First, this editorial comment: How is it that advertisements featuring bargain hunting cavemen or Flo, the zany “Name Your Own Price” girl cause otherwise savvy consumers to forget the wisdom of time-honored axioms that have historically honed our buyer beware instincts?  If it looks to good to be true it probably is / Beware of Greeks bearing gifts / Look before you leap/ You get what you pay for / Read the fine print.  It seems that in our everyone-loves-a-bargain environment, bargain hunters forget to ask HOW such great “bargain pricing” has been achieved.  After all – does anyone think that lower premiums are being funded through insurance carrier benevolence?  

 I am driven to help those I serve to understand the risks an insurance policy does and does not cover, and years of experience has taught me that remarkably few consumers (and insurance agents, by the way) attempt to do this before making an insurance buying decision.  For your clients who need to be reminded that making a well-informed decision on how to buy anything involves more than simply identifying which product has the lowest price, I have an offer:  I can provide a complimentary “Fine Print Protection Audit” that details the property and liability risks that are and are not covered by their current insurance policies.  This proprietary audit is a diagnostic tool that reveals the coverage “fine print” that almost all consumers (along with the vast majority of insurance agents) fail to closely examine when selecting the legal contract (insurance policy) that should protect their most important assets from a wide range of unlikely yet possible disasters. 

Contact me if you’d like to review how the “Fine Print Protection Audit” can help you and / or those you care about to make smarter decisions about insurance.

For much more lawsuit fun and frivolity —- the fine writers at Faces of Lawsuit Abuse are asking readers to select the most ridiculous lawsuit of the year.  Among the suits that you can read more about at their great website: 

¨       Young adults sue mother for sending cards without gifts and playing favorites

¨       Man suing for age discrimination says judge in his case is too old

¨       Man illegally brings gun into bar, gets injured in a fight, then sues bar for not searching him for a weapon

¨       Convict sues couple he kidnapped for not helping him evade police

¨        Mom files suit against exclusive preschool over child’s college

 To read more: http://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org/poll/

 

It seems that despite receiving significant campaign contributions from State Farm, the recently elected Judge voted to overturn a $1 billion settlement awarded by two lower courts that ruled State Farm breached its contract with policyholders when it directed the use of non-original parts in vehicles damaged in crashes.  Insurance insiders know this claims settlement procedure is hardly limited to just State Farm.

Contact me to learn of the importance of having automobiles repaired using OEM  parts (original manufacturer’s equipment), and for a short list of insurance carriers that will gladly authorize repairs using OEM parts.

He would take little satisfaction in reading this article in The New York Times City Room Section, which details a recent home invasion on East 51^st Street in Manhattan, and includes 19 seconds of actual footage of the event as taken by surveillance video.  While hardly proof of my roommate’s prediction, the article has prompted me to remind others of the need to be extra careful in securing their home and family.

For those who would like an introduction to a few select firms specializing in comprehensive personal security solutions, contact me.

Anthony C. Roman, CEO of Roman and Associates, a global insurance & corporate investigation, risk management, and security consulting firm, has recently reported on the connection between organized crime, terrorist groups, and high value art theft.  Click the following link to read Roman’s article, The Black-Arts , published by National Underwriter.

So far

A Frenchman has been ordered to pay his ex-wife £8,500 in damages for failing to have enough sex with her during their marriage.  

To read the article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8741895/Frenchman-ordered-to-pay-wife-damages-for-lack-of-sex.html

The old adage “the calm after the storm” does NOT ALWAYS apply after a hurricane has caused significant damage.  

Understanding that we are all focused on making advance preparations for Hurricane Irene’s arrival, several I spoke with yesterday asked me what they should be doing AFTER the hurricane passes.   While many of these suggestions are common sense, I offer them as a reminder, and encourage you to know in advance what to do after the storm has passed.  

• If you have evacuated, wait until authorities tell you it’s safe before returning home.

• Be alert for tornadoes.

• Stay away from flood waters.

• Use a flashlight. Do not light matches or turn on electrical switches.

• Sniff for gas leaks. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, turn off the main gas valve, open windows and evacuate. If you have any concerns, have the gas system checked by a professional.

• Do not touch wires or outlets.

• Check for frayed cords and for cracked or broken prongs and plugs.

• Turn off the main electrical circuit switch. Be careful to stand on a dry surface and do not touch the metal handle of the switch box. Use a piece of heavy rubber, plastic or a piece of dry wood to open the metal door and throw the switch. Share your concerns with a licensed electrician.

• Watch for holes in the floor, loose boards or hanging plaster.

• If your home has been flooded, check for snakes and other animals that may have entered the property.

• Before you start cleaning up debris, prepare an inventory of all damaged or destroyed personal property. If you can, videotape or photograph the damage.

• Make temporary repairs to prevent further damage.

• Clean up any flammable or poisonous materials that may have been spilled.

• Dispose of all spoiled food immediately. If you have insurance coverage for spoiled food, document your losses.

• Hold off on permanent repairs until you’ve received approval for reimbursement.

• Save remnants of damaged or destroyed property for your insurance company adjuster, and do not sign agreements with contractors or anyone else until you have a chance to meet with your insurance adjuster.

• Keep a written record of everyone you talk to about your insurance claim, including the date of the conversation and a summary of what was said.

• Keep all receipts.

• Your pre-disaster home inventory will be of great assistance to you at this point. After you’ve examined everything and determined the extent of damage, call your insurance agent “as soon as possible” to file a claim.

This column is focused on the less obvious risk management lessons that I have learned from those in FL who have offered their valuable lessons having endured numerous hurricanes.  For example:

• Wind will enter a home through the most vulnerable area, and that area is often the large exterior door of an attached garage.  Once winds enter a garage, they cause an “uplift” on the ceiling, creating pressure that removes the roof of the garage that often enable winds to enter the interior of the home. 
• Since it is hard to know whether the door is inherently strong enough to resist hurricane force winds, steps should be taken to fortify it.
• Consider parking the cars inside the garage so that the rear bumper abuts the garage door. Many in FL fortify their garage door with ply wood, 2 x 4 reinforcements, etc. to prevent the door from collapsing and wind from entering.
• If you do not already own one, it may be a bit late to buy a generator locally.  Meanwhile, it may not be too late: all who use Amazon should be aware that the best way to assure fastest delivery is to select Amazon as the seller, and not one of the other resellers who market on their site. Many generators can be purchased from Amazon with a one day delivery option.  
• For those with generators, it’s a good idea to test it to ensure it is operational, and to make sure there is ample fuel.
• A comedian once observed that the danger in hurricanes is not THAT the wind is blowing, rather the danger arises from WHAT the wind is blowing. Please be sure to bring inside all that is outside that can be hurled through your windows!  Do not forget easily overlooked items like gas grills, portable propane tanks, and picnic tables.
• Expect power surges before an outage, and unplug vulnerable electronic equipment.
• For a much more complete list of suggestions, your tax dollars are hard at work providing this information: http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html

Compounding this shell game advertising ploy by insurance carriers is the sad fact that many of those who know better — the agents and brokers who understand insurance and need to properly guide consumers — also slyly insert “save money now” as a theme in marketing their value proposition. One agency with a national footprint reduces the complex inter-relationship between price and insurance value with this gem: “We have yet to meet a person who is insensitive to insurance pricing.™” Yes, that is a trademark; proud of a keen ability to observe the obvious, this agent is apparently concerned other agents might actually steal this profundity (aspiring Mad Men be forewarned: we insurance folk sure know how to craft pithy advertising copy).

Instead of PRICE, look to focus on VALUE: To better convey the inter-relationship between pricing and insurance protection, here’s something to consider: insurance agents and brokers are insurance consumers as well, and while “not insensitive to insurance pricing”, we also know that “pricing” is just one of the factors to be considered when making an informed decision when buying insurance for ourselves. As a result, no insurance professional I know is overly sensitive to insurance pricing, since we understand the allure of low cost coverage entails some manner of sacrifice in protection and /or service. After all, does anyone believe the insurance carriers who are advertising “low cost” coverage are reducing their costs because they are more benevolent than other carriers? It is noteworthy that the insurance carrier that helps consumers “save 15% in 15 minutes” is also among the most profitable insurance carriers in the world. Rather than focus on price, my commitment is to help consumers better assess the value of insurance coverage. While doing so would make for a VERY boring advertisement, I am willing to be labeled boring by remaining an advocate of helping consumers to learn the more important questions to ask before buying insurance. For starters:
• What are the other factors besides price to consider when buying insurance?
• What inside information do insurance professionals use to help them buy insurance coverage that is both effective and cost efficient?
• What non insurance strategies do insurance professionals use to reduce the cost of insuring their risks?
Insurance pricing is important, but understanding the real value of the insurance being considered is much more important. Let me know if you or those you know would like the perspective of an insurance insider to discern between price and value.

What are the real consequences? Much more than expense, think time and aggravation. There are numerous safe guards in place to protect individual consumers from having to assume the full responsibility of the costs associated with most forms of identity theft. Ask any identity theft victim, and you will quickly learn that the greatest consequences are having the time and expertise required to restore an identity that has been compromised. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse estimates that the average victim spends the equivalent of 22 workdays trying to correct damage from this crime. There is no measurement for the amount of aggravation.

How to manage the risks? Minimize the exposure, and transfer the consequences. As with managing any risk, there are precautions that can and should be taken to minimize our exposure from those who would steal our identity. While learning the precautions is not difficult, practicing them consistently can be daunting. A good place to start is this government website, http://www.onguardonline.gov/ which provides a wide range of tips from the government and the technology industry on how to better protect your personal information and minimize the chances of having your identity stolen.

Another risk management strategy is to transfer the responsibility to repair a stolen identity to a third party. Providers of identity theft services offer two very different approaches, with two very similar descriptions: resolution and restoration. While resolution services provide guidance and handholding, consumer advocates warn that victims are often required to perform much of the actual work on their own, and observe that many of the “services” provided are available to the general public for free. Alternatively, those organizations providing restoration services perform the actual work of restoring a stolen, and cut through the many entanglements necessary to resolve all areas of identity theft, including financial, medical, social security, driver’s license, and character and criminal issues.

Summary: Consumers should be aware that the time and expertise needed to restore a stolen identity can be significant, and seek solutions that emphasize pre-event protection strategies and post-event restoration services. Often, such protection strategies and restoration services are available as a member benefit from select credit card providers or to the policyholders of a growing number of home insurance carriers.  As always, to learn more, give me a call or send an e mail.