Ever wonder who pays for tree damage on your house?

With the change of weather here going on here in Virginia, I wanted to bring up a topic that I get asked a lot and it’s a touchy subject but one your homeowner’s insurance agent should be telling you.  Not too long ago, my father-in-law asked me about a tree growing on a neighbor’s property.  He asked me who was responsible for damage to his own house if the neighbor’s tree were to fall and damage his house?  I wish I had a dollar for every time I am asked this but wonder just how many homeowners out there really know the question and will be upset when they find out the truth.

Here’s the simple answer but I will say there are special circumstances that will dictate on who pays.  Side note, just because you may not like your neighbor doesn’t dictate a special circumstance…Sorry !

Your homeowner’s policy that you bought protects your property alone.  Not your neighbors.  It covers damage to your house, any additional buildings on your property along with other additional coverages that pertain to your personal property such as furniture, TV’s, clothing, etc.

If a tree falls on your house (or other covered property on your policy), basically, there is only one policy that will pay, and that is the policy that is assigned to the damage property.  Here is the sticking point that causes friction.  Your house was damaged by someone else’s tree.  Guess what, it doesn’t matter.  Your house was damaged, not your neighbors.  His policy does not cover your property, only his.  That’s about as simple as it gets.  Now with that said, there are some exceptions.  If the falling tree was deemed dangerous and the owner never took preventative steps to making the tree safe, you may have a case but more than likely you will still have to file a claim on your own policy and pay the deductible (although you may get that back down the road).

I hope this clears things up.  This is the time of year when we see some tree damage.  We have had wide-spread drought here in Virginia over the past couple of months but with the fall weather approaching and rain on the way, some trees won’t be able to absorb the change.

P.S. – If you feel that a neighbors tree is not in good condition and could pose a hazard to your home, I would advise you to bring it up to your neighbor and also to your agent.  Take pictures of the tree as well to show the safety hazard it brings.  This will go a long way in the future if there ever is an accident.

Social Media and the Truth

As I have made the transition into my new insurance agency with the Rockingham Group, I have been focusing my efforts on Social Media.  It reminds of why I ever got into this insurance industry in the first place.  Earlier this decade I worked for a well known rental car company.  This company’s niche was working with the insurance companies to provide temporary replacement cars for their customers while they had their car in the shop getting fixed.  This is where I became fully involved with insurance adjusters with all of the insurance companies.  Each company was a different experience.  As my time advanced with this company, I began to see a troubling trend with the customers coming in to rent cars while their car were in the body shop or service garage.  I heard a lot of good stories from customers about how the damage happened to their car, whose fault it was (never the customers), which insurance company they were with and I always found out if they were happy or not with them or the insurance agent.  The troubling trend was that when it came time for their insurance company to come through with the claims process, the majority of the customers didn’t really understand their auto insurance policy and why they had certain coverages or endorsements.  This was one of the main reasons that set me on the path of joining the insurance industry.  Getting people more engaged with what they are buying.  I have to admit, I never did until I had that experience.  It shocked me on how little I knew about the product and how many people out there are the same way.  Let’s face it…you purchase it but hope to never use it.  What kind of product is that? 

This is why I have been learning more about Social Media and how it will help me get to my goal of getting people more engaged with what they are buying in their insurance policies.  Even if I can just provide you with a little nugget of information that may help you save time and money without putting yourself at risk, I feel that my time spent on my different avenues of Social Media is well worth it.  That is why I speak the truth and try not to sugarcoat anything.  I say this because I have been reading other people’s Blogs, Tweets, LinkedIn profiles, Facebook profiles, etc about who they are and what kind of business services they offer.  Some of its kind of comical.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a ton of good content out there but when it’s free, you get a lot of the bad as well.  I promise to you my dear reader that I won’t be that obnoxious salesperson, I won’t give you fluff, I won’t mislead you.  This ties back to the main reason I joined the insurance industry in the first place…To help my clients become better engaged and fully understand their insurance needs so when those troubled times arise, they are at peace of mind with the product they have backing them up.  Don’t wait until you need your insurance to “hope” you have enough coverage.  Why put yourself at risk?

I look forward to sharing with you personal stories, tips and hints over the coming weeks that hopefully will help you better understand your insurance needs/concerns about your policies.

Feel free to email me if you have a question about your policy (there are no dumb questions).

jloughhead@gmail.com

Chivalry…does it still exist?

There are times in life that make you step back and think that there is still goodness in this world.    Last week I travelled across the mountain to Lexington, VA for some business.  I parked in public parking lot in the old town and walked my way to the office.  If you haven’t been to Lexington, it’s a pleasant little town/city.  Beautiful scenery with the surrounding mountains with the old town feel.  The tight streets and parking are a testament to that.  You have to go sometime if you haven’t been.

As the day rolled to an end, I walked back to the parking lot to get my car and drive home.  As I came closer and closer to my vehicle I could see that there was a sticky note on the driver door.  Many thoughts ran through my head.  Was it an old friend leaving me a note that recognized my car, maybe an irate ex-girlfriend giving me some final words of encouragement, the thoughts were endless until I read the note.  It read “Please see right-rear door….Sorry”

Oh man.  I took the dreaded walk around the back bumper not knowing what I would encounter.  As I looked at the door mentioned there was another sticky note on the moulding below the window.  The note said that he was sorry for scratching my door with his car door and that he would pay for all damages.  Phillip left his phone number on the note as well.  I removed the sticky note and realized that the paint scratch was very small.  I took my thumb and rubbed most of it all.  No scratch or dents and yet, Phillip felt inclined to take responsibility for his actions.  I called Phillip and thanked him for the note and told him the good news that no payment was necessary.  He felt terrible but appreciated my phone call.

It makes me smile to thank that there are still good people in this world…no matter what trash we see on tv or hear on the radio.  Thank you Phillip for what you did.  Chivalry does still exist.

What about you….would you do the same?

Where Art Thou?!

Wow, what a year so far.  I want to deeply apologize for my absence from the blogging world.  I realize that “out of sight, out of mind” has probably happened but will do my best to become one of your weekly/monthly reads again. 

A lot has happened since Spring.  Just as life throws us curveballs, so has my career in the insurance industry….except these are the good curveballs.  I felt that it would be in everyone’s best interest if I kept a low profile for a while because an opportunity presented itself to my wife and I that I needed to give time to grow and mature.  Without going into detail, I have basically decided to take a career opportunity with another insurance agency/company that is closer to home, friends, and family.  It’s an opportunity that will give me a chance of reaching a lot of goals that I set for myself as a dorky kid growing up. 

I will still be in the insurance industry as an agent/advisor and look forward to my new opportunity with my new company (The Rockingham Group) and look forward to sharing these experiences with you as the coming months fall upon us.  Thank you for those who have kept on me to keep this blog going.  It means a lot.  I look forward to sharing my personal stories and general insurance tales about my industry that hopefully will keep it light, entertaining, but also educational for us all.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to the next time.

“…Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long,  We Keep Moving Forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiousity keeps leading us down new paths.”  -  Walt Disney

Ice buildup

Do you own your own home?  Do you still have ice and snow built up on your roof from our multiple snow storms here in VA?  As I was driving home yesterday and with an eye on the temperature for the rest of the week I saw what I was afraid of.  Sagging gutters on the northern end of all homes that I passed.  What scared me more was the people who parked their cars just under their gutters.  I’ll take the is blog post to just warn anyone that if you should still have large amounts of snow and ice on your roofs (mostly on the northern-most side)….make sure that you don’t have anything at the edges of those gutter lines that would be damaged if the whole sheet of snow/ice would slide off this week.  With temperatures rising into the 40′s this week, there will be lots of melting and freezing.  I’ve already witnessed one huge sheet of ice/snow come off of one roof in my my neighborhood.  Thankfully there wasn’t anything of value below it when it landed.  This will continue for the rest of the week so take caution. 

We are almost through the bad weather here in Virginia but a little care and maintenance to your property will save you a headache in the future.  It’s been a long time since we have seen weather systems like this in our area….knowing how to take precautions against these systems shouldn’t take a back seat.  Hang in there my Virginia friends….Spring is around the corner.

Is your Insurance Agent still learning????

As an Insurance professional, one of the best things I get to partake in are continuing education classes.  What are these classes you may ask?  Basically, for most insurance professionals, they are classes that allow an insurance agent to continue to learn about their industry and how to improve themselves for their client.   I thought about this today as I sat through an 8 hour classroom setting with two more to sit through.  Who am I benefitting?  That answer is twofold.  I’m benefiting myself but more importantly, my clients and prospective clients.  With this day and age of finding and buying things online, my participation in such an insurance class this weekend becomes even more important.  Why?

Every night as I come home and turn on the TV…all I see are commercials about going online to buy insurance or trusting your insurance needs with green lizards or prehistoric animals.

Television marketing is a powerful thing.  Why?  Well, if you only knew what I know.  There is a reason I am required ot take so many hours of continuing educations every year.  Insurance may seem dry to you and is someting that you don’t think about on a daily/monthly/yearly basis but that’s my job.  I know it may sound corny to you but that’s what I do on a day-to-day basis. 

What happens if you lend your car to a family member or friend?  Are you covered for Liability?  Is your car covered for physical damage?

What if you drove a friend’s car and drove them home one evening?  Are you covered in an accident?  Would your insurance pay for any damages?  Would your friend’s insurance pay for any damages?

If you son/daughter is off to college and they have a vehicle but let a roommate drive the car one night and wreck it….are they covered?  Are you covered?

This could go on and on but this is why I sit through 8 hour continuing education classes for several days a few times per year.  I’m continuosly learning for you.  This is what I do for my clients.  I doubt your green lizard or caveman is doing the same.

What can I help you with?

If a tree fell on a house in the woods, would anyone hear it?

As I was driving home tonight I had to do my normal chuckling as I drove by the gas stations and grocery stores.  Here in Central and Western Virginia, the weather services are calling for about a half-inch of ice accumulation by the morning.  This means one thing in Virginia….it’s the largest french toast party you have ever seen.  Everyone goes to the stores to buy nothing but eggs, milk, and bread.  Ironically, two of these items would be the first to go bad if the power went out for several days.  The gas stations were packed and the grocery stores were full.  I needed Diet Pepsi but I opted to drive on home and bypass the madness.  As I was pulling into our driveway I saw “The Tree”.  This tree is one of the main energy savers for our house.  It’s a fully grown tree standing about 35-40 feet tall next to our house.  The shade in the summer keeps our house cool and gives shelter to my oldest dog when he has to do his “business” outside.  My oldest dog, Carson, hates water and runs between the rain drops so he won’t get wet.  When the wife and I moved into our home almost two years ago, this tree was one of the selling points.  As I stepped out of my vehicle and felt the heavy rain with a few drops of ice, I could only think about last April. 

It had been unseasonably hot that week, especially at night.  We had our window fan in so the noise of the fan drowned out the world.  I’m not a morning person so getting out of bed in the mornings is a chore.  Especially at that time with a 6 month old Labrador puppy.  The good thing was that we had her potty trained at that age.  The bad thing was she had the uncanny ability of waking you up very early in the morning so she could go out.  The wife and I would hear her rustle in her kennel and then we would play the waiting game.  This is where you wait to see who the first sucker would roll out of bed to let her out.  I was the sucker that morning.  I rolled out of bed, stumbling to find my slippers.  We were at the stage where I had to keep her on the leash and walk around the backyard in the little light there was from the early morning hour.  Trying not to step in doggie  surprises was also the other challenge.  That particular morning was a little different though.  I gathered her leash and opened the door and waited for her to pull me out into the morning air.  We took three steps towards the backyard and then my lab just stopped in her tracks.  I’m still yawning and trying to come to it.  I look at her and wonder what is going on.  She was fixated on something to our right.  I casually looked to the right and through the growing morning light coming over the mountains, I can see it.  Part of our staple tree was lying flat on the ground.  When I say part of it, it was actually close to half of it and it was precariously close to my next door neighbor’s house. 

I could only stand there and think….what the hell?  We were so lucky that it didn’t clip our roof or hit our neighbor’s house.  But what if it had?  What if this happened to you…what would you do?  What if it happened during the night and the rain was still coming down and the tree branch fell on the roof and made a gaping hole which allowed the rain to come in.  Do you have a plan for this?  It’s not easy to think of the right things to do in stressful moments like this.  Before it happens, make a plan of action on what would happen if the worst case scenario happened to you.  Also, before you put that homeowner’s policy or renter’s policy in your files, make sure you get those emergency phone numbers and put them in your mobile phone.  Ask your agent for other contact numbers to call in immediate emergencies.  If your house was on fire, are you going to go looking for your insurance policy?  Doubt it. 

So here I am writing this blog and can only think about possibility of accumulating ice overnight.  What if it’s too much for your trees and they bend and break.  Do you have a plan of action?