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How to Protect your Personal Possessions

You have insurance, however, that is not enough, Find out why!

Many people think that by just having their possessions insured is adequate to be fully protected. Unfortunately, that is not true. You see it in the papers and on the news all the time on how insurance companies' decline claims. Why do they do that? The answer is really very simple; they cannot make any money by paying out every claim that is presented to them.

If they paid out huge claims, their profits would be less than expected by Wall Street, driving the stock prices down. As stock prices fall, so does the overall value of the companies. It would not take very long before the companies would be out of business.

All of us have insurance to cover our losses; however, most of us do not have any kind of documentation to prove ownership. Insurance companies will decline claims without documentation of ownership. Information provided in this guide will avoid any claim issues. 

Ø      We recommend that you read the entire Home Inventory Guide First and always keep it in a handy place to refer to it as needed.

Table Of Contents:

Ø      True but sad story

Ø      Article from Fidelity Investment Focus

Ø      Why do we need documentation

Ø      How do we protect our possessions

Ø      Your Insurance Company

Ø      What to do if a Natural Disaster Strikes

Ø      Information you should know

Ø      Helpful tips for your home

True But Sad Story

Two years ago my dear friends had the misfortune of loosing their home to a fire. The very sad part of the loss was, they had planed to retire and spent five years prior to the fire remodeling their home. To say the least, the loss was devastating to them as their home burned completely to the ground.

Dealing with the loss was very difficult for them, as now they would have to rebuild and replace their personal assets. Just the thought of the loss of valuable assets that they had made them sick, as they knew some could not be replaced.

To start the process, the insurance company set them up with a trailer to live in. They had horses and needed to be at the property to take care of them. Rebuilding of the house began in thirty days and they were very pleased with the short time frame that it took.

The home was really not an issue as it was a basic design and very easy to duplicate. Some of the features that they had on the house would be a problem that they were dealing with the insurance company on. Since they did not have any proof or pictures to provide of the special features that was added on to their home. The added features would have to be paid by them for the most part, as the insurance company agreed to include only a small amount of the features that they wanted.

Then came the part of dealing with the loss of their personal assets. They compiled a list of items that they could remember and turned it into the insurance company. They had some antiques and rare items that they collected over the years with hefty price tags. The insurance company demanded proof of ownership on the items and guess what, they did not have it.

They were very upset that their claim was rejected, however, the insurance company issued a check for fifty percent of the estimated replacement costs. They figured that the loss was around thirty thousand dollars that the insurance company did not pay. That was a considerable amount of money that they lost. Based on the fact that they only turned in what they could remember that they had. They knew that the loss was much greater as they had a lot more items that they could not remember.

The above true story is very sad; however, insurance companies have certain guidelines that they follow when it comes to paying claims. We do not want you to end up in the same situation incase some thing unforeseen happens. Our Home Inventory Guide will provide all the information that you will need to fully protect your hard-earned personal possessions.

Article from Fidelity Investment Focus

Monday July 23, 2004

Think you have enough insurance? Think again, says Dana Bernard, registered representative for Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., and a principal of First Financial Resources in Topsfield, Mass. "Most home owners are required by their mortgage company to carry adequate insurance coverage, but people don't think about the actual replacement value of their possessions," he says. "Oriental rugs, coin and stamp collections, art, jewelry, expensive furniture — you're not going to be able to replace these items at their current dollar value unless you have a special policy to cover them," says Bernard.

Bernard says that insurance companies have various calculation methods to determine what they will pay you for loss of property. If you have a replacement cost policy, you will be compensated for the actual cost of replacing lost or stolen items. For example, if the video camera you bought in 1985 is stolen; a replacement cost policy will reimburse you for the full cost of replacing it with a new one, even if the one you lost was on its last legs.

In contrast, actual cash value (or market value) policies are more common, Bernard says, when reimbursing policyholders for their losses. Actual cash value is equal to the replacement cost minus any depreciation, which the insurance company determines using a formula based on standard wear and tear. Bernard recommends that homeowners take time to take inventory of what they own, determine the value — both sentimental and economic — and take steps to insure each item appropriately.

And that goes for renters as well. In the event of a fire, flood, or other disasters, your landlord's insurance will cover structural damage to the building but not your possessions. Renters' insurance is relatively inexpensive — depending on the deductible and where you live, you should expect to pay between $150 and $300 a year. But it also provides liability protection should someone become injured in your home and covers living expenses should you need to move somewhere else while your home is being repaired.

Finding the discipline to spend money for additional insurance can be tough."People have just so many discretionary dollars to spend," says Bernard. "No one likes to pay premiums. If we all knew what was going to happen to us and when, we'd all buy the perfect insurance policies yesterday rather than paying for them 20 years ahead of time. Insurance is all about risk management. When you factor in your debts, your responsibilities, and the projected growth rate of your income, the return on insurance premiums can be substantial in a time of great need."

Some people delay-taking action to protect themselves and their families. Bernard says there are always people who call "when the barn's on fire." He recalls a client who let his term life insurance policy lapse despite repeated cautionary phone calls from his agent. A few months later, when an angiogram revealed progressive heart disease, the client submitted a request to have his life insurance reinstated, which, unfortunately, was denied.

Why do we need documentation?

The true story that you read is really an eye opener, it can happen to any of us. If you can answer yes to the following questions, then you would be among the very small percentage of people that have taken the time to document all their personal assets.

Ø       I know what possessions I presently have

Ø       I have proper valuations on them

Ø      My possessions are insured for the proper replacement cost

For the most part, most people do not know what possessions they have. As with the case of my friends, they had to guess at what they thought they had. Did they account for all their possessions, the answer is no. All of us accumulate personal possessions over the years and forget what we actually have and what we disposed of. We found this to be true in all cases of every person that we talked to.

A fire is not the only event that can happen to your home. Let’s say that you are going away on a two-week vacation. All your plans are made; you have made arrangements for you next-door neighbor to keep an eye on your home. Two days after you are gone, your home is broken into and all you’re valuable possessions are stolen.

You are saying to yourself that is impossible because my next-door neighbor is watching my house for me. Keep in mind that your next-door neighbor is not living in your house while you are gone and they can’t be there to watch your house all the time. I read an article a while back on how professional burglars operate. They monitor neighborhoods for inactivity. When they see an opportunity, they take it. 

In this case that I read, the burglars pulled up in a van that had a furniture sign on the side of it. They broke into the house and loaded all the belongings that they wanted and drove away. When the neighbors were asked if they seen anyone break in the house, their only comment was that they seen a furniture truck over there and thought their neighbors were getting new furniture delivered.  So you can see how easy it is for these professionals to steal you blind with out arousing any suspicion from any of the neighbors.

Any number of events can happen that would require proof of ownership for the insurance companies to pay claims. For that reason, you have to have all your possessions documented. Without good documentation, you stand to loose thousands of dollars just like my friends did.

Ø      Tip: Start your process as quickly as possible. If you put this publication aside and say I will do it later, later never comes. So do it now to avoid huge losses just in case something unforeseen happens.

How do we protect our possessions?

There are several steps involved in protecting your valuable possessions.

Ø      Document what possessions you have

Ø      Take pictures of every item that is worth more that $ 200.00

Ø      Update your inventory on a regular basis

Ø      Store your documented files in a safe place

Ø      Disk or Paper Documentation

Ø      Insure your possessions for the proper amount plus ten percent

Document what items you have

In order to provide proof of ownership, you must have a complete documentation of all your personal possessions. Inventory sheets are provided, however, if you do not want to use them simply take a (8 x 11)-note pad and start your inventory on a blank sheet of paper. On the blank of sheet of paper, you will need the following information.

Room Name

Item Description

Purchase Price

Quantity

Value

Replacement Cost

Comments / Pictures

Your sheet should look something similar to this.

Make sure that you have a sheet for each room in your home. If you have a large room or a lot of items in a room, make two or three sheets to make sure that you have ample room. After you have completed all the sheets for the inside of your home, then take the time and make up sheets for the following.

Garage

Workshop

Shed

Autos

Boats

Tractors

Lawn Equipment

Patio Furniture

Please keep in mind that the above are all personal possessions and you have to account for them.

You are now ready to begin your inventory process. Simply choose the room that you want to start with (i.e. Master Bedroom). Don’t forget to write the name of the room on your sheet, if more than one sheet, then write the name on as many sheets as needed.

When doing your inventory, it is best to have some one help you. One person can record the items, while the other tells what to record. You can do it your self; however, it will take twice as long.

Once you have determined what room you are going to start in, it is important to mark your starting point. Lets say that you have chosen to start in your master bedroom, take something and place it where you will begin. Simply work around the room till you reach your starting point and then do everything that is in the middle. Take extra time when you are doing your closets, make sure that you do not miss anything as some closets are really full and that makes it easy to over look items.

For now, all we want you to accomplish is your inventory. Later we will explain how to put a value on all your items. The inventory process can take four to eight hours, depending on how big your home is and how many items you have. Start by placing a title on your blank paper (Master Bedroom); use one sheet only for each room. If you have a lot of items, you may need two sheets. Do not split the sheets, for example master bedroom and kitchen. The reason for that is really simple, it is a lot easier to refer to a room when needed that is on one sheet of paper, than trying to find the room when it is mixed with other rooms.

Don’t overlook the quantity column. This column can end up costing you a lot of money. For example, if you have three leather coats that have a value of $ 500 each. You only put $ 500 in your replacement cost column; you just lost $ 1,000. So you can see how easy it is to loose money by over looking the quantity column.

TIP: If you have to stop your inventory for any reason, make sure that you leave your pad at the area you were. Then when you are ready to start again, you will be at the point where you left off

Do you have Antiques?

Antiques are very old items; in most cases anything that is over twenty years old is considered an Antique. This may not be true in all cases; some items that are only five years old take the name of an Antique, due to a limited production of the item. In most of these cases, the term rare is more appropriate. Whether antique or rare, these items are very hard to find and if you own them, then you have to take the time to make sure you value them correctly.

Please keep in mind that there are Rare and Antique items that you may not be able to replace or it would take you a long time to find them. You can find very good information on the Internet on these items, just make sure that you take your time to insure that what you found is what you have or as close to it as possible.

It would pay for you to take a day and visit all the Antique dealers in your area and ask a lot of questions if you find a like item that you have. For example, how old is the item, how rare is it, are there parts available, what determines mint condition, etc. The more things that you can think of to ask, the better your knowledge will be for placing a value to the item.

Make sure that you visit only reputable Antique dealers; there are places out there that will want to buy your item. They will tell you just about anything to convince you that what you have are not worth much. These types of dealers are a minority; however, you have to be on a look out for them. You have heard of the smooth talking salesman that can talk you into buying anything, well these dealers are very smooth in telling you that your item is not worth much. They do an excellent job and yes they make a lot of money reselling items that they buy for little or nothing.

Auctions are also great places to go. You do not have to buy anything; however; it will give you a good idea on what things sell for. Also, you can find out the popularity of the items that you may have your self. If an item is really popular, the bids will be high; this would be in most cases, but not all. For example, people that go to auctions sometimes see something that they just have to have. They will bid up the item, when reality is the item is not worth much at all. Be careful in your determination of the items, if you over price your item, your insurance company will question it and in most cases will not pay you the price tag that you put on it.

Keep in mind the words (Fair Market Value); this simply means what a person is willing to pay for an item based on its condition and demand. The nicer the condition, the more you can expect to get for the item. If the demand for the item is great, then people will pay more for the item. In all cases, price your items to Fair Market Value and you won’t have any problems when it comes time to collect your claim.

Have fun & complete an important task

Want to make your inventory process more enjoyable? Then follow these instructions.

Set aside the FIRST Saturday or Sunday afternoon to do your inventory after receiving your package. Have your family involved when you start the process and make a game out of it. As you inventory items, ask the person whom the items belong to. Where the item came from and when they got it. Was it a gift or did they purchase it? When did they receive or buy the item?

This will take the boredom out of the process and turn it into a game that the whole family will enjoy. The mind really has to focus on the item in order to remember how it was obtained. In most cases, it will bring back the same joy and happy feeling as when they received or purchased the item.

Some examples:

You are documenting a Big Screen TV, was it a gift from your loved one? Did you buy it yourself? When did you get it? As you can see, no matter how one got the TV, it will bring back happy memories for that person. Your son has a watch that you are documenting. Where did he get the watch? Was it a gift from someone? Did he earn the money and purchased the watch. This will put a smile on his face and he will remember the day and how happy he was to receive or buy the watch.

By turning your process into a game, you can accomplish your important task and have fun at the same time. Put your imagination to work and come up with a prize on say who gets the most answers right. The prize can be something little and inexpensive, all you are looking for is to reword the person that has the most correct answers. How you arrive at that, will be up to you. For the most part, as a family member, you should know the answers to the questions that you ask.

After your process is completed, why not take the whole family out to dinner.

Just some ideas on how to have fun while doing something that is very important.

·        DON’T DELAY YOUR INVENTORY, AS YOU WILL NEVER GET IT DONE. START THE FIRST SATURDAY OR SUNDAY AFTER RECEIVING YOUR PACKAGE!

Disk or Paper Documentation

With today’s technology, we recommend that you use the disk system for storing your inventory. A disk is very easy to store, does not take up very much space as compared to paper documents.

Lets say that you have a three bedroom home, more than likely you will have six to eight total rooms to inventory. Depending on the amount of items in each room, it could take from six to ten sheets of paper.

You will need an envelope and depending on which method of safe storage you use, that envelope would more than likely have to be folded to fit. Besides your documents, you will also have pictures of your items that are worth over $ 200.00. Pictures can not be folded, so you have to make sure that they are no larger than 5 x 7, as you can see, there are a lot of documented material that you will have to store.

Paper document storage can be a problem; however, it can be done with a little planning to make sure everything will fit. Now lets look at disk storage. Disks are very small as compared to a few years ago when they were large and you had to be very careful as not to bend them.

A disk holds 1.44 Megs of data and in most cases; you can get everything on one disk. If you have a lot of personal possessions, it may take two disks. Whether it is one or two disks, the space required for storage is very small.

If you do not have a computer, visit your local library or you can ask a friend to put your information on a disk for you.

The big advantage of having all your information on a disk is the easy access and being able to get more information on a page as compared to hand written documents that take up a lot of room.

Whatever method you use is strictly up to you, just make sure that you are comfortable in the method. Don’t choose the disk method if you feel that you will be a nervous wreck by the time that you are done. The most important thing is to record your inventory and store it in a safe place with out any stress.

TIP: If you are going to use the disk system, make copies of the disk or disks. In some cases the sectors will go bad and you will not be able to read the disk. They are very inexpensive and it is better to be safe than sorry.

Take Pictures of every item that is worth more the $ 200.00

You may ask yourself why do I have to take pictures when I am documenting everything anyway. Like we mentioned Insurance Companies are not in business to pay every claim that is presented to them. If you listen or watch the news, their profits are based on the amount of claims that they had to pay. In order to satisfy the shareholders, they have to try their best to reduce the amount of claims.

So you see, the more claims they have to pay out the lower their overall profits are. Lets face facts, the odds are all in the Insurance Companies side, they would not be in business very long if they just paid every claim that they received.

Let’s say for example that you owned a Grand Piano that was worth $ 5,000. You had documented it as a Grand Piano on your inventory, but did not take a picture. Your Insurance Company will ask you to prove that you actually owned what you are claiming. If you do not have any pictures to prove owner ship, then they will pay you for a run of the mill piano that sells for around $ 1,000 or so.

Let’s use one more example to better understand why we stress taking pictures. You own an antique china hutch that was made in pre 1990’s and you documented the price to be

$ 8,000. However, you did not take the time to take a picture of this very rare item. Since the value is very high, your insurance company will ask for proof of ownership. Since you did not take a picture, your insurance company will not pay for this rare item. Instead they will pay you for a china hutch that sells for a very cheap price. How much would your loses be is hard to say, however, it could very well be in the thousands of dollars.

Now you see why it is so important to take pictures, in the example cases above, you would have lost thousands of dollars. So don’t over look picture taking, the cost is very little compared to what you could loose with out them.

When taking pictures of your items, make sure that you write the Date and your name on the back of the picture. It is also a good idea to have a friend sign the back of the picture as witness that you do own what is on the picture. A digital camera would work great for this purpose as you can have the date and time print on the picture.

Ø      TIP: Make sure that your pictures are placed between two pieces of cardboard to make sure that they are not damaged. We recommend that you have your pictures put a disk, most computers come with software that you can view the pictures with out having to go out and buy special software.

Insure your items for the proper amount + Ten Percent

By now your inventory should be completed. There are a couple of valuation columns that you should have on your sheet.

Ø      Purchase Price

Ø      Replacement Cost

Purchase Price:

If you were fortunate to have the original cost of the items that you are documenting, you would fall under the very few that do. Purchase Price is very helpful in determining the valuation of the items for replacement costs. However, if you fall in the same category as most people, you will have to depend on research to come up with replacement costs.

Replacement Cost:

Replacement cost is what you will have to pay to replace your items in case of a loss. This part of your inventory process is the most important as it clearly will define your item valuation. We urge you to take your time with valuation, do your home work and research. Have your inventory sheets in front of you and start with the first page, value each item on the list one at a time.

If you have Internet access, your job just became a lot easier. The Internet is filled with data basis that contains just about anything that you would have. If you do not have Internet access, take the time to go to your local library and use their computer. The best way to find an item that is very close to what you have is using the search engines. Some of the best search engines to use are the following.

Ø      Ebay.com (A great place to go to find just about anything that you are looking for)

Ø      Yahoo.com (Great information data base, it is really a directory)

Ø      MSN.com (They combine several search engines to give you a great data base)

Ø      Alta Vista.com (Has a good data base and worth a try)

Ø      Canada.com (Great for those hard to find items that are imported)

Ø      Google (Very good search engine that has a great data base)

There are hundreds of search engines that you can use and they are all free. They depend on advertising to sell goods for revenue. While you are searching for items that you may have, take a little break and visit some of the sites. You would be amazed at how much free stuff you can pick up on the net. Who knows, maybe you will find something to add to your assets.

Now if you feel uncomfortable with the Internet, use newspaper and magazine ads. Also use your phone book and let your fingers do the walking by calling your local merchants for prices. Most of them will give you pricing over the phone.

Getting ready to total & call your insurance company

You have now completed your research and are ready to total all your items. Take your time to make sure that you have done everything correctly.

Ø      Did you account for every item that you own

Ø      Did you place a value on every item

Ø      If more than one of an item, did you account for them

Ø      Are your columns neat and in a straight line

Make sure that you can answer yes to all of the above before you continue. Now its time to get the calculator out and add all your valuations that you placed on your assets. Add your columns that you have on your sheet, then double and triple check to make sure that you come up with the same total. Don’t take it for granted that the first answer is the correct one, mistakes are really easy to make when you have a lot of items.

When you feel comfortable with your additions, add the totals from each page to come up with a grand total. Now you are ready to add ten percent to the grand total. Take the grand total number and multiply it times .10, then take that number and add it to your grand total. The ten- percent factors in price increases, everything goes up, not down. Now you have your grand total number to give to your Insurance Company.

Call your Insurance Company and ask for your agent, if not available, ask for that person to call you back. It is best to have your agent take care of your change in coverage in place of just anyone there. All you are going to do is inform your agent of the grand total that you want your personal assets to be insured for. You do not have to provide your documented inventory to them.

Please keep in mind that everything that you own goes up in value when you have to replace them. We strongly recommend that you update your valuations on all your items every two- (2) years. To make it real easy for yourself, just use the ten- percent method. That way you will be current on market conditions. This process takes very little time and it will pay off for you if you ever have to use your documented files.

Ø      Now that you have taken care of documentation and called your insurance company, please make sure that you take the time to store your information in a safe place, (Safety Deposit Box or Fire Proof Safe)

Congratulations, you are done.

Store your documented files in a safe place

You have taken a lot of your valuable time to document all your personal possessions. Now you have to make sure they are stored in a safe place or your time will be totally wasted. We recommend two options for safe storage.

Ø      Safety Deposit Box

Ø      Fire Proof Safe

Our preferred method is a Safety Deposit box; they are inexpensive and fire proof. You can access them anytime you want; however, the draw back is that you have to go to your local bank. If you are like most of us, you go to the bank once a week or every two weeks anyway. If you need to access your Safety Deposit box, do it when you have to make a trip to the bank for other banking needs.

Fireproof safes are also a great way to store your valuable information, however, we do caution you on these safes. Today’s safes are Very light in weight and can be stolen by a would be burglar and opened at a later time. If you are going to use this method, then take the time to make sure that you bolt the safe down securely. The big advantage of having a safe in your home is that you can access your information any time you want.

Whatever method you use is up to you. They are both excellent methods of safe keeping your important information and real valuable items that you may have. Please make sure that you use one of the methods, don’t just file your documents in file cabinet and think that you will be just fine.

Remember that if a fire strikes, all your information will be destroyed. All the hard work that you went through to document your possessions, is totally wasted. You will now face the long battle with your insurance company, trying to collect your claim. You will end up just like my friends did, not knowing what you had and loosing thousands of dollars. Ask yourself, is it worthwhile?

TIP: When securing your safe, use lag screws that are at least three inches long and make sure that they are tight.

Update your personal possessions inventory on a regular basis

You have completed your inventory and feel that should take care of it, Not True. Please remember that you do add to your personal possessions every time you purchase some thing for the house, yourself or your loved one.

For example, let’s say that you finally decide to buy that big screen TV that you always wanted. However, on your inventory you have recorded a 32” TV for a replacement value of $ 500. Your big screen has a price tag of  $ 2,000, if something happened; all you would have on record is your 32” TV.

What about the new big screen, well since it is not documented and you do not have a picture to prove owner ship, your Insurance Company will pay you for the small unit and not the new one. As you can see, by not documenting & updating your files, you just lost the value of your new big screen TV.

It is very easy to keep your inventory updated, just place a pad in a convenient place and as you purchase and add to your possessions, record them on your pad. Then add the items that you purchased to the appropriate room on your inventory sheets. Sound easy, guess what it really is very easy to update and keep good records of all your items. All you have to do is get in the habit of doing it, once you are there, it will become routine for you.

Ø      Tip: There are magnetic pads available that you can place on your refrigerator for easy access for your asset updates.

Your Insurance Company

We all need insurance on our Vehicles, Boats, RV’s, Home and Personal Possessions. There are a lot of insurance companies available for us to choose from. If you were buying a new car, would you buy it at the first dealership? Or would you buy the very first home that you looked at? The point that we are trying to make is that you should take the time to shop around for good rates.

Insurance business is very competitive and if you take the time to shop around, you will save a lot of money. To start your venture, write down the coverage that you presently have on everything. (Cars, Boats, Etc.) Now look in your local phone book and call for rates, most of the insurance companies will give you a ballpark figure on the costs. It will not be the exact amount; however, it will give you a good idea on the rates that they charge.

If you have Internet access, you can search for companies on line. There are a lot of them out there that offer very reasonable rates. However, be extremely careful on who you do business with. First make sure that the company has a phone number that you can call to verify that they are in business.

There are some scam artists out there that only deal with Email and take your money, never to see a policy. Take the time to contact the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney Generals Office. They will tell you if the company is reputable and if they have had complaints.

Most insurance companies offer great rates if you group all your insurance needs with them. Unlike a few years ago, most of them offer complete coverage and offer much better rates for total coverage.

The Internet has brought great competition to the brick and mortar companies. Internet companies have very low overheads and can offer much lower pricing. Take your time and do your homework, it will pay off for you in big savings.

Tip: Always take the highest deductible that you can live with. It will save you a lot of money. Low deductibles are very expensive and if you do not use it, then you are throwing money down the drain. If you do use it, your premiums will increase.

What to do if a Natural Disaster Strikes

A Natural Disaster can strike at anytime with out any warning. All we can do is be prepared if it does and we hope and pray that it does not happen to you. It is very hard to deal with any kind of Natural Disasters; like the true story that you read the people were devastated by the loss.

If a Natural Disaster strikes, try and remain as calm as possible. Remember that you have to maintain your composure to deal with the loss. We know it is really easy for us to say and real hard for anyone to do, but do the best that you can. First on the agenda is to contact your Insurance Company and report your loss. They should, depending on the severity of your damage; make arrangements for a place to stay. In most cases your home will not be livable even if it has minor damage. This is due to the smoke that a fire produces and spreads throughout the house.

Next step is to evaluate your damage that was caused by the Natural Disaster. Take time to write notes on the losses of your resident keeping in mind the following.

Ø      Dwelling damage

Ø      What is salvageable

Dwelling damage will have to be determined mainly by your Insurance Company, however, notes of your own are needed in case there are disagreements. Like we have stated many times, Insurance Companies do not like to pay claims. You have to make sure that all damage is recorded, noting special features that you may have had in the home. (Example: A wrap around deck that you put on, skylights that you had installed, etc.) What the insurance company will do is calculate replacement based on the basic design of your home, they do not calculate special additions that were done after the fact.

What is salvageable from the destruction is the most important factor that you should spend time on. When rebuilding starts, they will try and use existing parts of your dwelling to save costs. This is very normal and in most cases acceptable by the codes that are in place today. However, at times some contractors will try and cut corners by using parts that are not acceptable. In some cases, they can get away with it by spraying the parts with a sealer that makes them look like they are new. When the inspector is there and at times they are in a hurry to get to other projects over look what has been done.

In most cases you do not have to worry about what parts are used if you are dealing with a reputable contractor. Their name and reputation is at stake and they will not take any chances to ruin their business. We mention this only as a caution flag for you to be aware of.

Tip: Make sure that you have a say so on who is going to be the contractor. Check their reputation with the better business bureau, they can tell you if there have been complaints filled against the company.

Once you have taken care of your dwelling and met with your Insurance Company and your Contractor, it is time to work on your personal assets. If you took the time to document all your personal possessions, then you are in real good shape. Go to your Safety Deposit Box or your Safe and take out your file. Make an appointment with your Insurance Company to go over your documented files.

When you meet with your Insurance Company, have your file in order. If you placed your file on a disk, then ask the insurance company if they have the word processor that you used. If they do not, then print a copy for them. Most of the Insurance Companies use MS Word and Excel, as it is part of the Office software that most companies use to do business.

Make sure that you take your time to go over every room that you documented. It is really easy to miss a page or two and that could mean a loss for you. The next step is to go over the pictures that you took to prove what you documented is really what you had. When it comes to high-ticket items, your insurance company will require proof of the items that you are claiming.

The process is really simple when you have all your information, now do you see why it is so important to take the time to document and take pictures. There are millions of people that have to fight with their insurance company on claims; unfortunately, most of them come out on the short end.

Now you can relax and go on with life, your dwelling should be completed in sixty to one hundred days depending on what part of the country you live in. In the mean time, you can begin shopping for replacements of all your assets. Try and make this part as enjoyable as possible, it will take your mind off what happened.

v     We hope and pray that you never have to use your documented files, read on for tips on fire prevention.

Information you should know

Where Fires Occur

Ø      The South has the highest fire death rate per-capita

Ø      Nearly eighty percent of all fatalities occur in the home

Where fires occur in the Home

Ø      Kitchen 29%

Ø      Bedroom 13%

Ø      Living Room / Den 8%

Ø      Laundry Area 4%

Ø      The rest are wide spread

What causes fires?

Ø      Careless smoking is the leading cause of residential fires

Ø      Arson is the second leading cause of residential fires

Ø      Alternative heater’s are the third leading cause of residential fires

Ø      Cooking is also a major cause of residential fires. These fires often result from unattended cooking and human errors

The above are facts from the Fire departments, take the time to learn what causes fires and do everything that you can to prevent them. As you can see a large percentage of fires are caused in the Kitchen. When you are cooking, pay attention to what you are doing and never leave the area unattended.

Smoking is a major contributor to residential fires; too many people smoke in the bedroom and fall a sleep with a burning cigarette. If you smoke, make sure that you do not do so in the bedroom.

Living Room / Den fires are caused by fireplaces. If you are going to build a fire, take the time to make sure that your screen is in good shape. Sparks will fly from the burning wood and land on your carpet leading to a fire.

Alternative heaters are just plain dangerous, so many fires are caused from them that it is truly unbelievable. I am sure that you have heard of recalls on small heaters that will not shut off if tipped over. Be extremely careful with these heaters; never turn them on high and always keep them at away from drapes or any flammable material.

Take extra steps to make sure that you are not inviting a fire to destroy your home. We have provided this information for you so you are not the next victim of a disaster.

Helpful tips for your home

The following are very helpful tips that you should take the time to read. These tips will help you avoid Natural Disaster and Burglary. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will be one hundred percent safe, however, you will be among the few that take the steps to protect their property.

Ø      Place fire detectors in as many rooms as possible in your home.

Ø      If you have base board heat, keep flammable objects at least 18” away

Ø      Do not overload your circuit breakers as they will cause a fire

Ø      Use power strips, not extension cords

Ø      Make sure that your oven is turned off after use

Ø      If you live in a questionable area, invest in a burglar alarm system

Ø      Keep your doors locked at night and dead bolt them

Ø      Keep your doors locked during day when you are not at home

Ø      Keep your garage and home area free of flammable material

Ø      Keep an eye out on your neighbors property for flammable materials

Ø      Do not put a message on your recorder that states you are not home at the present time. You can say, we can not come to phone at the present time.

Ø      Insure your house against earthquake damage if you live in earthquake regions

Ø      Insure your house against flood damage, if you live in a flood prone area

Ø      Keep farm and garden equipment in a secure area

Ø      Keep your autos locked at all times when not in use

Ø      Do not keep large amounts of cash in your home

Ø      Do not keep expensive jewelry out in the open, out of site out of mind

·        Finally, here is our tip that everyone should invest in.

A good fire and burglar monitoring system for your home. Great ways to protect your home while you are out or in, as they will call the fire department or police automatically.

These units have really come down to an affordable price and we strongly recommend them to everyone. There are a lot of companies out there that sell this service and their revenue comes from monitoring fees.

Take the time to shop around; you should not pay over twenty dollars a month for this service. Make sure that you do not sign any kind of contract with the company, if they require a contract, tell them thank you and go to the next company.

I hope you found this information useful. Please pass the word on to your friends, so they also can protect their valuable personal possessions.

Sincerely

Ted Koppy
Author