I was working with a client a few weeks ago on their home insurance renewal. The client had a claim this past year and were worried about the claim being completed and getting paid out. (Ultimately, they will be paid, because the loss occurred during their policy period, even if they change to a different company.) I did some reading in their policy to double check a few things. I came across a section about the timing of when you need to report a claim, which was a more pressing item, in my opinion. For this particular company, it stated that a claim needed to be filed within 1 year. While this may be applicable for fire damage or some other types of loss, it does not hold true for a water claim. In the last several years, we have worked with a lot of clients through their water claims. Typically, it has been slab leaks or plumbing leaks in the walls. What we have learned is that if you do not report a water leak within 10-14 days of it occurring, most insurance companies will determine that it was a slow leak, known as wear and tear, and not sudden and accidental. Wear and tear is an item that insurance will not cover, such as termite damage, or roots growing through your pipes or a leaky roof due to age. These things happen over time. But a water claim, while it may have only been happening for a short amount of time, much less than a tree growing and pushing up your foundation, insurance companies do not mince words on the length of time a leak can occur and still be covered. About two weeks ago, we had a different client call us, who just returned from a 9-day vacation. When they arrived home, they noticed the carpet in the living room was wet, the base boards were warping and their wood floors were beginning to curl. I learned they were away for 9 days, because I asked, when did you notice the damage and how long were you away? If they had been gone for a month, the insurance company may not want to cover the damage, because at that point, it could be considered wear and tear by their policy contract language. Most insurance companies will write the terms and conditions and limits of their policies. It just comes down to, who reads that stuff? I do! While it can be boring to read, and having a cavity filled is more fun than reading an insurance policy, it may be a good idea to skim through it, so you know what will or will not be covered in the event of a claim. And, as always, you can call us to help you understand it, too.

I was chatting with a friend of mine a couple weeks ago. She said to me, my home insurance company added a separate, higher water damage deductible and removed my guaranteed replacement coverage on my renewal, and they never told me about the changes..... I would be pretty upset, too, if I did not know there were changes in my policy and no one said a word. Unfortunately, this happens on a regular basis. We first noticed it a couple years ago, with one of the insurance companies we work with regularly. We saw a reduction in coverage for water damage from 100% down to 20%. And the following year, it went from 20% to 10%. And they never informed us of the changes, either time. We happened to notice it, when we were working on new quotes for clients. By reducing the coverage, insurance companies are offering or, by increasing the deductibles, is a way for them to help maintain the cost of policies, kind of. I am not sure which is better; maintain the coverage and increase the cost or, having the insurance company increase deductibles and reduce coverage in certain areas. As a consumer, I feel slightly betrayed by the insurance companies for not being transparent and disclosing what they are changing. As an insurance agent, I know they are disclosing it in their rate filings with the state, but that does not make it okay to not inform us. They should write it in black and white, in a letter, to each client about the material changes in their policies. The lesson learned here is, please read and compare your declaration pages each year. This will help you be more informed of any changes to your policy and ensure that you are aware, if you no longer have certain coverage or are forced to have a higher water deductible. And if you need help in reviewing, we are always happy to help you in any way possible.

We had a phone call from a client the other day, very worried and concerned, that he was going to be responsible for the water damage to his neighbor's condo. When you live in a condominium, this is a real fear. Somehow, you have a leaky pipe. The water finds its way into your neighbor's home and they tell you (in a very angry way), you are responsible. While you may feel responsible, according to almost every insurance company, you are not. Insurance companies see pipes breaking or failing as nobody's fault. While the source of the water originated in your home, your policy will only cover damage to your own property. Unfortunately, there is no coverage for damage to someone else's home, unless there is negligence involved. If you, the homeowner, go sneaking around at night (like the image above) breaking pipes, there would be no coverage either, because you are purposely damaging your home. We know that is not the case and the insurance companies know that as well. The difficult part is having the conversation with your neighbor, informing them of the hard truth that there is no coverage from your policy to cover their home. If there is enough damage to the neighbor's home, they would need to reach out to their own insurance company to file a claim. Of course, it is a better idea to start with the HOA, to see if there is any support or coverage from them before filing. And on the off chance you are found responsible for the damage by your neighbor's insurance claims adjuster, you should reach out to your own agent or insurance company at that time to help cover you.

We hope you had a great long weekend and enjoyed some quality time off for Memorial Day. A few weeks from now, my son will have his birthday. He is becoming a teenager. And what does every teenage boy want....an e-bike. (And what does his dad not want to get him....an e-bike.) My wife, Elizabeth, has wanted to get him an e-bike for the last couple years and I think we have put it off as long as we can. So, unfortunately, we purchased him an e-bike. There are many worries and concerns that I have; his safety, getting hurt, causing an accident, acting like an idiot in the street, popping wheelies, etc. We will do the best we can to teach him the rules of the road and to be safe out on the streets. We purchased him a great helmet to help protect his head and face. We are going to ride with him a lot to make sure he can anticipate and practice safe riding. When it comes to insurance, that is another BIG worry for me. What happens if he causes an accident? With my worries and concerns, I wanted to be sure we have an insurance policy to protect our liability, just in case he causes an accident. So, I reached out to our home and car insurance company to secure a motorcycle policy. Yes, a motorcycle policy. We now have a motorcycle policy for an e-bike. It is just like a car insurance policy, which includes comp and collision coverage, liability, uninsured motorist, etc. With the cost of the policy, I decided to forgo collision coverage, which means, if he causes an accident, there will be no coverage for the e-bike. The coverage that is the most important to me is the liability. The reason why it is the most important, is if he causes an accident and we are sued, at least we have coverage that would help defend us. In addition, this policy will also work in conjunction with our umbrella policy, just in case it is a bigger lawsuit. The motorcycle policy and the increase in umbrella cost was not small. However, I can justify it as a warm up to getting him car insurance in a few years. We are about half way there in regards to the cost. While it hurts the wallet to pay for it, we want our son to be safe and have the confidence that we are also protected, just in case something happens. Enjoy your summer travel plans and please keep an eye out for those kids on e-bikes, as one of them may be my son.

As an insurance agent, Moen, the faucet company, reached out to inform us of a new automatic water shutoff valve. Automatic water shutoff valves are a great tool to help reduce water damage, in the event of a water leak or broken pipe. This smart device can be sold directly to consumers and professionally installed by a licensed plumber for about $1000 (or less, depending on your location and availability). I found it interesting, that they were getting in touch with us, as insurance agents, directly. I also thought, what a great idea! For many years, we have known that water damage causes more losses than fire (except for maybe this year) on an annual basis. We, as an agency, have seen water claims from $1,500 - $290,000. Any claim is difficult to deal with, no matter the cause of loss. With water, though, it seems to haunt everyone as it spreads throughout the floors, walls, and cabinets and can be a real hassle to clean up. And then, the claim stays on your record for 5-7 years. While the automatic water shutoff valve is not new, I think it will be required by more and more insurance companies in the near future. Aside from it being required, in my opinion, I think it is a really good idea to install one, as it will help prevent water claims, or potentially reduce the amount of damage a water leak can cause in your home. If you have a $2500 deductible or higher, for your home insurance, you are already self-insuring, to a certain degree. By adding an automatic water shutoff valve, it will hopefully provide you more piece of mind and help prevent any large water damage from happening inside your home. Yes, it is worth it.

I was invited to hear the Deputy Insurance Commissioner speak two weeks ago in Anaheim. Unfortunately, she had to cancel last minute. Her replacement from the Department of Insurance had a great presentation though. As I reflected on her words, something became very clear to me...we should be more proactive in taking steps to "harden our homes." I've written several times about hardening your home, whether it is enclosing your eaves or removing any vegetation within 5 feet of your home. In my opinion, one of the first steps should be to install new wire mesh vents. This will help prevent burning embers from entering the attic and igniting our homes on fire from the inside. If we look at the homes that did not survive any of the fires; LA, Altadena, Laguna Niguel, most of the homes did not have upgraded, fire-resistant vents. While there may not be a 100% preventable solution to fireproofing a home, there are many steps we can take to help reduce the risk of our homes catching fire. I was referred to someone recently, whose business is fireproofing homes. He is a retired fireman and is very informative when it comes to how to help fireproof your home. The company name is T&T Home Solutions and they are listed in my trusted partners section. If you have not done so already, please take some time to talk to a professional about upgrading your vents. Now is the time to start, before we get into the hotter summer months or we are away on vacation.

With the LA fires contained, it is now time to pick up the pieces. LA County, the EPA and Army Corp of Engineers are providing a debris removal program for anyone affected by the fires. This is a FREE program and to qualify for it, you need to OPT IN before March 31. In my opinion, if you or anyone you know, who lost their home in the fires, they should opt in to this program. While there is debris removal coverage inside your homeowners policy (typically 5% of your dwelling coverage), this program seems to be much more robust and at no cost to you. In addition, the rough estimate of the debris removal, if you lost your home in these fires, could be as much as $175,000. Here are the links to learn more about the program and to opt in .  In other insurance news, there has been an increase in tow truck driver scams in Southern CA. The way the scam works is, you are in an accident, but unbeknownst to you, you were possibly hit on purpose. Next, a tow truck shows up, pretty quickly, and offers to help. They offer to tow you to a local body shop. Then the body shop forces the driver to pay a large amount of money that is not covered by your car insurance to get your vehicle back. Here is a direct excerpt from the Department of Insurance Warning: "There are a few red flags drivers should be aware of to make sure they are not a victim of this type of scam: Tow truck shows up within minutes of accident, you may not even have had time to call anyone yet. Tow truck driver tells you which body shop your car is going to instead of working with you to identify where you want your vehicle to go. Tow truck driver tells you someone will contact you by phone or asks you to sign documents. Tow truck driver requests a rideshare for you. The Department urges drivers if they believe they may be in a situation like this to verify the tow truck with your insurance company or wait for CHP to verify the tow truck was dispatched by CHP. Also, do not sign any documents until you have talked to their insurance company." We know sometimes things that may seem too good to be true are. In this situation, the debris removal program is a good program and the tow truck situation is not on the up and up. Be safe out there and we are here if you need us.

It has been a challenging last couple weeks with the fires around Southern California. We feel for everyone, who has been affected by these fires, and know this time is very difficult right now. If you have questions about coverage or need help in any way, please call us to discuss your concerns. You are our priority. Interestingly enough, there has been a big social media buzz about if you have a trust and your home insurance does not list the trust and that your insurance company will not pay your claim. This is not necessarily true. Every insurance company handles things differently. There is not a blanket right or wrong answer. However, if you do hold your home in a trust, typically, you can add your trust as an additional insured or additional interest (depending on what your insurance company will allow). Most insurance policies are written for individuals and not for an entity, which is why it will vary. From what we have learned in the last few days, insurance companies want to pay claims...to the right people. When you cannot prove you are the owner of the trust (because your paperwork was destroyed in the fire), the process slows down, as the insurance companies want to make sure they are not writing checks to the wrong people. There are people looking to commit fraud and the insurance companies are trying to help their clients avoid it. That is why it may take longer. In regards to coverage for your home, if you are worried you may not have enough coverage, in the event your home is lost due to a fire (or other peril), please call or email to discuss it. Every home is different and unique and we want to be sure you are confident that you have the correct level of coverage to help you sleep better at night. As we emerge from the fires and 2025 continues, we know there is a long road to rebuilding for the people who lost everything. There will be scammers out there trying to take advantage of you, so they can profit. Be mindful and thoughtful about who is trying to "help" you. And if you are not sure, talk to your claims adjuster or agent for some advice. We are in this with you.