An Occasional Hurricane Reminder

Northeastern Hurricanes On The Horizon: Saturday's New York Times had a story about hurricane preparedness that I want you to see. The paper reminds you that, while it has been a long time since the Northeastern US has suffered a significant hurricane, the potential exists during every hurricane season, and the time to prepare against loss is now. Home Inventory is, of course, a part of the solution.

A home inventory will help ensure that you have purchased enough insurance to replace your personal possessions. It can also speed the claims process and substantiate losses for income tax purposes. A detailed home inventory is also helpful should you need to apply for disaster aid.

You may live in a place that is safe from hurricane damage. (Tennessee remains unscathed! Tornadoes are another story.) However, regardless of where you live, your risk of loss exists. It may come through natural causes like tornado, hurricane, or lightning. It could come through man-made causes like electrical fires or theft. The fact is that you are at risk if you own personal property, and your insurance carrier has very long forms for you to complete when that time comes. Home inventory can give you back a year of your life, a year that you would otherwise spend haggling with your insurer.

A. J. Farley runs Farley Home Services, a home inventory service based in Middle Tennessee. Please visit EverySingleItem.com, the company website, for more details.

The British Are Agreeing! The British Are Agreeing!

Support From Across The Pond: The Guardian newspaper has some tips for saving money on your insurance bills that extend to American audiences, and home inventory is a suggested method for determining your coverage need. Hear that steady drumbeat off in the distance? That's the third parties telling you that you need my service! Thump, thump, thump. Here's what the Guardian has to say about our favorite topic:

Don't go for policies that offer "unlimited" contents cover - unless you have lots of expensive items at home - as you will probably pay over the odds for your insurance. It is better to get the cover you need. "It's a good idea to make an inventory of all your belongings, then add a little extra for items you may have missed," says Scott Mowbray, of Virgin Money . [emphasis added]

Mississippi Recovering Slowly but Surely: The Mississippi Gulf Coast is getting back to its pre-Katrina form, but the process is a slow-go. So says the Cedar Rapids Gazette is this article, excerpted below. (You will recall that Cedar Rapids had significant flooding last year, so many Iowa residents are looking to Mississippi to get a feel for how their own recovery will proceed.)

Two huge issues in Mississippi’s recovery pace have been building standards and getting insurance for new buildings. Some insurance companies have left the state; others have raised rates. The number of homeowners getting insurance from the state’s Wind Pool, which covers people who can’t get other insurance, has nearly tripled. [emphasis added]

God bless you folks on the Gulf Coast. I trust that your long nightmare will one day come to an end.

A. J. Farley runs Farley Home Services, an inventory documentation service for homeowners, landlords, tenants, and small business owners, and churches. Please visit EverySingleItem.com for more information, and thanks for reading today!

Hurricanes, Bulls and Bears. What a Day!

Good Insurance News? No Way! Texas officials reviewing claims data from the two recent hurricanes says that a surprisingly small number of justifiable complaints were filed, less than one quarter of one percent! Way to go, Texas insurance industry! Claims Journal has the story.

"There will always be complaints arising from any storm damage. When you are dealing with a lot of money in a catastrophic situation, it can be difficult for all of the parties to be completely satisfied with the claim settlement," said [Texas Insurance Council Chair Dorothy] Langley. "But these low numbers on complaints coming from both Ike and Dolly are remarkable considering the volume and severity of the claims. It shows the industry has worked hard and been successful in putting their policyholders back on their feet in difficult circumstances."

It's refreshing to see some good insurance news for a change. The industry needs all the help it can get these days.

"Deaccessioning" Debate Rages On: Deaccessioning occurs when a public art gallery or museum sells off its own pieces in an effort to raise capital, either to acquire new works, or to restore or maintain other pieces, and a debate rages both in Europe and here about how vigorously museums should engage in this practice and to what ends. Regulation has been difficult to enact and even more difficult to enforce. London's Telegraph has the story of the latest round of discussion.

The [British] Museums Association has attempted to restrict “deaccessioning” with some ethical guidelines, based on stages of consultation and a preference for loans or exchange over sale. But although restrictions are legally imposed by the terms of charitable bequests, the law is far from watertight and conscience is the ultimate policeman of the process.

This practice is far more prevalent in America. For instance, recently the New York Historical society sold one of its paintings, a William Holbrook Beard work entitled The Bulls and the Bears in the Market, in order to pay for an air conditioning upgrade. The New York legislature (see this New York Times piece) is attempting to regulate this practice, but major museums are fighting for the ability to use their own judgement, particularly in this era of tight budgets.

Farley Home Services provides the home and small business inventory documentation that insurance carriers require to handle claims. Please visit us on the web at EverySingleItem.com for details, and thanks for reading today!

Hurricane News, Cute Puppies, and Madoff Update

The Northeast Needs To Get Prepared: The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) recently published guidelines for personal disaster preparedness. As you may know, the Atlantic Hurricane Season runs June 1st to November 30th, and residents of coastal states need to spend some time attending to these tasks in anticipation of storms that will threaten New England this season. Excerpt:

Make a record of your personal property. Keep an itemized list of your furniture, clothing and valuables to assist adjusters in case of a claim. Back it up with photographs or video.

I know I sound like a broken record regarding home inventory. Crack, pop, hiss. No apologies made.

The High Price of Dog Ownership Just Got Higher: I know, I know. Dogs are adorable and bring great joy to our lives. I know that the companionship they offer is without peer. I know that the world is a better place because of our domesticated dogs. Our dog Lucy is a lovable mutt and my family thinks the world of her.

I also know that dog ownership is expensive. Kennel bills, veterinary bills, dog food, chew toys; as if it wasn't enough already, now your insurance carrier may be charging you higher rates on your homeowners policy beacuse of your little adorable pooch. Fido may even one day be the cause of your insurance carrier cancelling your policy. WooHoo!

CBS Reports Feds Ask For 150 Years For Madoff: Federal prosecutors trying the case of disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, who masterminded one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history (I'm sure that some of you would say this distinction belongs to Social Security), have asked the judge to sentence him to 150 years, the maximum imprisonment available for his crimes. Madoff is 71.

Federal sentencing guidelines allow for the 150-year term, prosecutors said. Any lesser sentence, they added, should still be long enough to send a forceful message and "assure that Madoff will remain in prison for life."

While I understand the need for a strong message to be sent and that Madoff is clearly guilty of this massive fraud, I also understand that the money on those statements was always phantom money and that it's never coming back because it never existed in the first place, regardless of whether Madoff dies in jail or not. Madoff didn't steal billions of dollars. He repeatedly lied, and in so doing created billions of phantom dollars out of thin air. Certainly investors gave him lots of money that they have now lost, but the actual amount "invested" with Madoff is far smaller than the numbers reported in the press.

A. J. Farley runs Farley Home Services (EverySingleItem.com), your one stop shop for all your home inventory needs. Whether you own a home, a small business, or rental property, you need to document your belongings. We take care of tenants as well!