By law in every state, personal lines homeowners policies written by admitted carriers are in the \”easy read\” format. As I understand it, that means about the sixth grade level. Terms with special meanings are defined in the policy. Most insureds just don\’t ever take the time to actually read their policy.
As far as the \”lingo\”; if it is terminology that refers to how the repairs are to be made, the \”lingo\” belongs to the building trade, not the insurance industry. Its quite reasonable to hire an outside contractor to explain the repair process (one needs to be hired anyway to actually do the reapirs) if the homeowner doesn\’t undesrtand how the repairs will be completed, but its not the fault, nor the responsibility, of the insurer.
And, unlike liability settlements, an initial appraisal amount offered by the adjuster can be increased once repairs are begun, assuming that the increases are reasonable and necessary, and covered. That is commonplace.
What an adjuster cannot do is \”add an extra 20% for contingencies\”. Everything has to be documented. I\’m not sure why that is such a strange concept. If you were paying it all out of your pocket, would you let the contractor add an extra 20% for contingencies without proving that figure up? Of course not.
In the early 1970s an insurance agent association in Texas offered to provide an insurance course (similar to the junior achievement concept) to the public schools. No charge to the schools, volunteer instructors, no company promotions. The \”educators\” had absolutely no interest in learning about insurance or making time for it to be taught.
When people need to know about insurance they are just little lost puppies.
Bystander, you\’ve just admitted your own culpability in this multi-faceted issue; you never bothered to find out what you bought before you needed it. You just stuck your policy in the drawer when it came in the mail. Reminds me of when ABS first came out. No one botheerd to read the owners manual that explained how it worked and what to do in a panic stop. The result: lots of accidents being blamed on \”malfunctioning\” ABS instead of \”the nut that holds on the steering wheel\”.
And speaking of CAT adjusters; I don\’t know what you do in the insurance industry, or even if you are even in the insurance industry. But, until you\’ve worked CAT duty in a catastrophy with the size and impact of Katrina (especially as an independent, where you have to not only negotiate the various policy forms but also the various company procedures) working 16 hour days, six to seven days a week for months on end, mostly out of your car, dealing with people who already resent you before they\’ve met you because of idiots like the guy that wrote this article, I suggest you take a step back.
Some times as an agent I feel like I\’ve seen everything – but only for a minute. One time when I told a new policy holder to read the policy when she gets it and let me know what questions she might have. She responded with her first question: \”Read?\”
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By law in every state, personal lines homeowners policies written by admitted carriers are in the \”easy read\” format. As I understand it, that means about the sixth grade level. Terms with special meanings are defined in the policy. Most insureds just don\’t ever take the time to actually read their policy.
As far as the \”lingo\”; if it is terminology that refers to how the repairs are to be made, the \”lingo\” belongs to the building trade, not the insurance industry. Its quite reasonable to hire an outside contractor to explain the repair process (one needs to be hired anyway to actually do the reapirs) if the homeowner doesn\’t undesrtand how the repairs will be completed, but its not the fault, nor the responsibility, of the insurer.
And, unlike liability settlements, an initial appraisal amount offered by the adjuster can be increased once repairs are begun, assuming that the increases are reasonable and necessary, and covered. That is commonplace.
What an adjuster cannot do is \”add an extra 20% for contingencies\”. Everything has to be documented. I\’m not sure why that is such a strange concept. If you were paying it all out of your pocket, would you let the contractor add an extra 20% for contingencies without proving that figure up? Of course not.
In the early 1970s an insurance agent association in Texas offered to provide an insurance course (similar to the junior achievement concept) to the public schools. No charge to the schools, volunteer instructors, no company promotions. The \”educators\” had absolutely no interest in learning about insurance or making time for it to be taught.
When people need to know about insurance they are just little lost puppies.
Bystander, you\’ve just admitted your own culpability in this multi-faceted issue; you never bothered to find out what you bought before you needed it. You just stuck your policy in the drawer when it came in the mail. Reminds me of when ABS first came out. No one botheerd to read the owners manual that explained how it worked and what to do in a panic stop. The result: lots of accidents being blamed on \”malfunctioning\” ABS instead of \”the nut that holds on the steering wheel\”.
And speaking of CAT adjusters; I don\’t know what you do in the insurance industry, or even if you are even in the insurance industry. But, until you\’ve worked CAT duty in a catastrophy with the size and impact of Katrina (especially as an independent, where you have to not only negotiate the various policy forms but also the various company procedures) working 16 hour days, six to seven days a week for months on end, mostly out of your car, dealing with people who already resent you before they\’ve met you because of idiots like the guy that wrote this article, I suggest you take a step back.
Some times as an agent I feel like I\’ve seen everything – but only for a minute. One time when I told a new policy holder to read the policy when she gets it and let me know what questions she might have. She responded with her first question: \”Read?\”