Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

BE PROACTIVE: Steps to Preserve and Enhance Your Insurance Rights In Light of the Recent Natural Disasters

October 19, 2017 — Jacquelyn M. Mohr – Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
Our hearts go out to those families and businesses who have suffered losses due to the recent fires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. We hope that everyone in Sonoma, Napa, Orange County, and nationwide affected by these tragic events is somewhere safe. As someone who lost a house in a fire growing up and now is an attorney who helps both residential and business policyholders, there are a few pieces of wisdom I’d like to pass along to help prepare for the worst: 1) MAINTAIN DUPLICATES OF CRITICAL DOCUMENTS OFFSITE OR ONLINE After the fire, you’re going to need your insurance policies and other critical documents. While it’s usually possible to request copies, this can take weeks, which will hold up your claims process. We are fortunate enough to have the technology for cloud-based storage of key documents – like your insurance policy, insurance broker contact information, tax returns, life insurance policies, will, business plan, inventories, etc. – oftentimes for free. Maintaining these records onsite during your daily life and business operations is important, but so is taking the time and trouble to make sure you have a back-up offsite. It’s easy to do, and so much easier than trying to recreate it after the fact. 2) MAKE A RECORD OF YOUR PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS If you are lucky enough to still be in your home or business property, I strongly recommend that you take a video of your property and possessions to keep for your records. A digital inventory with receipts would be great – but a video log will also be very helpful later.

For your home: This includes the furniture, artwork, appliances, jewelry, electronics, collectibles, landscaping and custom features of the inside and outside of your house.
For your business: This includes your furniture and artwork, your inventory and your electronics.

Look into offsite back-ups of your important electronic data – whether documents, e-mails, insurance policies, inventory logs, accounting data, client correspondence, or pictures of your kids or grandkids. Why A Record Is Important in the Insurance Claims Process Though I hope no one has to deal with this, a video record will make it much easier in the event of a tragedy to deal with insurance claims for two reasons:

It is evidence to submit to the insurance company to show exactly what your property was like before disaster struck.
- For your home, you likely have a homeowner's insurance policy that covers your “3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2000 square foot home built in 1962,” but your insurer won’t know the quality of what is actually inside. It will be up to you to prove you had a brand new Viking stovetop, rather than a 20-year old Kitchenaid; custom built-in cabinets rather than Ikea furniture. (On this note, if you ever do any remodeling, be sure to tell your broker to make sure it's covered by your policy!)
- For your business, your policy will similarly be generic, and the insurer will similarly insist on evidence of your business inventory, sales orders, equipment, artwork, etc. in the event of a loss.

A video record will also help to jog your memory to create itemized inventories to submit to the insurance company. Creating an inventory of everything lost after a casualty can be the most difficult and emotional part of the rebuilding process. I encourage you to do anything you can do now to lessen the stress later. After a traumatic loss, it’s impossible to remember everything, so most people never collect their full insurance benefits. United Policyholders, an amazing non-profit resource for policyholders, has a great app and other online tools to help create your inventory. You can find the app and other helpful information at http://www.uphelp.org/

3) CHECK YOUR POLICY Even if you have not been personally affected by the recent disasters, these tragedies are an excellent reminder to check to make sure you are fully covered.

Make sure you understand what is covered under your policy, and get confirmation that you are covered for a total loss. Talk with your broker to make sure your policy limits make sense, including those for separate structures, personal property, and additional living expenses, which are usually a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit.
Check to make sure your personal property limits would cover your possessions– if you have a lot of artwork, jewelry, antiques, and other valuables, the standard limits might not be enough for you.
Consider this question: Does your additional living expense/business interruption coverage (aka the amount your insurance company will pay while your home or business property is being rebuilt) provide enough for your needs? Even if your limits/coverage made sense when you purchased the policy, things may have changed.

Jacquelyn Mohr is an associate in the Walnut Creek office of Newmeyer & Dillion, focusing in business litigation, insurance coverage, securities fraud and construction disputes. Jacquelyn can be reached at Jacquelyn.Mohr@ndlf.com or 925.988.3200.

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Jacquelyn M. Mohr, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP

Jacquelyn.mohr@ndlf.com