Home » Archives for July 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009

Blogs, Blogs Everywhere!

Blogger Says You Need An Inventory: Mary E. Trimble says on her blog that "a home inventory can save you big money - and headaches - should tragedy strike." Here's more:

The aftermath of a disaster is confusing and frustrating enough without trying to recall the particulars of your possessions. For items destroyed in fire or flood, a household inventory will help you remember what you had. Insurance adjustments are expedited more efficiently when information can be gathered from current documentation.

I don't know much about Ms. Trimble, but I have to admit a certain fondness for her now!

Public Adjusters In The Blogosphere: A public adjuster is a claims adjuster working free-lance, not employed by an insurance carrier. Public adjusters help individuals in contentious insurance claim settlements, but usually at a hefty price (10-15% of the final settlement). The (poorly written) Tampa Bay Real Estate blog discusses how public adjusters can help.

Your insurance company sends out their personal insurance adjuster, that has one thing in mind, to close the claim as cheap as possible.

A word of caution. Public adjusters do not have the best reputation among those in the insurance industry, as you can imagine. Some public adjusters have a reputation for artificially inflating the size of claims, and insurers tend to lump all public adjusters into that category. Bringing a public adjuster into an insurance claim is sort of like demanding to speak to your lawyer in a TV cop show. "Why do you need a public adjuster, we're all friends here?"

We'll stop there for today. Thanks for tuning in!

Farley Home Services provides inventory documentation to homeowners, tenants, small business owners, and landlords. Please visit EverySingleItem.com to see how we can serve you.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

State Farm Goes Down Swinging

State Farm Moves to Eliminate Florida Discounts: State Farm Florida, which will soon stop writing new homeowners insurance in the state, is now asking the legislature's permission to remove all the discounts that its remaining policyholders receive, giving those people what amounts to a significant rate increase. Clients receive discounts for such things as having your car and home insured by the same carrier, alarm systems, new plumbing and electrical wiring, hail resistant roofing, and the like. Those discounts, when taken in total, can reduce one's premium by roughly one third.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, called the filing an "outrageous" way of "going around the law" to raise premiums without a formal rate increase. "The insurance companies always seem to find a way to help themselves and neglect the homeowner," he said. [emphasis added]

A Missed Opportunity: Bernard Madoff's personal property is being meticulously cataloged by federal marshals in preparation of a coming auction of his goods. I never thought to apply for the job. Arrgghh.

The forfeiture order signed by federal Judge Denny Chin gave the U.S. government complete control over the $7.5-million apartment and the $3.5-million house in Montauk. (A $10-million Palm Beach home was surrendered earlier this year). Chin ordered the properties and everything inside, including clothing, fixtures, artwork, linens and sheets, surrendered to help pay victims of the estimated $65-billion Ponzi scheme.

Ohio Bucks the Trend (pun intended): My last blog entry noted that insurance rate increases were on the way primarily for coastal states. The Ohio Department of Insurance is saying that 2008 saw significant increases for homeowners insurance premiums. (Ohio has no coastline unless you count Lake Erie.) No word yet from Ohio on future premium trends.

Despite the increases last year, [Ohio Insurance Institute spokesperson Mary] Bonelli said, Ohio auto and homeowners insurance rates are still among the lowest in the country -- and the reason is competition. "There are 266 homeowner writers in the state and 613 auto writers," she said. "That's the third-highest number in both areas." [emphasis added]

Summer Protection Tips From NAHIP: The National Association of Home Inventory Professionals has some travel tips to keep your home safe while you are gone this summer. Here's an excerpt:

Don't place any online or mail orders that could possibly be delivered while you are gone. Packages left outside for days are a strong indicator that nobody is home. Ensure that your lawn is cut. A lawn in need of mowing is an obvious sign that a homeowner may be away on vacation. Those who mow their own lawn should consider hiring a lawn service if away for an extended period of time.

That's about all for today. I don't want to talk about the Gold Cup final just yet. Thanks for reading!

A. J. Farley runs Farley Home Services, a home inventory service for folks like you. Please visit EverySingleItem.com for more details.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Another Round of Rate Increases . . .

You Know Who You Are: Residents in Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida can expect to pay higher property insurance premiums in the coming months. OK you geography buffs out there, what do these states have in common?

Obviously, there is a lot of debate in these states about the inland (poorer) homeowners having to pay higher premiums because of the coastal (richer) risk, and while I tend to be on the side of the little guy whenever possible, I have to side with the coastal residents on this one. A major tenant (perhaps the major tenant) of insurance is the concept of shared risk. The best way to accomplish that in a property insurance setting is to do so across an entire state, in my humble opinion.

Each insurer has to tailor its policies to meet individual state requirements, so state legislatures have a huge say in how things work. This is an unwieldy process for the big national insurers, but the alternative of a federally regulated insurance program is distasteful to most of us (unless you live on a coast). If you are unhappy with how your homeowners insurance rate is calculated, talk to your state legislator. He has more say in that rate than even your insurance agent.

Thanks for your readership!

A. J. Farley owns Farley Home Services, a personal property inventory service. Visit us at EverySingleItem.com for more information.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I love a distressed wicker loveseat...

Image from Victoria Magazine

hope you are planning a relaxing weekend!

I love a distressed wicker loveseat...

Image from Victoria Magazine

hope you are planning a relaxing weekend!

Monday, July 20, 2009

The Basics of Home Inventory

It's been a while since I have spent any time reviewing the basic justification for a home inventory, and I know that we have a lot of new readers that haven't heard an explanation of what I do or what the home inventory industry is all about.

Let me start off by saying that home inventory goes hand in glove with good homeowners insurance coverage. I'd go so far as to say that one is incomplete without the other. Most of us have mortgages and are required to carry "hazard" insurance (Hazard is the mortgage industry's term for homeowners policies, and can include homeowners, condo-unitowners, or rental dwelling coverage depending on the occupancy of the home), but no one requires you to have a home inventory. Until, that is, you have a claim.

Claims adjusters require the completion of personal property inventory forms in order to settle those types of claims. Even if you have suffered a total loss and everything is gone, you will more than likely have to start completing these forms and continue until you reach your coverage amount (usually 70% of your dwelling, but varies from one company to another). It takes weeks or months to remember everything that you own, especially if your pictures, videos, or other documentation is destroyed in the loss. Our memories just aren't that good.

Home inventory solves this problem. A home inventory is a detailed list of all the items you own, and usually includes photographs of each item. We like to call it your life-collection. You can complete a home inventory on your own, or you can have an inventory professional like Farley Home Services do this for you.

Every insurance carrier suggests that you complete a home inventory and update it regularly. (Here are links to Allstate, State Farm, Farmers, and Nationwide's discussions of this need.) Your insurance carrier wants you to have a detailed inventory so that they can fairly reimburse you for your loss. (Most of us are under-insured when it comes to personal property, by the way.) If you have no inventory, you have a lot of work to do, and you may lose a year of your life in the pursuit of your claim. Do you have that time to spend?

A. J. Farley runs Farley Home Services, a home inventory documentation service based in Murfreesboro, TN. Visit his company's site at EverySingleItem.com for more information.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Fabric Possibilities For My Chairs...

I realize that all my posts have been 'help me decide' lately - but I have been making so many decisions and processing so many projects that looking at inspiration photos seems, well, uninspiring. I am looking for some fabric to make cushions for my Chinoiserie chairs and below is a collection of really lovely and fun fabric choices that are all available for under 20 dollars per yard (some are 50% off at joannfabrics.com right now).

I thought you guys out there in the blogosphere might enjoy them - also to be fair some of these fabrics are not upholstery material - but I thought I would include them anyways as I am considering making some throw pillows as well.... And if you have any recommendations for me in the process - you know I love them!