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7 Comments

1. An excellent article of great value to all of us. Thanks for taking the time to author it!

2. Good article. Homeowners is an all in sort of policy. Lots of normal things get included. Farm policies are a la carte, pick what you want so you must think it through. So when you move from the suburbs to the country you have to pay more attention. When you add equipment you have to make a call to that agent.

   Also, surely agents make commission. The other side of that coin is agents have legally established standards of care. So if I leave a coverage out that is commonly accepted or if I insure a building for two million when I know it would cost six million to building it back, I am legally on the hook for the difference. (The valuation issue arises in distressed commercial property.)

   A good agent is up on a lot of economic and business issues. Most independents have more than one business. Tap into their business knowledge. They all drink coffee. That agent should be on your informal “board of directors” if you have picked the right agent.

   This agent handed out boxes of ammo and a handful of mags to a select couple of new to the AR not new to the agency clients. They were lamenting spending the day in line at a store to finish kitting out.

3. This is a good article. I like the idea of looking at the policy as it is renewed, never thought of that. With the wildfires roaring, would the insurance companies deflect some costs coming to them?

   It’s a pain to read the fine print but that’s where I get caught.

   Thanks again for a thought provoking article.

   God bless you,

4. Insure everything! It’s a necessary evil. I personally, like most of you, have a budget. And every year my spreadsheet tells me that my number one expense is food and household items. Combined they total just over a quarter of our budget. Those numerically challenged may view it this way – if a pie was cut into only four (4) pieces, one of those is a quarter (I believe that’s why it takes four quarters to make one dollar).
   Don’t have the least problem with this number or percentage of my budget.
   The next largest line item is INSURANCE. This is every policy totaled and it’s Still over a quarter of our budget.
   That over our adult life time going back only 30 years is approximately $375,000. And trust me, we have been adults more than 30 years. So realistically just us – we are talking closer to a half a million dollars easy. Multiply that times all the insured individuals, businesses and pet policies – subtract your benefits (there will be some) and you’ll start to see why the insurance industry own more wealth than any industry that actually produce a tangible product.
   Look into the history of the insurance business sometime.
   Enough said.

5. Something to consider, in regards of fire. Many jurisdictions place limits on how many gallons of fuel you can store on your property without a permit. In Los Angeles County, it’s 25 gallons. So if your home succumbs to a fire (brush fire, electrical, etc.) and the forensic investigation reveals that you had 6 of those 5-gal containers in your shed, your insurance carrier can use the technical violation of local ordinance to deny payout for your loss of home. Even if you have 25 gallons properly stored in a fire resistant cabinet, but an additional 1-gal container elsewhere with your lawn mower, it exceeds the residential limit.

   Believe me, if one of our infamous brush fires sweeps through and burns twenty homes valued at $500K apiece, that’s $10 million. They’ll be looking for any reasons to minimize their payouts.

   Just a thought.

6. For me at least to cover the wood stove required a inspection by the insurance company and photographs.

7. Always go with an Independent Insurance Agent or Trusted Choice Agent…it’s good if the person helping you build the policy works for you instead of the insurance company…called ‘brokers’ in some states.

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