This is perhaps one of the best posts I have seen from a news group, ever
(other than those about the Florida QSO Party).
K1IR has done very well in summarizing how to do it right...this is similar
to the procedure used by W1CW and W1YL after hurricane Andrew devistated
their Homestead QTH a decade ago...like K1IR, W1YL provided documantation to
back up their claim - and they settled out very well.
If you have not read this post - re-read below, and maybe set up a pentaflex
folder - might behove some of us to start collecting this info ahead of time
to make the work load a little easier come claim time, God forbid!
Again, nice job Jim...
73,
Jim, K4OJ
Proud Member of the Florida Contest Group -congratulations to the top two US
finishers to WRTC 2002 - our own K1TO (+N5TJ) and N2NL (+N6MJ)...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Idelson" <k1ir@designet.com>
To: "TowerTalk Post" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 9:56 AM
Subject: Re: [Towertalk] ARRL Insurance
> Nothing like learning from experience . . .
>
> I have had several major lightning events over the past five years. My
> home-owners policy has a deductible around $500, but it covers everything.
You
> don't have to list equipment on the policy in advance. Lightning doesn't
> discriminate between ham equipment and other electronics and appliances
found
> in your home. This policy provides for replacement cost reimbursements,
and the
> adjustor has never had a problem with replacements that might reasonably
be
> more costly and up-to-date than the original equipment.
>
> When the dollar amounts start to rise, the insurance company will become
> interested in the potential scrap value of your completely destroyed radio
> equipment. They may ask you to give them the old equipment. But, when you
tell
> them of the extremely small market for your radio and the difficulty they
will
> have selling it, they might let you keep it for parts.
>
> I've never had outdoor antenna damage - it's always been the electronics
and
> computer equipment inside. But, I worry that a claim relating to the tower
or
> antennas might surprise the adjustor. So, I have informed the insurance
company
> of the existence of the tower, and I've shown them the completed building
> permit. This will help to show that the tower and antennas are insured
> property.
>
> How do you get maximum reimbursement for your losses? By far, the most
> important thing is to MAKE THE ADJUSTOR'S JOB EASY! An insurance adjustor
> spends the morning in the office doing paperwork and his/her entire
afternoon
> driving around looking at damaged things - things they don't care about at
all.
> Every insurance adjustor I've met really looks forward to quitting time.
They
> allocate a certain amount of time to every visit. If you can get him out
of
> your house early, he can get home early. Keep this in mind all the time.
>
> The adjustor will be looking for a few things during the visit:
> 1. Evidence of damages and the probable causes,
> 2. Evidence of your ownership of the damaged property and possibly
evidence of
> what you paid for it and when, and
> 3. Evidence of what it will cost to replace or repair the damaged item.
>
> Demonstrating that a device is damaged is important. If there is obvious
> physical damage, make sure it is apparent when the adjustor comes to
visit. The
> adjustor will usually be carrying a digital camera to take photos of the
> damage. Make that job easy. I have offered my own digital photos, and they
are
> often accepted by the adjustor. If the damage can't be seen, then do a
> demonstration. My FT-1000MP had charcoal on the back near the antenna
> connector, and when plugged in, it wouldn't come on at all.
>
> If an item is completely destroyed, you may be able to just say so, or you
can
> provide the written statement of a qualified repair shop. The insurance
> coverage will reimburse you for the cost of getting the equipment looked
at by
> the shop. You need to show that the equipment cannot be repaired for less
than
> the cost of replacement. The best news for you is sometimes that
replacement
> parts are no longer available, etc.
>
> Was there a big lightning storm or a major wind that caused the damage? It
was
> probably mentioned in the newspaper, or it was noted on the Weather
Channel
> website. Make a copy of an account of the circumstances that probably
caused
> the damage and give it to the adjustor.
>
> Evidence of ownership simply informs the adjustor that the damaged
equipment is
> truly yours. You can show receipts, credit card statements, etc, to show
that
> the stuff is yours. It's good to keep all documents when you buy a new or
used
> piece of equipment. If you don't need to show what you paid, you might
want to
> produce shipping documents that don't include price information.
>
> If the reasonable approach is to get the equipment repaired, show a repair
> estimate. If you want to replace the item, show evidence of the
replacement
> cost. The insurance company expects you to buy a new unit, not a used one.
If
> the damaged unit is no longer a current model, you should replace it with
the
> most comparable current version. This choice is essentially up to you. If
you
> provide specs in written form that can be used as evidence, the adjustor
will
> be happy. His goal, remember, is to fill the file with evidence. He
doesn't
> have to understand it.
>
> You and the adjustor also know that there is a wide range in repair and
> replacement pricing. You can choose to demonstrate low, medium or high
prices.
> For replacements, I have usually shown evidence obtained from the web of
prices
> ranging from discounted distributor prices to full list price. My "honesty
is
> the best policy" approach has usually resulted in maximum reimbursements.
The
> adjustor will look at the evidence, realize that he can get home early
[instead
> of doing price research back at the office], and he will thank you by
putting
> the list price evidence in his folder and telling you to put away the
> discounted pricing info because you might not be able to get the equipment
at
> that price.
>
> One more word of caution: Don't finalize your insurance claim too quickly.
The
> insidious and widespread results of a lightning event can go undetected
for a
> long time. I have found many damaged devices weeks after the claim was
closed
> out. You cannot then amend your claim or create a second claim for the
same
> event without a second application of deductible, so anything you find
later is
> your problem.
>
> I have found that the approach of doing all the homework for the adjustor
will
> get you the best possible results. It's a lot of work, but this is the
approach
> I recommend.
>
> The end result of your claim is a check made out to you from the insurance
> company. One thing you should know is that you are not required to spend
that
> money in the same manner that was used to calculate your damages. You can
spend
> it any way you want. If you decide to get out of 2M moonbounce, and
instead
> invest that money in your new 136KHz LF station, its not an issue for the
> insurance company.
>
> Although I have always felt good about the way things turned out with the
> insurance company, I would never choose to have a lightning strike. I've
lost
> extremely valuable and irreplaceable computer data, and spent huge amounts
of
> time documenting losses and preparing for adjustor visits. Right now, my
> station is not in use, and ALL my antennas are disconnected. All AC power
is
> supplied through a large UPS. When there's a thundserstorm approaching, I
shut
> down everything and disconnect every connection to the outside world. I
unplug
> all phone, ISDN and DSL lines coming into the shack. I unplug the UPS from
the
> wall. I am also looking carefully at investing in Polyphaser-type upgrades
to
> my grounding and lightning arrest system.
>
> I hope you don't ever have to go through this process, but if you do, I
hope
> these suggestions are helpful.
>
> 73,
>
> Jim K1IR
>
> ********** Forwarded Message **********
>
> [Towertalk] ARRL Insurance
> kk9a@arrl.net kk9a@arrl.net
> Mon, 15 Jul 2002 16:43:24 -0500
> Previous message: [Towertalk] Jim, good catch!
> Next message: [Towertalk] Cubex 2 element 5 band quad wire dimensions
> Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
>
> Someone recently inquired about the ARRL insurance plan. I have a Yaesu
> FT1000MP Mark-V and a Kenwood TM-331 that were severely damaged my a
> lightning strike to one of my towers. The insurance has agreed to pay for
> the purchase of new radios. I also had some rotor and switchbox damage,
but
> since I don't list these items they were not covered. They were all
easily
> fixable my me anyway, except for the WX0B Stackmaster Control box which is
> toast. I'm happy with the policy.
>
>
>
> Previous message: [Towertalk] Jim, good catch!
> Next message: [Towertalk] Cubex 2 element 5 band quad wire dimensions
> Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
>
>
>
> Jim Idelson K1IR
> email k1ir@designet.com
> web http://www.designet.com/k1ir
>
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