Day Adjusting and Consulting says BE AWARE of the RED FLAGS in your insurance policy Copy
Blake Day, owner and president of Day Adjusting and Consulting warns that not all insurance policies are created equally. During recent years, he and his team have dealt with hundreds of client insurance claims and have found that a common mistake property owners make is not reading and understanding their insurance policy completely and the ramifications that go along with the policy jargon. Day highly urges home and commercial property owners to take the time to read their policy to spot the RED FLAGS long before they need to file an insurance claim and well before hurricane season arrives.
Day is sharing five tips in hopes to help eliminate problems for policyholders.
Roof Schedule Endorsement: This is a predetermined depreciation amount of how much your insurance company will deduct from your insurance settlement. If you have this endorsement, your policy will have a chart that shows the roof material, age of roof and percentage your insurance covers depending on those variables. This is detrimental for those with older roofs as they would have little to no value.
Cosmetic Exclusion: This excludes coverage on damages incurred if they are not considered functional. For example, if flying debris leaves large dents and scrapes to your metal roof that are clearly visible but did not cause a roof leak, fixing the cosmetic damage would not be covered by your policy.
ACV Endorsement: In a typical homeowner’s policy, your depreciation is recoverable. With an ACV endorsement the age of the item’s damaged in your home matters. For example, if your cabinets are damaged and are seven years old, your insurance company will only pay you for seven-year-old cabinets, this may be 50% or less of the actual replacement cost.
Interior Water Endorsement: If a pipe breaks or water overflows causing damage to your interior, this endorsement determines the coverage. For example, your home is covered for $400K but the endorsement states interior water damage is capped at $10K. If water damages all of your entire flooring, you will be capped at a much lower dollar amount than your whole property is insured for.
Coinsurance Penalty: This often comes into play more commonly on commercial vs residential properties. A coinsurance penalty means if the property is not insured to the current market value and you have an insurance claim, your insurance company can assess you for a large penalty. Oftentimes that penalty can be three or four times the amount of the policy deductible, leading to a significantly smaller insurance payout.
Day says, “Be aware and read your policy carefully. If you don’t understand the coverage, ask for detailed explanations. With hurricane season around the corner, it’s better to ask now rather than later.”
About Day Adjusting and Consulting: As President of Day Adjusting & Consulting, Blake’s passion is to help property owners overcome the challenges associated with insurance claims. With 15+ years of in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry, he and his team are recognized as experts in first party property insurance claims. His company is currently licensed in 15 states. For more information about DAY Adjusting & Consulting, please visit www.DayAdjusting.com or call (855) 729-0838.
FL P195287 | TN 2445048 | IN 3456048 | KY 8556898 | LA 936877 | CO 611420 | MS 10826917 | PA 1172703 | GA 3263703 | MN 40908893 | TX 3142662 | VA 1421790 | IA 13976549 | MO 3003031353 | OH 1577306
