What should you do in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, from an insurance perspective?
Five things to do
1. Make sure your family and pets are safe. Find a place to live. Most insurance policies offer rebates for hotels and rental homes. You don’t have to have a bad time. You have the right to stay in a place of similar quality to your covered home. To ensure that you receive full compensation for your “additional living expenses” and “loss of use,” you will need to keep all receipts for meals, lodging, and purchases to replace damaged items from the time you left home after the earthquake. until it is completely repaired and you can get back inside.
If you have a policy issued through the California Earthquake Agency, the Additional Living Expenses coverage will probably not cover your living expenses during the repair process. You may want to contact FEMA for additional assistance.
2. Notify your insurance agent and / or insurance company that your home has been damaged. If it’s just less, you may want to think and reconsider, as your deductible may cover the damage done. If you have suffered damages that you believe are covered by your earthquake, commercial, and / or homeowners insurance policy, you should inform them that you plan to file a claim. Coverage for some earthquake-related losses may be available under certain sections of your homeowners or business policy. “
3. If you don’t like what your insurance adjuster says or if they tell you that the damage does not exceed your policy deductible, you should get an independent opinion. It may be time to call in a public insurance adjuster, licensed structural engineer, or contractor who has had experience rebuilding fire- or earthquake-damaged homes.
“The adjuster sent by your insurance company to inspect your home after an earthquake may not know how to find and identify damage from the earthquake,” warns UnitedPolicyHolders.org, a nonprofit organization that fights for the rights of insurance consumers and educates individuals and businesses on how to get a fair deal. “Don’t blindly trust your adjuster, especially if he or she tells you that no benefits are owed because the damage did not exceed your deductible. Some companies reward adjusters for paying as little as possible on claims. Your home is simply too valuable to buy. you trust a person’s opinion, especially if that person is not a licensed structural engineer or an experienced contractor. “
4. You should do this BEFORE disaster strikes, but most people don’t look closely until something bad happens. You need to take a close look at the “declarations” page.
That’s the page that lists your name, address, policy number, coverage categories, dollar limits, endorsements, lender, etc.). Please check the date to make sure you are working from the most current and up-to-date copy because that will indicate exactly what your coverages are. The “endorsements” (extras) will be listed and those that apply to your policy will be reviewed. Each endorsement has a code number that matches the text of the policy. (See Declaration Guide below)
Amy Bach of UnitedPolicyHolders cautions: “If you are confused, do not rely solely on your insurance company or YOUR adjuster for answers. Consult with professionals who specialize in advising or representing insurance consumers.”
5. Do not sign anything unless you are sure you are being adequately compensated for your losses. Do not provide an affidavit or final “Proof of Loss” document to your insurer until you are sure you understand your rights, your insurance policy coverage and endorsements, and the FULL scope of your claim and what is involved. you will need to achieve it. all over again.
Don’t sign anything without proper legal advice first. Be especially aware of “exemptions or exemptions of any kind. Read all documents carefully, including both sides of all checks, to ensure they do not contain” final “or” release “language.
Insurers have the right to take your recorded or affidavit regarding your claim, and you should cooperate, as long as your request is reasonable. However, making such a statement without legal representation or prematurely signing a final proof of loss may affect your ability to fully recover the policy benefits you need to properly repair your home.
Insurance company adjusters often try to rush you to a quick settlement to save money and close your file. He or she can also claim that the damage to your home pre-existed the earthquake. Don’t be pressured. Take your time and seek professional help if you need it.
Documenting a major loss to ensure a full and fair recovery takes work and a lot of research. Before you can really know the actual amount of your insurance claim, you must obtain estimates from reputable contractors and be able to take an inventory of all your lost or damaged belongings. This takes time. If your home shows severe cracks, you may have foundation damage. A licensed structural engineer should fully inspect and tell you the extent of the repairs needed. Discuss repair options with a reputable contractor before settling your claim.
UnitedPolicyHolders guide to what to look for on the declarations page:
1. Your policy has coverage categories and dollar limits for each. The main categories are “Housing”, “Contents”, “Loss of Use” (sometimes referred to as “Additional Living Expenses”) and “Other Structures (or ‘Annexes’)”, and so on.
2. The dollar limits set on your Declarations page may be lower than your actual limits. Annual inflation factors, “endorsements” and other additions contained in the policy increase your limits. Typical additions are 5% of your home limit for debris removal and landscaping. Typical endorsements are extended replacement cost coverage and building code / ordinance coverage. Do the math to recalculate your limits in all applicable categories.
3. The policy language may not provide the coverage you requested at the time you purchased it, and you may find yourself underinsured. In this situation, you may need professional help from an insurance attorney or the Department of Insurance to determine whether an agent / broker or the insurance company is legally responsible for resolving this issue.
There are laws and regulations that protect you as an insurance consumer. Those laws are set forth in the California Insurance Code at section 790.03 (h), the California Code of Regulations at Title 10, Chapter 5, and court decisions.
Take your time, don’t rush
Even though you are in a hurry to fix everything and to bring your family home, you need to take your time and do it right. Once you sign the final documents, you will have no recourse. Most people who sign quickly lose money that they could have made if they had waited. If you hurry, you will not be able to properly remember all the possessions that you had bought and are now destroyed. This is especially true of the little things: special tools and implements, gifts, decorations, and special items that are only used several times a year, on holidays or vacations. A hasty settlement only benefits the insurance company and its agents, not you.
Check out this Quality Claims Management with Maps online article to find out if your home is in a Danger Zone; check for landslide zones, liquefaction, and seismic faults. http://www.qualityclaims.com/homeowner.aspx?sect=_quakeinsurance
by Ronald Reitz, President of Quality Claims Management