disaster
Record Contents Now to Ease the Claims Process Later
PRESS RELEASE
Nationally certified home inventory professionals help you remember and prove ownership when filing an insurance claim after a loss.
Tornado season has started early this year, and many reports are stating this country should expect a more than normal amount of storms and tornadoes in 2012. Seeing the current devastation in the Midwest, people are asking how those who suffered a loss could ever receive an equitable insurance claim.
While in the comfort of your home, without the stress of a disaster or pressure of a deadline, try to write down every item in the room. Imagine having to do that after you just suffered a loss – possibly a complete loss – of all contents in your home or business.
Next think about the CDs, DVDs, and video games. “Many of our customers are shocked when we tell them how many they own. Often, they underestimate by the hundreds,” explains owner Mike Hartman. At a low average of $15 each, and if just 100 were forgotten, this would equate to a loss of $1500. It’s easy to see how quickly a financial loss can add up, just on these 3 categories of items.
Adding to the dismay of disaster victims, there is a misunderstanding about how the insurance claims process works. The majority of people believe that if they have insurance, they will just receive a check without question. Not so, according to insurance websites. When a home or business experiences a loss, the insurance company will request a detailed list of each item lost or destroyed, along with a description. This requested information includes a model number and serial number for electronics and appliances. The time it takes to prepare this document, without being able to refer to a pre-disaster inventory, often can be months. Some state they reach the deadline and are required to submit an incomplete claim.
Hartman Inventory is a nationally certified inventory service that prepares this document of personal belongings prior to a disaster. This allows their customers to file their claim quickly, accurately, and thoroughly. A maximized claim enables the disaster victim to get back to where they were much faster and with more financial assistance than those who do not have a personal property inventory.
The process is a well-honed system that records the home or business belongings in a format preferred by the insurance companies. The finished portfolio is delivered within 10 days, with an option to also secure the information on an encrypted online backup service. This ensures the information is safe in the event of a disaster.
Due to the increased awareness of the need for an inventory, and the growth of the home inventory industry, the founders have developed a home inventory turnkey business package, Hartman Inventory Systems, to help others start their own inventory business. This business package includes an operations manual, hands-on training, a complete marketing package, continued support and mentoring, a business coach and much more.
About Hartman Inventory, LLC: Hartman Inventory is a nationally certified personal property inventory service provider, serving home owners, renters and small-to-medium businesses since 2004.
Business Continuity Plans Are Necessary For Small Businesses
The majority of large companies have a business continuity/disaster recovery (BC/DR) plan in place. Unfortunately, most small and medium businesses do not. But it is just as important for them to be prepared as well. Though there are many causes for business interruption; we will focus on fire and natural disasters.
The plan you need will most likely not be on the grand scale that a large corporation will require, though the need is just as large. The same steps, the same details and the same follow-through are required.
If you have employees, you have the responsibility to be prepared so you can be back in business quickly. This responsibility is for your own family, but also for the families of each of your employees.
So what is the reason so many small and medium businesses don’t have a plan?
The owners and executives often wear a large number of hats on any given day. Creating a BC/DR is just one more task they have difficulty fitting into their schedule. Most employees would not have enough knowledge to take on this project. So, unfortunately, it remains on the list of things to do.
The other consideration is maintaining the plan to keep it current. It must be updated annually at the very least. So even if they do remember to address any changes that happened during the year to affect the plan, the issue is finding the time to work that into their already busy routine.
Most SMBs are on a tight budget and have difficulty justifying the expense on something that only might happen. Then when a disaster does happen, and they don’t know what to do, where to go, and how to get back to doing business, they regret not having a plan in place.
There are a plethora of benefits a business continuity/disaster recovery plan will provide. There is great value in saving time, money and stress. This type of preparation will bring benefit to all three. Once this is realized, more owners will take it more seriously and choose to have this much-needed plan in place.
Benefits for small businesses:
- Reduced stress — When you know you have a good, solid plan, you can spend your time implementing it and know you are prepared.
- Easier and more thorough insurance claim — An inventory of assets allows for a fast, efficient claims process which results in a speedy settlement with a maximized financial outcome. (If you don’t have or want to take the time to create your asset inventory, contact a nationally certified inventory professional to complete it for you.)
- More money to replace and repair — The larger insurance settlement will allow for speedy repairs or replacement.
- Brief down time -– A very short downtime will ensure you’ll retain customers and employees who might otherwise go elsewhere if there is a long delay before you’re back doing business.
Though it seems you don’t have the time or the money to have a business continuity/disaster recovery plan in place, the cost is minimal if you face a fire or natural disaster.
Dealing With Disaster – Keeping Your Business Afloat
Catastrophes happen on a daily basis, and all companies must have a plan in place to stay in business. You might be a new company, with just a few months under your belt, and having invested your life savings to pursue your entrepreneurial dream. Or possibly you are a well-established, extremely successful business owner. Either of these scenarios – and all those in between – could be at risk of survival if your business is destroyed. Often the destruction happens in seconds. A fire, earthquake, tornado or other disaster can and does happen.
Are you prepared? A business continuity plan is essential. The Houston Area Research Center cites these statistics in support of the investment of time and money into creating a plan:
- 35–40% of businesses without a continuity plan never reopen when disrupted by a disaster.
- Every dollar spent on disaster preparedness saves $7 in recovering disaster related economic losses.
Your ability to reopen quickly is imperative. The sooner you are back in business, the less you’ll suffer from lost revenues. Customers will be retained because they are aware you’re down time will be minimal. And, extremely important, is how this will impact your employees. As a business owner, you’ll want to get them all back to work so they don’t experience a financial hardship for their families.
When creating your business continuity plan, there are many questions to ask and then answer. Here are my top 10:
- What disasters could we face (natural and man-made)?
- What operations are critical to open quickly?
- Do we have a data backup in place to be able to access our records from any location?
- Who are our key resources (utilities, insurance agent, CPA, etc.)?
- Who are our key suppliers and do they have a business continuity plan?
- Do we have a relationship established to ensure we will be one of the first served if we experience a wide-spread disaster (tornado or flood vs. one-building fire)?
- Where can we set up a temporary location, and who will direct the process?
- What supplies, inventory and equipment will be needed immediately?
- Is our employee call chain up to date, and does each employee know what their role is in our disaster plan?
- Do we have an inventory of all of our assets so we can complete an insurance claim quickly and thoroughly, and maximize the claim for proper financial recovery?
Though this is just the tip of the iceberg in business continuity planning, it is a good start to begin the necessary steps for preparedness. Without a plan, the odds are far greater that you will not re-open if you’re forced to close.
National Wealth Mentality Month
January is a perfect month to address Wealth Mentality. It’s the beginning of the new year. It’s a time when many New Year Resolutions are made, and many of those resolutions are about money. Making more, earning more, saving more, having more!
Many are looking back over the previous year and reviewing their financial situation. They are thinking about what more they can do to preserve the wealth they have.
Wealth Mentality is a mindset where serious thoughts focus on what can be done to impact and preserve the wealth already created, and the additional wealth that will accumulate over the years. Action on those thoughts will impact your life.
One question that will run through people’s minds is, What happens if a catastrophe happens and destroys everything I have?
If you can’t remember all the contents of your home, it will be very difficult to recover sufficiently from a major loss due to fire, theft or a natural disaster. This is because the insurance company will require a list of every single item that was damaged or destroyed before reimbursement of those items will be made. Many disaster victims have stated to us that suffered a major financial loss due to not being able to maximize their claim.
When that happens, and tens of thousands of dollars must be withdrawn from savings, retirement funds, or other investments, what will that do to your current and future financial situation? We’ve heard stories of people having to work years beyond their target age of retirement, not having the funds originally set aside to pay for grandchildren’s college, or a long-planned vacation cancelled because those funds were needed to purchase necessary items the insurance settlement didn’t cover.
A home inventory is a natural component of Wealth Mentality. Investing in a nationally certified home inventory service, you’ll have the documents necessary to prove what you owned. You’ll be able to maximize your insurance claim. And you’ll most likely avoid needing to use funds set aside for other specific goals. After all, no one plans on a disaster. But having the wealth mentality to be prepared makes total sense, and is a wise investment.
A Different Kind of Resolution
For days we’ve been hearing and reading about new year’s resolutions. Personal resolutions. But what about your house? Is there such a thing as a home resolution? There is when it comes to things to do around the home. Lorene Bartos states in her blog, Resolutions around the home, that there are some key things that should be listed as a new year resolution.
As I often recommend, she says, ”…take or update your home inventory. Do you know what is in each room and the value of each item? You might be surprised when you add it all up — what you have and what it is worth if you would have to replace it because of fire or other disaster.”
Any time is a good time to create your home inventory, so why not now? Make it a resolution. You’ll be glad you did when you’re struggling to remember everything you USED to own after a major loss.
It’s as easy as putting it on your list of resolutions. Be sure to determine a deadline. If you haven’t done it by your assigned date, contact a nationally certified inventory professional to do it for you. Then next December, you can look back over the year, and realize how much peace of mind you created for yourself.
No More Guessing Required
Could you answer these questions?
- What are the contents of your home worth?
- Are you sufficiently insured?
- How many – of anything – do you own?
Most people shrug their shoulders, give a slight, sheepish grin and say nothing or just flat-out admit they don’t know.
How DO you know? By having an inventory of your belongings. This is helpful for both the home owner and the business owner when filing an insurance claim after a disaster or theft. Know how many you have of something (CDs, DVDs, clothing, pairs of shoes, etc.) and knowing the total sum of the value of your belongings is essential. For business owners, knowing how many tables, chairs, file cabinets, etc., is just as important – and as difficult – to know without having them counted and listed.
In this struggling economy, it is even more important to have a record of all of your assets. When suffering a loss, it will hurt more than in the past, especially since the cost of items continues to go up.
Remove the guessing game. Stop shrugging your shoulders. It’s best to know the answers to these questions. It’s the only way you’ll be able to properly recover. Make this a priority in 2012. If you don’t want to do it yourself, there are nationally certified inventory professionals throughout the United States. Check here for a list to find one near you. If there is no one in your vicinity, we’ll be happy to travel to provide this service for you.
What Did You Get For Christmas?
After the holidays, the normal conversation turns to “What did you get for Christmas?” Often people name a couple items, then there is a very uncomfortable pause . . . then, “Um. Hmmm. Uh, what else did I get?”
This makes me even more aware of the importance of having a home or business inventory. If you can’t remember the few items you just received (and possibly still under the tree), how will you remember everything you own when you have a loss and must list them all? How do you remember items that are a few years old – or even older?
Instead of the casual conversation you recently had about your holiday gifts, you’ll be under the constraints of a deadline, the emotion of the disaster you just experienced, and will be required to itemize all of your belongings on your insurance claim. Difficult? Yes! Impossible? Absolutely!
Gift yourself the opportunity to recover properly after a loss. A home inventory will be one of the best things you can do for yourself, because it will help you remember at a time when remembering is essential to your financial recovery! As we say…if you can’t remember, you can’t recover!
What the HECK are You Doing – Revisited
December is our busiest month each year. People who have put off their goal of having an inventory completed by year end finally schedule the appointment. If you have a business or home inventory on your to-do list for 2012, don’t procrastinate…here’s the perfect example why, shared originally in 2008 and just as pertinent today.
As I had my breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake I was enjoying another beautiful and slightly crisp October morning. I felt so blessed to be living the life I was living.After breakfast as I walked my pup I noticed the smoke coming from many of my neighbors’ chimneys and was reminded of how much I love to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a cup of tea. I considered calling the office to tell them I was calling in well.
I noticed the smoke coming out of my own chimney and had visions of curling up in front of the fire with a…fire? I hadn’t put a fire in the fireplace! I ran down the hill, up the steps and opened the front door to be greeted by a huge cloud of black smoke. My house was on fire.
A neighbor came out at just about that time and took my dog to her house where she called 911. I went back to my house to see if I could lure my cat out. The smoke was too thick and I couldn’t breathe even on the porch. I ran to an outside faucet, took off my wraparound skirt and saturated it with water. I was going to put it over my head as I worked to lure the cat out of the house.
Just as I put my soaking wet wool skirt over my head, I noticed two things; first, I had drawn a crowd as I ran around in my panties, garter belt and stockings; second, my cat was with them watching me. Aside from the fact that I was running around half naked when the firefighters arrived, I felt everything was, at that point, under control.
Turns out the fire had been burning inside the wall for an estimated two hours while I had been happily eating my breakfast. I’m so fortunate at so many levels because it could have reached flashpoint with me in the house. “Timing is everything!”
Ultimately it came time to deal with the insurance adjuster. No wet skirt over my head could do anything to protect me from him. Among his statements and decisions were:
1. No one person has that many shoes, handbags, clothes, etc.
2. What was the real age of the: computers, TVs, VCRs, toaster, Vita Mix, juicer, etc.
3. How do I know who painted what’s left of the artwork?
4. You paid WHAT for these sofas?
5. Who can verify that this pile of ashes was an antique?
6. There’s no way to tell what this jewelry was!
7. It won’t cost that much to replace that desk!
8. This can be fixed, reupholstered, whatever!
Of the items that were able to be salvaged, he insisted that they couldn’t all be mine.
The proverbial straw came for me when I walked into one of the back bedrooms and witnessed the epitome of pettiness. There was the adjuster sitting on the floor going through a box of tampons. “What the heck (I didn’t say heck) are you doing?” I asked in the kindest voice I could muster. His reply? “Not all of these are damaged. I’m just trying to decide which ones are still usable.” You do not want to know how I responded to that.
The real tragedy of the whole thing is actually in the fact that I had decided to have a home inventory done. It made sense and I planned to do it. I just hadn’t made it a priority. After all, fires, thefts, etc. are things that happen to other people, right? Wrong!
While auto and homeowner’s insurance are a must and it’s easy to determine the replacement value of our home or car, that’s not the case when it comes to personal property. Having gone through something none of us expects to go through, if there’s one bit of coaching I can give you, it’s to take the time to pursue the documentation of everything in your home. It’s tough to loose cherished items. It’s even tougher to have someone decide what they are not worth.
Have no doubt; I don’t make the same mistake twice. Once all was replaced and the house was once again inhabitable, I had my home inventory done immediately. TheHartmans are caring professionals who are expert in helping people avoid going through what I could have avoided had I not procrastinated. Give them a call and do it now! You’ll never regret it.
As a Life and Business Development Coach for nearly two decades, J.Sewell Perkins (J.S. as she is called) works with national and international corporations, corporate leaders and small business owners. Additionally she coaches many individuals who are seeking to change their lives for the better and realize their maximum potential. At one point in her career she was recruited by the president of the Robbins Companies for their coaching team. On the team for only a short while she was asked to assume the position of head coach which she accepted and assumed the responsibility of coaching the coaches. Not too long after that she was chosen to coach on Tony’s hand-picked Elite Coaching Team.
In A Split Second
Fast! Quick! Warp speed! Everything is going at a faster pace these days, and I doubt if that will change – at least not in the near future. One thing that always has and always will happen in a split second is a disaster. Whether you need to file an insurance claim due to a loss caused by a man-made or natural occurrence, everything you own can be gone at the snap your fingers.
Though a fire might smolder for hours, once you are aware of the fire, it’s just seconds that go by when you call 911 and get out of the house or business. When a tornado hits, you might have been warned for hours, but when it hits your house, destruction happens in just seconds. With a burglary, it’s the same. You don’t know how long the burglars were in your house, but you feel and see the loss in just a few moments of time.
Entrepreneur.com’s article, How To Recover Quickly When Disaster Strikes, offers some great advice. Have a backup plan, be properly insured, seek advice and mitigate risks are all helpful steps that the article covers. One omission that I noticed immediately, though, is to have a home or business inventory of your belongings.
Whether for your home or business – or both – an inventory of what you own will make the claims process go much smoother and quicker. Having a prepared list of items, including serial and model numbers, allows for a faster submission of the claim, which then provides you with the money to replace your items sooner than if you had no record of your belongings.
With this information prepared ahead of time, there will be fewer questions and fewer back-and-forth conversations with the adjuster. This equates to a less stressful and faster settlement. In fact, disaster victims have stated the following: those with an inventory file their initial claim within 72 hours, while those without usually take between 4 and 12 months.
Being prepared with a home or business inventory will assist with a quick recovery. If you don’t have the time or desire to create your own inventory, a nationally certified professional will provide the service quickly and efficiently.
The Burden of Proof
One of the most common misunderstandings about recovering from a disaster and receiving a proper settlement is that if you have insurance, you’ll just get a check in the mail for the amount of your coverage. Far too many people are unaware of the fact that it is not that easy – it is a long, painstaking process to file a claim if you aren’t prepared ahead of time.
No matter what disaster happens, from a few items stolen or every single item destroyed by a fire or tornado, you will need to provide a business or home inventory to your insurance company. This list is how they know how much to pay you. If you don’t include an item, you won’t receive settlement funds to replace it. This is a daunting task that can take months and months to complete.
A recent article on WSOC TV’s website, titled Items found miles away from tornado’s path, shows how complicated and difficult this can be. The recent tornado in York County, South Carolina, dropped household items miles away. People are recovering them and turning the items into the local fire department. OK, that seems easy enough – you’re thinking … just go over to the fire station and pick up your stuff, right?
The problem is, how do the firemen know who to give the items to? How do they know the items are really yours? “The storage area is being kept locked to keep the items safe. However, as courts get involved in disputes over the ownership of some things, firefighters can’t let anything be taken until legal decisions are made.”
How much easier it would be if these homeowners had an inventory! They could take their photographs and written report (which would include serial numbers and model numbers) to the local authorities to prove it’s theirs.
The term “burden of proof” is often brought up in the court system. It’s also a huge piece of the insurance settlement process. Compiling this information is worth the time and effort now, rather than when you’re sitting on a pile of timber, wondering if you’ll ever recover well enough to replace all that you owned.
Start your own inventory business!
Click the logo to find out more about our Turnkey Business Package!