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| LifeFriday, September 14, 2007 3:37 PM CDT |
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After the Fire: Return to normal
The road to reconstruction is paved by contractors and insurance adjusters
For me, that clock struck zero a little after midnight on March 25, when fire nearly gutted one condominium in my building at 1502 Hancock Drive, Normal, and damaged the three others, including mine. While no one was injured, the young family that was renting the condo that burned lost most of what they owned and had to find a new place to live. Their landlord was faced with having to rebuild while going five months -- so far -- without rent. The rest of us were displaced while our condos were cleaned and repaired. My father and I spent a month in hotels while our place was fixed up. State Farm ended up paying out more than $114,000 in our claims. The insurance process wasn't finished until an adjuster signed off on the work after a walk-through Aug. 31. And because of an oversight in how our condo association is organized, our annual premium will go up 25 percent for the next three years. In the ensuing months, I learned a lot more about how homeowners and renters can protect their assets by making good choices when it comes to insurance. Initial to-do list Jacki Martin, one of my claim adjusters, had this advice for people who have just had a fire: "Call your agent right away, make any temporary repairs to make the property safe, take care of yourself and make sure you have a place to lay your head at night and wait for your adjuster to call." The insurance process began about 4 a.m. that Sunday, when I called State Farm's Customer Response Center from the lobby of Country Inn and Suites, 2403 E. Empire St., Bloomington. The case was routed that day to State Farm's Fire Claims Central Department, which then assigned it based on my ZIP code to the adjusters I met Monday. In a condominium, the owners' association carries insurance for the building and common elements. Owners have their own insurance for their personal property. Martin was assigned my personal claim as a condo owner and her partner, Terry Melick, was assigned the claim for our condo association. Sitting with Martin that Monday morning in my kitchen, which still had soot and puddles of water on the floor, I quickly learned a claims adjuster is part construction expert, part detective and part grief counselor. She reviewed my insurance, explained what we had to do and gave me a check for $1,500 to cover immediate living expenses. She said her job was to get us through the recovery process as quickly as possible. "That is the most rewarding part of the job," Martin said. "I get to see someone at their very worst, and what's so rewarding about it is I get to bring them back and see them happy again." She later told me the secret is a lot of listening and realizing that everyone faces stress in different ways. "Sometimes they don't have anyone else to talk to," Martin said. "I'm there for people. That's why we give out our cell phone. I will hold their hand. I will tell them which way to go. I will be their support system. If they need a hug, they get a hug." Do you have the right coverage? The State Farm people I've dealt with all agree the best way to speed the recovery from a fire is to be prepared before it happens. That means buying the correct insurance, keeping good records and taking precautions, such as having fire extinguishers and evacuation plans. Having the correct insurance involves having a relationship with your insurance agent, they said. "They need to know your situation so they can make sure you have correct coverage," Martin said. Many people ignore reminders to have their policy reviewed, but "it can be a tragedy if an agent didn't know about your situation and you didn't have coverage. It can be devastating." Jim Spachman, the agent who handles our condo association policy, told me people should see their agents at least once every two years for an insurance "checkup" -- and as soon as possible after a major life change, such as a marriage or home renovation. One of the big questions is whether to have total replacement or actual cash value coverage. We have total replacement coverage -- it's legally required of condo associations in Illinois -- so my 20-year-old carpeting was replaced with brand-new carpeting at a cost of about $2,600. If we had actual cash value coverage, State Farm would have paid me the current value of that grade of carpeting with 20 years of wear -- and that's not much. Even there, Martin noted actual cash value coverage makes sense for some people because it's cheaper. "It's like going to buy anything," Martin said. "As a consumer, you have to be able to shop it. Go to your agent to explain your situation. They should be able to help you choose the parts of the policy that work best for you." I also can't say enough about having additional living expenses covered. State Farm paid more than $5,000 for my father and me to live in hotels and eat in restaurants for the month we were out of our condo. "We try to keep our customers in the style of lifestyle that they led," Martin said. "We don't want anyone stressed out." Renter's insurance One of the biggest misconceptions tenants have is that their landlord's insurance will cover their possessions if there is a fire or other disaster. It doesn't. Having tenants without renter's insurance also can leave the landlord and a condo association vulnerable. Martin said she never had renter's insurance until she starting working at State Farm. "I didn't realize the importance of it," she told me. "People say 'I don't need it because I don't have anything, really.' They may have hand-me-down stuff, but they're still things they'll have to replace," she said. State Farm renter's insurance with $50,000 coverage for personal property and $300,000 in personal liability coverage costs $12 a month, Spachman said. He recommends that all landlords require tenants to carry at least that much coverage and put the landlord on the policy as a co-insured. That way, the landlord is notified if the policy lapses. In our case, the tenants in Unit C, where the fire did the most damage, did not have renter's insurance. It was a tragedy for them because they lost so much. Premium increase The fact the tenants didn't have insurance also ended up raising our condo insurance rates. If they had insurance, their liability provision would have covered the condo association's loss and the fire would not have counted against our claim history. As it is, we lost a discount we had built up for going 10 years without a claim. We can start accumulating claim-free discounts again if we go three years without a non-weather-related claim. The repairs themselves will not raise our insurance costs, Spachman said, because we simply replaced what we had, quality for quality. "Replacement costs for drywall is the same whether it's 10 years old or two weeks old," he said. My personal insurance rate was unaffected, mainly because this wasn't my fault and I have never had a homeowner policy claim before, said Michelle Uphoff, who works for my personal State Farm insurance agent, Ron Ruby. State Farm looks at the length of time you've had your policy and your claim history. Those people who see rate increases are those who make frequent claims, even small ones, such as for broken windows, she said. Repeated claims for leaky pipes, for example, may indicate the homeowner is not taking good care of the plumbing, she said. "We try to educate people that insurance isn't for maintenance," she said. "Our purpose is to help you recover from the unrecoverable." Inventories One of the things Martin gave me that first day was a stack of personal property inventory forms. These forms, 8½-by-11-inch sheets laid out lengthwise, have a dozen columns and 14 lines, one for each item lost in the fire. The columns call for a description of each item, the manufacturer, brand, serial number, when and where it was bought, how much it cost then and what it would cost today. The fire only destroyed a handful of things in my father's bedroom -- a phone, a clock, a lamp, etc. -- and we lost groceries to smoke contamination and having no electricity. Think of every appliance, CD, book, shirt and chair you own. Imagine filling out forms for all of them when all you have to go by is a pile of charred scraps. That's why insurance experts stress the need to keep and update inventories, complete with photos or videotapes. As you shoot the video, describe what you're taping and shoot inside drawers and closets, Spachman recommended. Martin also recommended keeping receipts for all big-ticket items and saving copies offsite somewhere. Spachman suggested paying for such items with credit cards because card issuers keep records of all purchases for seven years. Spachman will lend a video camera to his clients, and he keeps videotapes in a lockbox at his office for those who want to keep them there. Mistakes people make While inventories and policy updates can speed the process, ignorance of a policy's terms can jeopardize payment of the claim. Martin said the biggest mistake people make is not reading the policy section titled "Your Duties After Loss." Policyholders generally are required to report a loss promptly and give the insurance company a chance to inspect the damage before repairs are made. Sometimes people go ahead and make the repairs and turn in receipts to State Farm. While they may think they are saving time, they also risk having the claim denied, Martin said, because the adjuster can't verify the damage. Of course, a policyholder should take steps to stabilize and protect the property. For example, they should board up holes. (One thing I learned is the fire department does not do that. We had to call a contractor to do it for us that night.) Also, don't clean up or throw anything away. Adjusters are trained to find clues from rubble. A condo conundrum There are insurance issues unique to condominiums. Not the least of them is the question of where the condo association's coverage responsibility ends and the individual owner's responsibility begins. In some associations, the insurance covers only as far as bare studs. The drywall and the rest of the interior are left to the owner's insurance. In others the coverage extends to essentially everything physically attached to the building, so that would include carpeting and water heaters. If it's something you take with you when you move, it's your responsibility as an owner. That means you should read your bylaws and give a copy to your insurance agent. It will make a big difference in the amount of building coverage the agent builds into your condo owner or renter policy. "A person can be severely over-insured or severely underinsured, depending on what the bylaws say," Uphoff said. Having a good relationship among the owners also is important. I have heard horror stories, such as one building where repairs were dragged out for more than a year while owners wrangled over who should pay for what. Insurance tips• Review your insurance at least once every two years with your insurance agent. State Farm Insurance Cos. automatically adjusts property replacement coverage based on local inflation, but your liability coverage may not keep up over time. Do you need extra coverage for electronics or sump pump failure? • If you rent, get renter's insurance that covers both property and liability. Ask your agent whether to get cash value or replacement coverage. • Keep an up-to-date inventory of your possessions and save receipts, especially for big-ticket items. • Take pictures or video of your property and store at least a copy offsite. • When there is an emergency, call your insurance company right away and read your policy. Not complying with the duties spelled out there, such as letting an adjustor see the damage before it is repaired, may void your coverage. • Do your homework and be prepared to discuss such issues as cleaning versus replacement. The only difference of opinion I had with my adjuster was over whether to replace my carpeting. I cited research I found about how smoke odors will return as humidity changes. I insisted on replacement because of that, and he agreed to replace it. Costly claimsState Farm Insurance Cos. ended up paying more than $114,000 in claims. Following is the breakdown of some of those fire-related costs. $95,343 Total condo association claim for structural repairs to the building. This includes rebuilding Unit C, replacing windows in Units B and D, installing carpeting and painting in Unit D. $16,214 Total paid out through my condo owner's policy for contents, cleaning and living expenses, including: • $10,758 to clean my condo and its contents. • $4,369 for my father and I to stay in hotels for a month. • $665 for our meals and other living expenses for that month. • $422 for property destroyed in my condo. $2,566 Total claim for Unit B condo owner's policy: • $1,194 to clean condo and its contents. • $1,372 for the residents of Unit B to stay in hotels for less than weeks. * The company that owns Unit A took care of that unit's cleanup without filing an insurance claim. SOURCE: State Farm Insurance Cos., Judy Oltman and Brady Property Management Taking photosHere are State Farm Insurance Cos.' tips for photographing your possessions: • Label photos and videotapes with the dates they were taken. If appropriate, record the date of purchase, brand name and purchase price of each item on the record card next to the picture. • Save the images to a CD and copy it. Store at least one copy offsite. • To get an overall picture, take wide-angle shots of the whole room, then take close-ups to capture detail. • Start in one corner of the room and work your way around. • A family member in the picture helps substantiate ownership. • Open closet doors to show quantity of clothing. • Take pictures of the insides of drawers with the contents fanned out. • Use a non-glare dark cloth as a background for silver, china or jewelry. • When photographing china, take a picture of the pattern name or manufacturer's signature, along with a picture of the pattern. • When photographing jewelry, angle the flash to avoid glare. • When photographing or recording collections in albums, make sure the picture includes the entire page, along with close-up shots of the most valuable items. Make sure the pictures tie in with your home in some way. • Photograph your power tools, including detailed photos of the inside of your toolbox. Lessons I learnedFollowing are some things I learned in the course of dealing with our condo building fire: • Always leave your wallet, keys, cell phone and other essentials in an easily accessible place. You may have to grab them on the way out the door. • Think about your home as if it were on fire. After the fire, I spent a few days cleaning the basement because I looked at everything as combustible clutter. A corner cabinet in our stairway didn't come back because I saw it was a possible obstacle to escaping a fire. • If a circuit breaker trips after utilities are restored, leave it off and have the wiring checked. That's how we learned wiring in our attic had been burned. • Start a notebook, preferably with pockets, as soon as possible after the fire. You should take notes at the scene because you may have to talk to investigators from the fire department and insurance company. You also will quickly start accumulating telephone numbers, claim numbers, receipts and business cards. • Check with your local property tax collector's office. I learned we were eligible for a property tax adjustment for the time the condos were uninhabitable. • Check your cell phone minutes. Not having a home phone and making all those extra calls related to the fire blew through our family plan rollover minutes and then some, adding $300 to my next month's bill. • File Freedom of Information Act requests for police and fire reports related to the fire. Ask your insurance company for copies of its fire investigator reports. • Get rest. It's easy to let everything overwhelm you if you don't get enough sleep. • Accept offers of help. Friends and relatives really came forward to help us, and not just with the physical cleanup. They can run errands, care for pets and most importantly act as sounding boards to help you keep perspective. • Be patient. Everything will take longer than you expect. • See the positive when possible. One of the first things everyone said to me was "At least no one was hurt." I think people sometimes said it because they couldn't think of anything else to say, but it was a good reminder to keep things in perspective. My experience gave me a chance to see how many friends I have and how generous even strangers can be. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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