

By Calum MacKenzie

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Property Insurance claim: Water Related Issues Responsible For Most Insurance Claims

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Florida Property Insurance Changes will Affect Most Homeowners

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