“Wear and Tear” Vs. “Sudden and Accidental”

Two terms that are important to know when it comes to the reason behind an insurance claim. Those terms are “Wear and Tear” and “Sudden and Accidental”.

“Wear and tear” is defined by Wikipedia as “damage that naturally and inevitably occurs as a result of normal wear or aging.” An example on a home would be a house settling over time, a pipe that corrodes and leaks water over several months or years, or a roof that after 15 years starts to drop shingles. All these items would not be covered under an insurance policy as an insurance policy does not cover “Wear and Tear”. Insurance policies cover “Sudden and Accidental” events.

So what is “Sudden and Accidental”? The best way to define it is by giving examples. If a pipe in your house just suddenly burst from pressure or because of freezing that is sudden and was done accidently. If wind blows through your neighborhood and suddenly blows off your roof or chunks of your roof that is sudden and accidental. If a tree falls and damages your home that event is sudden and accidental.

“Sudden and Accidental” events are things people can not totally prevent which is why insurance exists and covers them. On the other hand, “Wear and Tear” damage can be prevented by making sure your property is well maintained and updated. Insurance policies are not maintenance contracts.

So next time you have damage to your property ask yourself is this “Wear and Tear” or “Sudden and Accidental”? If it is “Sudden and Accidental” be sure to call your insurance agent or if you are not sure which it falls under call your insurance agent and let them help you figure that out.

Insurance and Your College Kids

Out in front of our Oxford, OH insurance office, it is a busy place. Today 16,000+ Miami University students return to begin a new school year. This annual pilgrimage brings up potential insurance issues pertaining to what parent's personal insurance policies cover or don't cover. Three areas that parents should be aware of:

(1) If your son or daughter is going away to school over 100 miles from home without a car, most companies will rate your Personal Auto Policy for them being married which is a nice discount. Let us know if this discount might apply to your family and your Personal Auto Policy.

(2) Most insurance companies will extend personal property (contents) coverage and personal liability for your son or daughter while they are in college and living in a dormitory. Some, but not all, will also extend coverage if they are living in off campus facilities such as an apartment or other student housing. Please check with us to see if your insurance company provides this extended protection. If not, we should be able to write a Tenant/Homeowner for your student to cover both their personal property and personal liability while they are an undergraduate. If they are in graduate school, they should definitely have their own Tenant/Homeowner Policy.

(3) If you or your children are using a rental truck to take their things back to college, U-Haul, Penske, Hertz and other will offer you coverage on the vehicle (collision damage waiver) and extended liability. While these may be covered by your Personal Auto Policy, not all companies extend the protection, so check with us before renting the vehicle. Whether or not they are covered will depend on the length and Gross Vehicle Weight of the vehicle and several other factors. We may be suggesting you buy the extra protection from the rental company before your trip.

Church Arsonist Pleads Guilty, But You'll Never Guess Why He Did It

Having been in the church insurance business I know there are a variety of people out there with grudges against churches that can actually provoke them to try and burn the building.  However, this one is unusual even for that crowd:

A Huntington Beach man pleaded guilty Tuesday to arson and other charges for setting three fires at an Irvine church and attempting to set a fourth.

Izad Chavoshan, 32, faces a sentence from Superior Court Judge Craig E. Robison on Aug. 19 ranging from probation to 20 years in prison.

Chavoshan pleaded guilty to three counts of arson, one count of attempted arson and a hate crime sentencing enhancement. He also has a prior strike conviction for criminal threats in 1998.

Prosecutors contended that Chavoshan drove to the Orange County Church of Christ in Irvine on three nights between Oct. 15, 2009, and Oct. 19, 2009, moved trash cans to the front of the church and set them on fire. Church employees reported the fires to Irvine police, who monitored the church Oct. 21, 2009.

Chavoshan returned to the church on that night and repeatedly threw a trash can at the glass portion of the front doors, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office. He then removed a pack of matches from his pocket, lighted a piece of paper and attempted to push it between the closed church doors, prosecutors said.

He was arrested at the scene.

And here comes the reason for his arsonist rage:

Prosecutors said Chavoshan was disgruntled with the church's teachings against masturbation.

Well, he'll have plenty of opportunity to contemplate that issue in the state prison.

Leaving Your House Vacant? Consult Your Agent! (9/17/10 Repost)

In today’s real estate market it can be somewhat common to purchase a new home with out having first sold your current home. Prices are low so if you want to upgrade your house, now seems to be the time even if you know you may have to wait a few months until you sell your current home. So many are purchasing a new home, moving into it and then leaving the old home vacant until it sells. This can pose an insurance problem that Fey Insurance feels many don’t realize.

In a typical homeowner policy there is wording that refers to a 60 day period. For sixty days your homeowner policy will have no change in coverage once it becomes vacant. However, and this is important, once the house has been vacant for 60 days some of the coverages are no longer provided. Example, vandalism or malicious mischief claims would no longer be covered. Same with glass breakage claims. The reason for this is that a homeowner policy is priced and designed for buildings that are being lived in and cared for by the owners. Once the owner no longer lives there and it is vacant then the building is more at risk for claims and therefore the insurance companies require it be on a special vacancy policy. What does vacancy mean? Vacancy means the following, “Substantially empty of personal property necessary to sustain normal occupancy.”

So if you are considering purchasing a new home and leaving the current home vacant until it sells, please be sure to call your insurance agent so they can make sure coverages don’t disappear from your policy

Special Limits in Your Homeowner Policy

Your homeowners insurance policy places limits on certain types of property. In your policy there is a section titled “Special Limits on Certain Property.” This section will list various items and place a dollar limit on each type of property- such as jewelry, fine arts, guns or money.

Why do insurance policies contain such provisions? The homeowners insurance policy is written to provide coverage for the average policy holder. Most of us do not own collections or keep large amounts of cash at our homes. While the policy provides some limited coverage for special types of property, it in no way serves the needs of the unique collector.

There is, however, a solution for the collector or owner of unusual property items. It is possible to amend your homeowners policy, by endorsement, to provide special coverage for unique collection items such as coins or stamps. By asking your agent to include a schedule property floater in your coverage, you can specifically insure items of special interest. The personal property floater also expands coverage for perils not included in the homeowner policy.

Taking Energy Efficiency to the Next Level: Furnace-less Homes!

Want to save a bunch on heating and cooling costs in a home, even in cold climates? Build the house without a furnace. It’s possible now, and a the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has just built one. In fact, thousands of furnace-free homes have already been built in Germany, but only 15 U.S. buildings have this same level of extremely low energy use.

The house in Cleveland has walls that are more than a foot thick, big triple-pane windows, doors that resemble bank vaults and engineering that cuts heating and cooling costs, as well as pollution, by 90 percent.

These futuristic dwellings are known as “passive houses”, and cost about 20 percent more than conventional housing to build. The museum decided to give its visitors a look at what the future may hold as energy costs skyrocket.

“We have to get beyond incremental improvements to get a dramatic breakthrough,” said David Beach, the museum’s director of sound urban practices. This houses, he said, is “an example of a new way of living.”

Special Insulation is the Key

The house has an insulation system with a sealed air barrier that makes it work like a thermos. A ventilator exchanges the heat from the stale, outgoing air with the fresh incoming air, allowing very little heat to be lost. Two ductless heat pumps, one upstairs and one down, supply all the heating and cooling necessary no matter how hot or cold the outside air is.

The doors are extremely think to insulate well.

The house features huge south-facing windows which allow maximum solar heat in winter, when the sun is low in the sky. A ridge over the windows blocks much of the sunlight in the summer months, when the sun is higher in the sky.

Cleveland endures some of the harshest winters in the U.S., so if this house can achieve certification here, chances are it can do it anywhere.

A certified passive house must meet the same stringent energy-saving standards as in Germany. To qualify, a house must meet or beat 80 to 90 percent reduction of heat-trapping gases, the amount needed by mid-century to avoid creating dangerous climate shifts.

Return on Investment

The Department of Energy estimates it costs more than $900 a year to heat and cool an average house in the Ohio area. A passive house is approximately 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to code. The cost of building a passive house is about $10,000 more, so the point at which the extra cost is offset by the energy cost savings is about 10-11 years. Of course, as energy prices increase, the efficiency of passive homes will make it pay off in even less time.

Source: Renee Schoof, McClatchy Newspapers

Our 100th Blog Post!

We have now reached 100 posts on the Fey Insurance Services blog. Over the past few years we have posted about a variety of insurance and risk management topics. We have helped to educate businesses and individuals on how to best protect their hard earned assets such as their home, cars, and businesses. We have also give tips on how to stay safe in an ever changing world including tips on online identity safety and how to best prepare your home for the winter months.

Our hope is that you have enjoyed the 99 other posts and found some information that was helpful in each one. For the years to come we will continue to add helpful content so that our clients and readers can enjoy a safe and protected life.