Top 10 Homeowner losses that your policy may not cover.

Below is a list of the top 10 losses (many water-related) your homeowner’s policy may not insure against depending on which state you live in, what type of policy you purchased, and what endorsements have been added.
Note that endorsements don’t only add coverage, but can restrict it as well.

1. Flood
No homeowner’s insurance policy covers you against a flood. Flood losses are insured exclusively by the government through FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP. Insurance companies and agents can sell these policies for the NFIP, but are not the entities actually insuring the damage. If you have not specifically purchased a flood insurance policy, you are not covered. Many lenders will require you to have a flood policy if your home is subject to a flood based on maps created by the government agency. Check out more common flood insurance questions.

2. Continuous or Repeated leakage from plumbing, heating, or air conditioning
This coverage is not included in every homeowner’s policy. In fact, it must be added as an endorsement to your policy in many states. If your sink has a slow leak for three months and rots your wood cabinets, you will not be reimbursed for the cost of repairs unless your policy specifically covers this peril.

3. Sudden and Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam from a plumbing, heating, or air conditioning system
Again, depending on which type of policy you purchased, this may not be covered. The good news is, unless you went for the bare bones policy, this is typically included.

4. Backup of sewers/drains
You don’t want to discover the hard way that you had no coverage for this unfortunate event. Take note, many policies only cover the damages if the backup occurs within a sewer or drain on your property, versus in a pipe or sewer down the street from your home.

5. Freezing of plumbing or heating system
Almost all but the lowest level of homeowner’s insurance policies will protect you against damages from this type of loss. However, almost every policy includes a condition requiring the owner to take certain necessary precautions to avoid such an event. For example, if you live in an area of the U.S. where temperatures can dip below freezing for longer periods of time, you must maintain adequate heat in your home to avoid the pipes freezing. If you left your home for a two-week vacation and turned the heat off, causing your pipes to freeze, you would have to pay for it out of your own pocket.

6. Mold, Fungi or Other Microbes
Mold damage is covered, but the coverage is typically restricted to mold on property that has been damaged by accidental or sudden discharge of water (if that is a covered cause of loss on your policy: see #3). An additional restriction usually requires the damage to be reported within thirty days of the covered loss if it is hidden or otherwise concealed, within a wall for example.

7. Cost of Testing, Remediation, and Living Expenses due to Mold, Fungi or Other Microbes
Insurance companies typically view this process as a different peril than #6 above. While many policies do not insure this cause of financial loss, they do offer an endorsement that may provide coverage in the amount of your policy limits. Living expenses refers to the cost of living somewhere other than your home while the testing and remediation are being completed.

8. Damage to Foundation/Slab
If you did not specifically discuss this coverage with your agent, you may not have it. Depending on where you live in the U.S., this may not affect your terribly. In areas with poor soil that can expand and contract regularly, foundation damage may be a big concern to you. Purchasing this coverage is not a “fix all.” Typically, only damage caused by a covered water leak (see #2, 3 and 4 above) is covered. Damage resulting from a flood would only be covered by a flood insurance policy obtained through FEMA or the NFIP.

9. Damage resulting from Construction Defects
While this is not covered by your homeowner’s policy, there is a silver lining to this cloud. Damage resulting from construction defects would be covered by the commercial general liability policy insuring the company that built your home. There is no guarantee you would be able to collect from the company, but that is where you would start the process of attempting to get reimbursed for damages.

10. Earthquake
Depending where you live in the U.S., you may scoff at the perceived need for earthquake insurance. In California, you’d be crazy not to have it. Be reminded Midwesterners, the largest fault line in the continent is the New Madrid Fault Line, which stretches south from Illinois to Arkansas. If there is a quake and it destroys your home, no coverage could mean a potential bankruptcy filing.
It can be tough to make time in your life to evaluate your insurance needs. However, this list demonstrates the necessity to do so. Saving money is important, but not at the risk of losing your biggest investment.
It’s also worth pointing out that adding the coverage discussed above will almost assuredly cost less than a daily Starbucks or your new iPhone.


Written by: http://www.thetruthaboutinsurance.com/top-10-losses-that-may-not-be-covered-by-your-homeowners-policy/

INVENTORY YOUR ITEMS

Homeowners Insurance & Keeping Track of your Goods

Homeowners insurance is an invaluable investment for every homeowner. If your house went up in flames and you lost everything, would you be able to recall everything you owned, including the item’s values? If you came home and a robbery had taken place in your home. Would you be able to account for everything that had been taken or destroyed?

Video Document ALL your Items                           

So what do you need to inventory?.... Everything!

The more that you document, the more you will be reimbursed, simple as that. Make a detailed video including appliances, carpets, jewelry, furniture, linens, antiques, and the list goes on. Go from room to room and be as descriptive as possible on each item.

What Exactly are the Details of my Products?

1. A description of the item (quantity)

2. The manufacturer or brand

3. Any model or serial numbers

4. A description of where or how the item was attained

5. The date of purchase or age of the item

6. Receipt or other proof of purchase that shows the cost

7. The current value

8. The replacement cost

9. Photocopies of appraisals



Example:

 

2 antique Linda Barnett Lamps. 

SN#01154

Purchased 5/11/2009

Purchase price: $250

"Restore Don't Replace" - Contents Restoration

This week I attended the CE classes by Mackenzie Restoration, INC on June 27, 2011 in San Antonio TX. The main topic of the day was contents restoration. Contents restoration is the ability to salvage items that were once considered destroyed or unsalvageable by loss of fire, sewage, or water. Contents mitigation is directly related to the amount of time that passes between the initial disaster and the beginning of the repair and restoration. Controlling the environment after your contents have been damaged could be the key between repairing your items or throwing them away.

 

ATP testing is used to determine the amount of contamination within an item. ATP is present in all animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast, and mould cells. By swabbing contaminated goods with a ATP testing stick, the evaluation team is able to tell the exact bacteria count still held on or in an item.

Some examples of ATP levels are as follows: 

• Clean clothes fresh out of the washer are considered to have 200 ATP levels.
• A clean plate that is ready to eat off of is considered to have 10 ATP levels.
• A smoke damaged shirt could have levels of 500 ATP levels
• An item that has been removed from black water (raw sewage) is considered to have levels near 500-600 ATP.

The SystemSure II ATP Hygiene Monitoring System is used by professionals to determine levels of toxicity. This system uses state-of-the-art photodiode technology which measures refracted light from the swab which was earlier wiped on the item in question. By the type of light emitted the System Sure II can tell you what bacteria is present and how much is present. This system is used by the largest food processors in the world, hospitals, restaurants, supermarkets, and other manufacturing industries where rapid detection of contamination is crucial.

 

So now what? After we have found out the contamination levels of our previously toxic and damaged goods, how do we remove the soot, sewage, and stains from the product?

Well this is something referred to as a "time machine", well almost. The Esporta wash brings extremely stained, contaminated, and unsalvageable products back to life and back to the owner.

The Esporta wash has 5 bins, such as the one displayed. Each machine costs about $100,000 and there are currently only three in the State of Texas, and one of which is strictly for military use.

The wash cycle has 4 different eco-friendly liquids that decontaminate and restore damaged goods. After, the wash the items are transported to a large dryer room in which they can be quickly dried out to ensure minimal bacterial growth. After seeing this machine work and testing the contamination levels before and after, I fully believe the Contents Restoration process.

Here is a before and after photo of suede shoes that were damaged by smoke/water/mold then restored by the Esporta wash.

Incline in uninsured motorist due to recession.

Across the United States, according to research done by the Insurance Research Council, there long standing correlation between unemployment rates and uninsured motorists.

Previously in years 2008 and 2009 we had seen a decline in uninsured motorist. Now, one in seven drivers are estimated to be completley uninsured. 13.7% was the lowest percentage seen in recent years but now about 19% are likely to be on the streets. Unfortunatley ,this causes the drivers with proper insurance to bear the burden of medical bills caused by drivers who have chosen to neglect the importance of this mandatory coverage.

The study, Uninsured Motorists,2011 Edition released a list of the best and worst cities pertaining to automobile insurance.

5 States with Highest Uninsured Rates

1. Mississippi 28%
2. New Mexico 26%
3. Tennessee 24%
4. Oklahoma 24%
5. Florida 24%

5 States with Lowerst Uninsures Rates

1. Massachusetts 4%
2. Maine 4%
3. New York 5%
4. Pennsylvania 7%
5. Vermont 7%

Although Texas is not on this list, drivers still have plenty to worry about. Coming in at about 15% of uninsured drivers, Texans would still find it a good idea to insure themselves. Contact an insurance agent to tailor a policy to your exact needs to be most cost effective.

Joplin Tornado Aftermath

Here are the images and cleanup in Joplin after an EF5 tornado split the town in half. On May 22,2011 the town lost 150 souls to this treachorus tornado. Now the clean up begins along with the rebuilding.

CDJ Insurance posts on Blogger

Welcome CDJ Insurance to the blogging community of Blogger!

As an Independent Agency, CDJ Insurance provides its customers with multiple competitive choices when it comes to shopping for Home/Auto/Life and Commercial Insurance. We are a broker doing business with over 15 A+ rated insurance companies such as Allstate, Metlife, Progressive,Foremost, GMAC, Travelers, Safeco, and more...

Customer satisfaction is our #1 priority as well as integrity from our staff. Our agents maintain a professional relationship with all of our clients. James Cardenas, Owner of CDJ Insurance, personally will be available at any time should you have a question. Please refer to the number below if you have any questions or inquiries for CDJ Insurance. We offer insurance protecting your HOME/AUTO/LIFE in case of disaster. Don’t let disaster happen to you before get a change to insure your valuables.



James Cardenas, Agent/Owner
Ph:(210) 378-9534
James@MyCDJInsurance.com
www.MyCDJInsurance.com


CDJ Insurance, LLC
18545 Sigma Rd Ste 105
San Antonio TX 78258