Homeowner's Insurance alertgreenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread |
I received a booklet detailing changes in my homeowner's insurance from State Farm and I actually read it. In case you are insured with them, it says the following:"We have added a $25 premium charge to policies with solid fuel heating appliances due to continued losses resulting from these kinds of devices. Solid fuel heating appliances include, but are not limited to: Fireplace inserts, Boilers (wood or coal), Wood-burning stoves and furnaces, coal-burning stoves, coal-burning fireplaces. Conventional fireplaces and coal furnaces are not included."
Make sure you are covered if you have one of these appliances!!
-- Amy (leoneamy@aol.com), October 28, 1998
Thanks Amy, for the info concerning State farm insurance. I plan on having everything in my new home propane fueled,except the fireplace of course. I'm just wondering should all this Y2K happens will State Farm be around to cover claims? Should there be accidents in cars with embedded chips, like the Caddie's and Lincolns? Will they be able to to process claims and send out checks for damages any of us do during a crash? I wonder ???
-- Furie (furieart@gte.net), October 29, 1998.
Please see thread on " Letter to Insurance Co" should still be around here. I predicted on that thread you will begin to see exclusions under home/auto with y2k related problems. Already business interuption under Business policies is excluded in approx. 48 states. Also I am doing temp work and move around alot to various agencies. Not ONE is compliant yet>!!!!!!! As to companies paying claims, if electricity is off, no way. If it is on, you can best be sure that the companies will be WAY to BUSY. Allow me to give you an example of personal experience (bearing in mind THERE WAS NO MAJOR disruption except company mismanagement) :I was contracted to work for (LET ME remain silent ) ABC Insurance Company to "help out" in their claims / auto dept. It was Nov when I started. The state was very Cold. Becuz the company was behind, when I came into the picture we took approximately (at the beginning now) upwards of 125-250 CLAIMS FOR AUTO calls PER DAY. While taking these calls, voice mail mounted....Over 80 voice mails. Once word got out to the streets that company in trouble, understaffed, CLAIMS CALLS DOUBLED> people KNEW we could NOT handle all, so FRAUD was RAMPANT. We hired more staff, more adjusters, I was promoted to Adjuster, simply put, company went insolvent, state came in took over. MANY DID NOT get paid. Many Did, but that was because we didnt have staff to "weed out" all the fraud, and besides fraud is HARD to prove. Myth: Many think insurance companies can deny claims at will" Fact: Companies BEAR BURDEN OF PROOF ON FRAUD.
Now, picture y2k.
example: Car rearends bus (another true story) More people called in bodily injury claims than capacity of BUS!!! How do we prove Who was on bus, who was injured?
example: home policy:
If electricty goes out, many policies cover food spoilage if it is an elite policy. Do you honestly THINK that companies are going to cover ALL those claims without going under?
Bottom Line and yes I'll say it again:
Watch your renewals of auto/home, you can betcha that y2k exclusions will be FORTHCOMING.
Great job you did checking over the policy NOT MANY DO.
Hope I've helped and gave food for thought.
-- insurance agent (private@aol.com), October 29, 1998.
Insurance Agent said:>Watch your renewals of auto/home, you can betcha that y2k exclusions >will be FORTHCOMING.
I happen to rent a home; the Y2K exclusion for my policy covering that home has already been delivered.
-- Ron Southwick (southwick@macconnect.com), October 29, 1998.
Somewhere, sometime in the last few months, I read or heard that Insurance Commissioners in several states are allowing insurance companies to give the status of "Act of God" to Y2K, thereby releasing them from any liability. Anyone know if this is true? It looks as if we rentors should be relieved we do not own a home!
-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), October 29, 1998.
It's me again. I did read also in the policy that any problems caused by computer malfunction were not covered.
-- Amy (leoneamy@aol.com), October 30, 1998.
Man oh man......I cant WAIT to get MY home renewal......I stated the same things in another thread and I believe it was another agent although if he was he is clueless and the guy jumped all over me. Amy, thank you for confirming what I've warned plenty other about.Now, hear this one (this will make you shudder).
I ordered bottled water from ABC water company, got the cooler and 3 jugs (5 gal) for free 30 day trial offer. pay 7.00 for jug each as a deposit. I've called many such companies to price compare. I ordered a pump. One company sold a pump for 29.95 and were on back order, no for unknown time. Got mine for 19.95 thru this company hope i didnt get ripped.
So I ask the guy delivering water "are you aware of y2k?" Delivery dude: gets blank r u nutz look and says "Whats that" insurance agent: computer malfunction 2000. deliv. dude: "never heard of it."
So i start to tell him, then i shut up. Quite obvious he thought I was more than a few roses short on the bush.
Bottom line....in event of upset, hospitals get 1st dibs on water those then who are ALREADY signed up follow. (yeah right one with most $$$) then others.
Distilled water stores LONGER than spring water, if ordering. Delivery dude states a MAJOR hospital here has ordered alot and has water stored from 1972. !!!!!!!!!! Just FYI
If i mispelled anything, please Gayla, go easy i'm in a rush
-- insurance agent (shhh@aol.com), October 30, 1998.