Another Property-Casualty Insurance Claims Experience

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A Personal Scenario

By Rick Kahler MS CFP® ChFC CCIM www.KahlerFinancial.com

Rick Kahler CFPHurricane Sandy attacked the East Coast, did her worst, and disappeared. Yet cleaning up the mess she left behind will take months and even years. And, even dealing with damage from much smaller disasters can take a long time.

As an example, in July 2011 a severe storm with baseball-sized hail moved through southern Rapid City. It only took nature a few minutes to flatten gardens, beat up vehicles, and damage buildings. It will probably take until the second anniversary of the storm to repair all the damage to our house.

Such a delay isn’t unusual. The most common reasons are finding a contractor and negotiating with your insurance company.

Reporting Claims

Moving quickly to report a claim after a disaster is important. In fact, you should probably call a contractor even before you call your insurance agent. Insurance companies are fast to respond to disasters and easily move adjusters in from other areas. Local, credible contractors, on the other hand, fill their schedules fast. We spent hours on the phone to get bids from beleaguered roofers, painters, and carpenters.

These bids were worth our time, because they showed us that the initial repair estimates from our insurance company were low—usually by 50% to 66%.

For example, our roof had cedar shake shingles. The company’s replacement estimate was for much cheaper asphalt shingles. Estimates to repair our siding and deck were also low. It took us 15 months to come to an agreement on the cost of replacing the deck. The work probably won’t be done until summer of 2013.

Switching Companies?

Does this difficulty in getting a full settlement mean it’s time to switch insurance companies?  Certainly, I thought so more than once during the negotiating process. However, that isn’t necessarily the case. It’s important to remember that getting compensation from an insurance company is just business. And good business means not necessarily accepting the first offer. Negotiating will take time and effort, but it eventually should get you full compensation.

When you file a claim, you and your insurance company have competing interests. The company is not your advocate. You want as much money as possible from them for repairs, while they want to repair your damage for the lowest cost. There’s nothing out of place with either motivation.

Once I understood that the insurance company and I were natural adversaries, not friends, it helped me feel less victimized and more empowered. While getting the money we needed to make the repairs certainly took time and perseverance, the company readily acquiesced when we presented the facts. After all, their best interest also included keeping us as customers. We did not have to threaten a lawsuit or go to court.

Certainly, when it’s time to renew my home insurance I will ask my agent to investigate other companies. That’s just business. However, I won’t change companies just because I had to argue with this one.

policy insurance

The [Doctor’s] Claimant Role

Understanding your role in negotiating an insurance claim helps bring a healthy perspective to your relationship with any service provider. Unless they are a fiduciary to you (like an attorney, a doctor, or a fee-only financial planner), they have no responsibility to look out for you. Someone selling you something has no duty to put your interests before theirs. Protecting your interests is your duty and yours alone.

Assessment

When a natural disaster strikes, whether it’s a hail storm or a hurricane, we are certainly victims of nature’s whims. When it’s time to clean up the mess, though, we’re not victims. We’re our own advocates, with the responsibility and ability to look out for our own best interests.

Related: Dr. Marcinko Invites Mr. Wilson [CEO Allstate] to Debate

Related: As an Ex Agent – Why I’m Still Protesting My Open Allstate Home Owner’s Insurance Claim

Conclusion

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Top Ten Car Insurance Companies for Doctors

Information All Medical Professionals Need to Know

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

As regular ME-P readers know, I held a property and casualty insurance license for more than 15 years; this included homeowners and automobile insurance.

It also included malpractice [doctors and medical professionals] and E&O insurance [accountants, financial advisors, attorneys, etc]. Yep! Med-mal is classified under the property-casualty moniker. I even edited a handbook on the topic.

So, it is no surprise that car insurance companies number well over 100 in many states. But, who are the top 10 car insurance companies? Most doctors and lay drivers would not be surprised to see Allstate, State Farm or GEICO on the list of top 10 car insurance companies by market share; but how about USAA, Farmers or Liberty Mutual?

Source: Carinsurancecompanies.net

After an Accident

Following a collision, the insurance company will assign a claims adjuster to determine the extent of damage and the cost of repairs.  If these repairs exceed the estimated value of the vehicle, it may be “totaled.”  Experience tells me that the value of the vehicle to the owner nearly always exceeds that estimated by the insurance company. This is true in my case, as well.

Assessment

The medical professional is therefore strongly urged to consider purchasing replacement cost coverage rather than accepting actual cash value, which is the depreciated value of the vehicle. The cost may be higher for this coverage, but accepting a larger deductible will often make up the difference. Paying a little more towards the deductible could easily be worth it, if the damage is extensive.

Or, if you have a special vehicle [pristine pearl white 2001 Jaguar, XJ-V8-LWB] like I do.

Conclusion

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Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Ask an Advisor – Must an Insurance Claim CramDown be Accepted?

Calling on Insurance Professionals to Expose the “Wizard” Behind the Curtain

By ME-P Staff ReportersOp-Ed

We received the following request recently. Apparently, this ME-P reader-nurse sustained a covered loss with valid home insurance property-casuality claim. It resulted in disagreement with her insurance adjuster [a common occurrence]. The adjuster cited his/her supervisor’s insistence on claim settlement and closure.  The nurse’s general contractor thinks the monetary amount is significant [$50,000 range after three independent estimates]. The insurance company wants to settle for about half that amount. 

What say you about this scenario?   

INSURED

Dear Big Insurance Company Adjuster

”Many thanks for reaching out to us by phone yesterday. Please be aware that we did not agree to partial payment or supplements and are sorry for any confusion. 

We would however, be pleased to assist by informing your management of our declination of same. Thus, there is no need to issue any payments at this time.

It seems to make far more sense to get all the numbers together with our general contractor and then arrive at a consensus before moving forward. As you know, this was our original plan. We appreciate your deeper understanding of these very complex issues.”

Your Small Client 

INSURANCE ADJUSTER

Dear Client

“This email will serve as a follow up to our telephone call yesterday. I am sorry we were disconnected but I attempted to call you several times and I was unable to leave a message. I am attaching a copy of the updated Big Insurance Company estimate which reflects those changes made due to additional information gathered during my second inspection of your property on September 8th.  Also you will find an updated Replacement Cost Letter.

As discussed, due to the fact we know we owe you the value of the attached estimate, I am processing the actual cash value payment in the amount of $ XYZ. Any additional payments will be handled as supplements. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Your Big Insurance Company Adjuster

MANAGEMENT

Dear Client

Also, my management told me I need to proceed with issuing payment based on the amount I know I owe you [insured] as of now, and that I should handle any further negotiations as supplements. I have already discussed this with your husband.

Your Big Insurance Company Adjuster

Assessment

After some internet research, our RN reader discovered that abut 85% of all folks accept inadequate PC insurance payments after being strong-armed by their insurance company in various ways. She is determined to be made whole and indemnified. She also understands that future negotiations and “supplements” after acceptance are typically not favorable to her, and she wishes to maintain her leverage by not accepting them. Can she refuse to cash the check, if sent to her, until satisfied? She is not feeling in good hands, at the moment!

Industry Indignation Index: 85%

Audio Razz: Click to play :

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Must our reader “accept assignment” in the form of this under payment cram-down? How can she expose the Wizard of Oz manager behind the curtain? Will she be the “squeaky wheel” of informed insureds who “get the economic grease” they deserve. Should our Industry Indignation Index percentage be higher, or lower? Is the audio razz deserved, or not. What can she do? Insurance agent and attorney input is appreciated.

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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