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In the coming weeks, FEMA will be sending letters to all policy holders who had a claim resulting from Superstorm Sandy. The letters will offer each of the nearly 142,000 policy holders the option of having their claim re-reviewed by a certified flood adjuster if they felt they were shortchanged in the initial review.

Policyholders will have 90 days from receipt of the notice to contact FEMA to schedule the review.

Did Sandy damage your property, and were you dissatisfied with the claim process in the first go-round? Now is the time to get a second opinion, and potentially receive a more lucrative claim payment. Keep a lookout for the FEMA notice, and don’t delay in requesting a review.

by O. Ritter

Are you thinking of having some work done on your home? It is important to take steps to protect yourself in case there is an accident caused by a contractor. Before you hire a contractor these are the questions you need to ask. How many projects have you done in the past? Will my project require a permit? What types of insurance do you carry? These are all important questions because you want to make sure that A) The contractor can do the job correctly B) you have legal and legit requirements for the job, and last but not least C) you want to make sure you are protected in case something goes wrong on the job.

Here are the four basic factors you should know before getting started.

• How big is the job?
• What are the risks?
• How can I protect myself?
• How vital is it to have a Workers Compensation policy?

 

How big is the Job?

Know how big the job is. This is a very important factor to know because it will allow you to make the necessary decisions on who you should hire (i.e. an architect, a contractor, a contractor and work crew). Well, keep in mind the bigger the job, the higher the risk. As briefly mentioned above, if you’re having a bigger job done on your home, you will need to hire an architect. Architects are professionally trained to create the blueprints necessary for larger jobs, and may be required to obtain permits. They should be licensed, as should your contractor. For smaller jobs, you may be able to skip this step and move right on to the construction.

What are the risks?

If something were to go wrong while a contractor is on the job, and the insurance provided is not adequate to cover the claims, there is risk of being sued (by an injured worker), and you may have to rely on your homeowners insurance to cover the damages. This is not something you want to do and I’ll explain why in just a moment.

First, before hiring a contractor or beginning a remodeling project on your property, check with your broker on your homeowners policy for specifics regarding your coverage. Your liability insurance will protect those uninsured, injured workers on your property, as well as any uncovered damages that occur -BUT – you don’t want that claim and ensuing premium increases! Still, for large jobs, you may want to contact your broker and see about getting additional coverage, such as an umbrella policy which protects your existing personal assets and future personal assets against the cost of losing a lawsuit on your property. It’s always in your best interest to be better prepared in case of any emergencies. That starts with making sure you hire a contractor or architect that has the proper insurance. So before hire, check their certificate of insurance

How can I protect myself?

Most states require having a permit before performing any work on a home or building so keep this in mind before you hire to get the job completed. Also you want to make sure there’s a written contract; what the contractor will or won’t do, the contractor’s obligation to get all necessary permits, and the estimated start date etc… These documents are essential, and will help you in the long run if things get out of hand. Make sure the contractor has at least $1,000,000 in General Liability Coverage, and for exceeding risky or especially large jobs, an umbrella bringing that up to $5,000,000 may be recommended. Ask the contractor to name you as an “Additional Insured”, which will allow their insurance to pay for legal costs in the event of the claim. If subcontractors are being utilized by your contractor, their insurance should also be scrutinized – and don’t forget the Workers Compensation!

How vital is a Workers Compensation policy?

Workers Compensation is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured while on a job. When hiring a contractor, your home is the jobsite. Proof of Workers Compensation is essential when hiring a contractor that will be bringing workers on site! If someone were to get hurt, you don’t want to be the one in line to pay. Again, this goes for any subcontractors as well.

 

I sure hope this information was helpful to you in making the right decisions when hiring or looking for someone to do work on your home. Remember the four categories: how big is the job, what are the risks, how you can protect yourself, and the importance of Workers Compensation. This will be helpful to you in the long run, and will keep you protected during and after a construction project.

by P. Andersen

Looking for something to do this weekend?  From Greenwich to Greenwich Village, from Westport to Irvington, our area offers a Cornucopia of entertainment.  Here are a couple options if your flavor runs towards pets of all shapes or sizes.

This Sunday, September 7^th, come see, and maybe buy yourself a reptile at the Westchester County Center in White Plains! Over 100 reptile breeders will be at the NY Metro Reptile Expo selling their little (and not so little) friends, along with all the accompaniments you might need to turn your home into a terrarium. This is the largest reptile event on the east coast, so if you love the little critters, this is the place to be.

NY Metro Reptile Expo, $10/adults, $5/Children – 845-526-4845

Sunday, September 7^th from 10:00 to 4:00

Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave, White Plains, NY

http://events.greenwichtime.com/white_plains_ny/events/show/371420510-ny-metro-reptile-expo

Looking for a more traditional pet? The Larchmont Pet Rescue in Harrison NY is sponsoring a Puppy/Dog Meet and Greet on Saturday, September 6^th. Visit from 11:00 to 1:00, and find your family’s new best friend.

Larchmont Pet Rescue, 7 Harrison Ave, Harrison NY.

Saturday, September 6^th from 11:00 to 1:00

http://events.greenwichtime.com/harrison_ny/events/show/371600425-puppy-dog-meet-greet

By: Alan Mani

The weekend is here, and we hope you can take the time to enjoy the region’s events.  Levitt-Fuirst insures clients from Greenwich to Chappaqua, from Manhattan to Westport.  We love the region as much as anyone and we hope you get out and enjoy the spoils our beautiful area offers.

Are you in Chappaqua with your special someone? Do you enjoy watching butterflies and humming birds? Go do the Saw Mill River Audubon: Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden Tour at Pruyn at 10 in the morning. Learn how to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard.

Visiting some family in Greenwich? Go to the Bruce Museum and explore the extraordinary deep sea by examining both the adapted survival strategies utilized by creatures of the deep and the technology that enables researchers to record ground-breaking observations.

Not exactly sure what you want to do this weekend? See what interests you with a visit to the Greenwich Time website for more music, food and entertainment options in southern Connecticut, Westchester, and New York City.

by Peter Andersen

August 6, 2014

The goal of any insurance policy in the event of a claim is to “make whole” the insured. The concept is that your insurance should put you back to the way you were before you had the loss – not better off, and not worse off – the same. The devil is in the details, however – how do you recreate the way you were at the time of the loss? How do you tell your insurance carrier exactly what was lost, and in what condition it was? How do you show them the valuables that were stolen, or the quality of the workmanship after a fire or flood or theft?

Q. How do you show your insurance carrier what needs replacement after the loss rendered the item unrecognizable, lost or stolen?

A. You have video and Inventory of your possessions BEFORE the loss!

If you want to protect yourself from a future claim, prepare today for the unthinkable. There are two key things you can do ahead of time to make your life easier after a loss: take videos and pictures, and make an inventory.

Your phone likely has an amazing camera and video camera. Take a walking tour video of your house, describing each item as you video it. Break the video up into rooms, and save each individually, making it easier to find a particular item. Take pictures and videos of valuables, those items that will be harder or more expensive to replace. One of a kind items? These are the most important items to document, and they should be listed on your Valuable Articles policy (as discussed in our blog from Monday). Still, collect details on these items as well – the appraisal, where and when you purchased it, price, and pictures or images of the object.

These videos and pictures will often auto backup to the web, but you should always manually store the images to the web so you can get them in an emergency, even if your computer or cell phone is destroyed, lost or stolen. There are several options for this – you can email yourself the pictures and videos if you use a web mail program (Google, Yahoo, etc). Even better, store them in the cloud using one of the free storage options (Google Drive, Apple iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive are all good examples of free cloud storage options). Should a claim arise, you now have video evidence of what you have in your house, making it easier for you AND the carrier to “make you whole”.

Once you have your video documentation, make up a home inventory to go along with it. Write down everything you have in your house that you would want replaced, should there be a claim. For more expensive items, get serial numbers and model numbers (to go along with the video evidence you just created). Where and when did you get it? How much did you pay? Information is so important – the more you have, the easier it will be when it comes time to discuss the claim with your insurance carrier. The website http://www.knowyourstuff.org/ is an excellent resource for creating your inventory, and this portion of their site gives you amazing insight into the process if how and what to inventory. Read about what you should do here, from Know Your Stuff, or watch the video on Youtube.  You can also simply create a spreadsheed using Excel, again saving the file to the cloud for access in the event of a claim.

Remember – after a loss is too late. Take the time to inventory, in list and image, before the need arises. As with all insurance, the best case scenario is you never need to use these images, videos and lists. It is the best possible outcome.