Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Friday, November 28, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Clean teeth, jewelry coverage and the Song of the Day
As you read this you're probably thinking..."Hey - aren't Mitch's teeth whiter?" In fact they are! Yesterday morning I went to my dentist in the Montclair neighborhood of Oakland, not too far from home. Afterward I was outside contemplating a donut (I like to get a head start on plaque build-up for my next appointment) when I bumped into my friend Sean Chernak. Sean is a huge ska fan, and has lent me a few ska collection CDs one of which features today's Song Of The Day by Millie Small (below).
After Sean left I resumed my donut quest, but stopped when I came upon Montclair Jewelers. One of my clients should have her jewelry appraised and I have been looking for a jeweler who I could recommend for appraisals. I have found that person, the shop's owner David Coll, one of the most knowledgeable gemologists in the Bay Area.
There are limits and restrictions to how jewelry is covered in a home policy. Your personal property may be covered up to $400,000. But outside of a total loss, your jewelry may be covered for a much lower amount, say $5,000 with no one item being covered for more than $1,000. Your $4,000 Rolex watch stolen? You get $1,000. Seven of those same watches (one for each day of the week) stolen? You get $5,000. You can protect your jewelry by specifically listing the pieces and having them appraised, submitting the appraisal to your insurance agent (hopefully that's me if you're in CA or IL) and purchasing a rider or endorsement to your home policy.
David shared some of his experiences working with insurance claims. "The purpose of an insurance policy is to make one whole, so if you read the policy language when you buy a jewelry rider it states that if something happens to the item, the company will replace the item with something of equal value." He pointed out that insurance companies are able to purchase jewelry at wholesale prices, so the premium you pay is not derived from the appraised value of the replaceable item, but from the lower wholesale cost the company pays to acquire that item on your behalf. So if my $4,000 Rolex gets stolen, with the correct rider, I get another Rolex of like quality. But if I wanted cash instead I WOULD NOT get $4,000. The premium I paid to get that $4,000 replacement coverage, is actually calculated on the wholesale cost for that item (let's say $3,000). If you have a one of a kind item which cannot be replaced, you will want to insure it for the actual agreed upon cash value of what it's worth - $4,000. Since a different dollar amount is being underwritten, that coverage will cost you more money.
Also, appraisals should be done frequently: Aim for every three years. When the price of gold has increased from $800 an ounce to $1,200 an ounce, that fly gold chain you used to wear at Studio 54 has also increased in value. An out-of-date appraisal is as useful as the coverage you get from your Members Only jacket. It will cover you, but you could probably find something that better reflects who your current situation.
For all your insurance needs, call us at 925-588-3888 or go to my website. And while you're at it, please like us on Facebook.
And now the Song of the Day:
After Sean left I resumed my donut quest, but stopped when I came upon Montclair Jewelers. One of my clients should have her jewelry appraised and I have been looking for a jeweler who I could recommend for appraisals. I have found that person, the shop's owner David Coll, one of the most knowledgeable gemologists in the Bay Area.
There are limits and restrictions to how jewelry is covered in a home policy. Your personal property may be covered up to $400,000. But outside of a total loss, your jewelry may be covered for a much lower amount, say $5,000 with no one item being covered for more than $1,000. Your $4,000 Rolex watch stolen? You get $1,000. Seven of those same watches (one for each day of the week) stolen? You get $5,000. You can protect your jewelry by specifically listing the pieces and having them appraised, submitting the appraisal to your insurance agent (hopefully that's me if you're in CA or IL) and purchasing a rider or endorsement to your home policy.
David shared some of his experiences working with insurance claims. "The purpose of an insurance policy is to make one whole, so if you read the policy language when you buy a jewelry rider it states that if something happens to the item, the company will replace the item with something of equal value." He pointed out that insurance companies are able to purchase jewelry at wholesale prices, so the premium you pay is not derived from the appraised value of the replaceable item, but from the lower wholesale cost the company pays to acquire that item on your behalf. So if my $4,000 Rolex gets stolen, with the correct rider, I get another Rolex of like quality. But if I wanted cash instead I WOULD NOT get $4,000. The premium I paid to get that $4,000 replacement coverage, is actually calculated on the wholesale cost for that item (let's say $3,000). If you have a one of a kind item which cannot be replaced, you will want to insure it for the actual agreed upon cash value of what it's worth - $4,000. Since a different dollar amount is being underwritten, that coverage will cost you more money.
Also, appraisals should be done frequently: Aim for every three years. When the price of gold has increased from $800 an ounce to $1,200 an ounce, that fly gold chain you used to wear at Studio 54 has also increased in value. An out-of-date appraisal is as useful as the coverage you get from your Members Only jacket. It will cover you, but you could probably find something that better reflects who your current situation.
For all your insurance needs, call us at 925-588-3888 or go to my website. And while you're at it, please like us on Facebook.
And now the Song of the Day:
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
A new feature for this blog...song of the day
Let's be honest - the only thing more difficult than trying to write an insurance blog daily is trying to read an insurance blog posting daily. But one thing I hope you'll like, and will share with others is this song of the day.
When of the benefits of bike-riding (in low-traffic areas) is I get some time to listen to my I-pod. I prefer to listen on the shuffle method as it's a good way to hear something I may have forgotten I had. To start this feature, here's one of my favorites, Charles Earland. You can read about him here, or better yet have a listen yourself.
When of the benefits of bike-riding (in low-traffic areas) is I get some time to listen to my I-pod. I prefer to listen on the shuffle method as it's a good way to hear something I may have forgotten I had. To start this feature, here's one of my favorites, Charles Earland. You can read about him here, or better yet have a listen yourself.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
The future of Obamacare
For those of us wondering about the future of Obamacare, check out this article:
John & Rusty report
John & Rusty report
Friday, August 22, 2014
Tis the season....
...fire season that is. Recently I worked with a client who was buying a house in the Oakland hills. Before it closed escrow, he wanted to get an idea of how much his insurance would cost. The house is on a steep slope, and the area is woodsy, so he was expecting to pay no more than three grand. We ran some scenarios and he looked around at other solutions. The final price:
About $6,000!
And to top it off, many companies flat out refused to even offer him a quote. How can this be?
Now that we are in the fourth year of a drought, insurance companies have gotten skittish about writing homeowner's policies in perceived high-fire zones (which describes much of the state). Houses receive a fireline score, a number that runs from 1 - 30.
How is the score derived?
The score was developed by ISO - that's short for Insurance Services Office. They are an independent company that pulls together data, writes up standard insurance contracts, and files that information with state agencies. Not to get too geeky, but the score is based on three factors: (1) Slope - how steep is the property lot, (2) Fuel - how much combustible material surrounds the house, and (3) Access - how quickly can the fire department get there (how close is the station, what are the roads like etc). Each factor runs from 1 (good) to 5 (yikes!), and the overall formula looks like this:
(Slope x Fuel) + Access
I see this formula and try to imagine the possibilities: A house built into a hillside (5!) that is surrounded by Eucalyptus trees that explode in a fire (5!!) and is only accessible by driving up a 15-mile curvy one-lane dirt road (5!!!!), is probably a thirty. A cinder block house with no trees for miles built next to a fire station is probably a 0. Dismal perhaps, but plenty of parking.
At first glance this seems unfair, especially since a house can have a different score than it's neighbor depending on the slope. But as the summer progresses, it seems even more unusual that we have not had a major catastrophe. Each day for the last month, I receive notices for no less than four current fires, and maybe another four notices where the previous week's fires have been brought under control. Thankfully, these fires have been away from heavily populated areas. Take a look at this handy map of fires in the state:
California General Fire Map.
Or even of this map of fires in the LA region alone:
Fires in the LA region
My client ended up backing away from a house he really loved, but was too expensive to insure. Though the premium is high, he also understood that the risk is very real. Now's he's in negotiation for another house, still in the hills, but with a lower slope. So far the premiums are far more reasonable.
For all your insurance needs, call us at 925-588-3888 or go to my website. And while you're at it, please like us on Facebook.
About $6,000!
And to top it off, many companies flat out refused to even offer him a quote. How can this be?
Now that we are in the fourth year of a drought, insurance companies have gotten skittish about writing homeowner's policies in perceived high-fire zones (which describes much of the state). Houses receive a fireline score, a number that runs from 1 - 30.
How is the score derived?
The score was developed by ISO - that's short for Insurance Services Office. They are an independent company that pulls together data, writes up standard insurance contracts, and files that information with state agencies. Not to get too geeky, but the score is based on three factors: (1) Slope - how steep is the property lot, (2) Fuel - how much combustible material surrounds the house, and (3) Access - how quickly can the fire department get there (how close is the station, what are the roads like etc). Each factor runs from 1 (good) to 5 (yikes!), and the overall formula looks like this:
(Slope x Fuel) + Access
I see this formula and try to imagine the possibilities: A house built into a hillside (5!) that is surrounded by Eucalyptus trees that explode in a fire (5!!) and is only accessible by driving up a 15-mile curvy one-lane dirt road (5!!!!), is probably a thirty. A cinder block house with no trees for miles built next to a fire station is probably a 0. Dismal perhaps, but plenty of parking.
At first glance this seems unfair, especially since a house can have a different score than it's neighbor depending on the slope. But as the summer progresses, it seems even more unusual that we have not had a major catastrophe. Each day for the last month, I receive notices for no less than four current fires, and maybe another four notices where the previous week's fires have been brought under control. Thankfully, these fires have been away from heavily populated areas. Take a look at this handy map of fires in the state:
California General Fire Map.
Or even of this map of fires in the LA region alone:
Fires in the LA region
My client ended up backing away from a house he really loved, but was too expensive to insure. Though the premium is high, he also understood that the risk is very real. Now's he's in negotiation for another house, still in the hills, but with a lower slope. So far the premiums are far more reasonable.
For all your insurance needs, call us at 925-588-3888 or go to my website. And while you're at it, please like us on Facebook.
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