SCCIA Conference 2018

Director Ray Farmer addresses attendees at the SCCIA conference, Wednesday, December 12, 2018. Gov. Henry McMaster met with attendees and addressed the gathering, as well.

South Carolina has long been considered one of the top 5 mature domiciles in the Western Hemisphere. Since captive enabling legislation was passed in 2000, we have focused on developing the infrastructure, resources, and staffing to provide our captive owners with a robust and thriving captive marketplace. The result is a well-rounded domicile that can address your captive needs whether they be large or small, simple or complex.

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How to Avoid a Christmas Tree Fire

It’s the holidays, and might mean festive decorations throughout your home. Real Christmas trees are a beautiful tradition, but they can also be dangerous and deadly. Real trees must be properly cared for, or you may end up with a costly insurance claim at best, and at worst? Loss of your home and the lives of those you love.

Here is how you can help prevent your Christmas tree from catching on fire this holiday season. 

• When choosing a tree, look for one that is fresh and has green needles that don’t fall out.
• Brownish needles mean the tree is dried out and more prone to catch fire.
• Water your tree daily to prevent it from drying out.
• Check the manufacturer’s labels to ensure you use only lights and decorations that are flame-retardant. Look for a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories, Intertek or the Canadian Standards Association, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• Check holiday lights for frayed wires or excessive wear.
• Don’t connect more than three strands of mini-string sets and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs.
• Keep your tree at least 3 feet away from any heat source, such as a fireplace, radiator, candles or lights.
• Make sure your tree is not blocking an exit. In case there is a fire, you want a way to get out.
• Always turn off lights on a tree before going to bed or leaving your home.
• Get rid of a tree when its needles start dropping. It means the tree is drying out.
• Check that your smoke alarm is working properly.

Pet Insurance…is it worth its bark?

Do you have a loved dog or cat…or some other house pet that you want to get insurance for? If so, you’re not alone. U.S. pet owners spent more than $1 billion on insurance for their pets last year. That is a jump of 23% in money spent on covering pets. It is estimated that 1.8 million dogs and cats are covered by insurance now, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association.

Often times, owners are promised affordable, lifetime health care for their pet, but that may not always be the case.
“A two-month Consumers’ Checkbook investigation found that most accident and illness plans end up being neither affordable nor lifelong, according to an article published by the Washington Post. (For Checkbook’s full pet insurance report, as well as ratings of local veterinarians, visit here.)

Here are some important takeaways from the Washington Post article: (read the full Washington Post article here)

Price hikes: Most buyers sign up for insurance when their pets are young and monthly premiums are lowest. But four or five years later, the premiums most companies charge start to rise — purely because the pets get older. Sooner or later, the price may become unaffordable.

Costs can outweigh benefits: In a study done by Checkbook, insurance was a worse deal when the cat or dog were lucky to have only low to moderate health problems, and a better deal when they suffered lots of medical problems. But the problem with spending so much to insure against disaster is that the odds of calamity are fairly long. Every six seconds a pet owner faces a vet bill of $1,000 or more, according to PetInsuranceQuotes.com, an online marketplace. Pet insurers also cite this statistic. That sounds scary, but in a country of 185 million cats and dogs, that’s about a 3 percent chance over a year.

Tips for buying pet insurance:

• Before buying, learn how your premium will increase as your pet ages by using the insurer’s online quote engine. First, get a monthly premium quote using your pet’s age; then get quotes for the 10 or 12 ensuing years. Multiply each age’s monthly premium by 12; then add up all the resulting annual premiums to estimate what insurance will cost over that period.
  Understand what’s not covered. A leading complaint to regulators is claims being rejected for conditions or treatments not covered by the policy. No policy covers preexisting conditions, and some conditions that are covered may be considered preexisting if they develop up to a year after you enroll. If your pet is ill or injured, the diagnostic exam is often not covered by many plans, even though the treatment is covered. Follow-up exams for that covered condition are often not covered, either. Those $50 to $100 exam fees amount to a hidden added deductible.
• Avoid claim rejection for a preexisting condition by insuring your pet when it’s a puppy or kitten — before it has a chance to develop a preexisting condition (but don’t forget the caveat above). You can typically enroll when your pet is 6 to 8 weeks of age.
• Forget add-ons for wellness, preventive and elective care. When Checkbook added up the lifetime costs of Woof’s routine care, about $2,400, and used that information to compare Nationwide’s Major Medical illness and injury plan with its Whole Pet with Wellness plan, it found that adding wellness coverage was a poor deal. Total lifetime Whole Pet premiums for the dog were much higher — almost $11,400 more — almost five times the dog’s lifetime wellness costs.
• Consider accident-only policies, which cover injuries but not illness and can be considerably less expensive. ASPCA would charge Woof $35 a month for its accident-only plan, a price that doesn’t increase with age.
• You must pay premiums every month, but you may or may not have to pay deductibles and co-pays, depending on your pet’s health. So it may be worth it to cut your premium costs by increasing your deductible, reducing the percent reimbursed, and choosing an annual limit of only $5,000 or $10,000 instead of unlimited. These are standard insurance cost-reduction tactics, but be aware that they shift more of the risk of future vet bills to you.

 

 

Let’s Get Back to the Basics: What is covered by standard homeowners insurance?

Are you a potential or new homeowner? If you fall into either one of these categories, do you know what your homeowners insurance will cover? This post gives you the basics of what homeowners coverage provides.

Homeowners insurance gives you financial protection against damages against your house, loss due to disasters, theft and accidents. There are four standard areas covered by your regular homeowners policy. The four areas that are covered are: your home’s physical structure; personal belongings; liability protection; and coverage for additional living expenses.

Let’s Break Them Down! 

#1 Coverage for the structure of your home
Your policy should pay to repair or rebuild your home if it is damaged or destroyed by fire, hurricane, hail, lightning or other disasters listed in your policy (read your policy carefully before signing up!). Detached structures such as a garage, tool shed or gazebo are covered in some policies as well – again check with your agent and read your policy carefully.
It is important to note: a standard policy will not pay for damage caused by a flood, earthquake or routine wear and tear.
When purchasing coverage for the structure of your home, remember this simple guideline: Purchase enough coverage to rebuild your home.

#2 Coverage for your personal belongings
This covers things inside your home like furniture, clothes, sports equipment and other personal items that are stolen or destroyed by fire, hurricane or other insured disasters. The coverage is generally 50 to 70 percent of the insurance you have on the structure of the house.
You should conduct a home inventory to see if this is enough coverage for you. 
Note: Personal belongings coverage includes items stored off-premises—this means you are covered anywhere in the world. Some companies limit the amount to 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have for your possessions- again check and read carefully before signing your policy! Remember that expensive items like jewelry, furs, art, collectibles and silverware are covered, but there are usually dollar limits if they are stolen. You may wish to purchase additional insurance to cover those items fully.

#3 Liability protection
Liability is legal protection for you in case of lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or family members cause to other people. It also pays for damage caused by your pets. Example: if a child or pet of yours ruins someone’s property, you are covered.
The liability portion of your policy pays for both the cost of defending you in court and any court awards—up to the limit stated in your policy documents- so again, check your policy.

Liability protection also provides no-fault medical coverage for someone injured in your home. But please note, it does not pay the medical bills for your own family or your pet.

#4 Additional living expenses (ALE)
Additional living expenses pays any additional costs of living away from home if you cannot live there due to damage from a an insured disaster. This coverage takes care of hotel bills, restaurant meals and other costs, over and above your usual living expenses, incurred while your home is being rebuilt.
ALE does have limits, however, and some have time limits – talk to your agent and understand what, if any, restrictions there are in your ALE portion.

Don’t Let an Earthquake Rattle You: Be Prepared

Like flood insurance, earthquake insurance is not included in your regular homeowner’s policy. Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property.
Most earthquake insurance policies feature a high deductible, which makes this type of insurance useful if the entire home is destroyed, but not useful if the home is merely damaged. Rates depend on location and the probability of an earthquake loss. Rates may be cheaper for homes made of wood, which withstand earthquakes better than homes made of brick. But if you live near a fault line in South Carolina (and they do happen!) you should seriously consider buying some level of earthquake insurance – because you never know when you might need it!

Unlike hurricanes and some other natural hazards, earthquakes strike suddenly and without warning, but there are things that you can do to reduce the chances that you or other members of your household will be injured, that your property will be damaged, or that your home life will be unduly disrupted by an earthquake.

Before an earthquake

• Consider purchasing earth quake insurance. You won’t be able to retroactively purchase insurance to cover past damages.
• Make your home safer to be in during earthquakes and more resistant to earthquake damage by assessing its structure and contents. Depending on when and how it was designed and built, the structure you live in may have weaknesses that make it more vulnerable to earthquakes. Common examples include structures not anchored to their foundations or having weak crawl space walls, unbraced pier-and-post foundations, or unreinforced masonry walls or foundations.
  If you own your home, find and correct any such weaknesses, yourself or with professional help. If you are a renter, ask what has been done to strengthen the property against earthquakes, and consider this information in deciding where to rent. If you are building or buying a home, make sure that it complies with the seismic provisions of your local building code.
• Consider what is in your home: any unsecured objects that can move, break, or fall as an earthquake shakes your home are potential safety hazards and potential property losses. Walk through each room of your home and make note of these items, paying particular attention to tall, heavy, or expensive objects such as bookcases, home electronics, appliances (including water heaters), and items hanging from walls or ceilings. Secure these items with flexible fasteners, such as nylon straps, or with closed hooks, or by relocating them away from beds and seating, to lower shelves, or to cabinets with latched doors. Ensure that plumbers have installed flexible connectors on all gas appliances.
• Learn what to do during an earthquake. Hold periodic family drills to practice what you have learned. Through practice, you can condition yourselves to react spontaneously and safely when the first jolt or shaking is felt.
• In each room of your home, identify the safest places to “drop, cover, and hold on” during an earthquake. Practice going to these safe spots during family drills to ensure that everyone learns where they are.
• Assemble and maintain a household emergency supply kit, and be sure that all family members know where it is stored. The kit should consist of one or two portable containers (e.g., plastic tubs, backpacks, duffel bags) holding the supplies that your family would need to survive without outside assistance for at least 3 days following an earthquake or other disaster. Make additional, smaller kits to keep in your car(s) and at your place(s) of work. List addresses, telephone numbers, and evacuation sites for all places frequented by family members (e.g., home, workplaces, schools). Include the phone number of an out-of-state contact. Ensure that family members carry a copy of this list, and include copies in your emergency supply kits.
• Get training in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) through your local chapter of the American Red Cross. Find out where you could shelter your pet should it become necessary to evacuate your home. Ensure that family members know how and when to call 9-1-1, how to use your home fire extinguisher, and how, where, and when to shut off your home’s utilities (water, natural gas, and electricity).

During an earthquake

• When earthquake shaking begins, immediately apply what you have learned about What to Do During an Earthquake. Reacting safely will reduce your chances of being injured.

After an earthquake

• Once the shaking stops, check for injuries among your family and neighbors and, as needed, administer first aid and call for emergency medical assistance. Also check for hazards in and around your home created by earthquake damage. Keep in mind that aftershocks may strike at any time, exacerbating these hazards and requiring you to immediately drop, cover, and hold on.
• Responding promptly to hazards can prevent further damage and injuries. This may entail extinguishing small fires or reporting larger blazes; shutting off the water supply when broken pipes are leaking; shutting off the electricity when damaged wiring threatens to spark fires; shutting off the natural gas when you suspect that gas is leaking; or evacuating your home when any of these hazards or others, such as structural damage, make continued occupancy potentially unsafe.
• If it is necessary to leave your home, you may, in the days and weeks following the quake, need to seek emergency assistance from the American Red Cross. In the event of a presidential disaster declaration, assistance for housing and other needs may also become available from FEMA.
• Regardless of the severity of this earthquake, learn from the experience. If there are things that you could have done better in preparing for this quake, do them better now in preparation for the next earthquake. If your home must be repaired or rebuilt, for example, use this opportunity to correct any structural weaknesses and ensure compliance with seismic building standards. If unsecured belongings were damaged, improve how you secure your home’s contents. If your emergency supply kit proved inadequate, use what you learned to make a kit that will better meet your needs.

 

 

 

What to Expect After Registering With FEMA

Homeowners and renters in four South Carolina counties with uninsured and underinsured losses caused by Hurricane Florence need to know what to expect when they apply for assistance with FEMA.

Hurricane Florence survivors in the designated counties will need the following to apply for assistance

* Social Security Number;
* Daytime telephone number;
* Current mailing address and address and ZIP Code of the damaged property; and
* Insurance information, if available.

To check eligibility for federal, state and voluntary agency disaster assistance survivors can visit DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362 (800-462-7785 TTY). Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).

After registering with FEMA, a survivor may be contacted by a FEMA-contracted housing inspector to schedule an inspection to verify disaster-related damage. The inspection generally takes about 20-40 minutes. The inspector will want to see the damaged areas of the home and any damaged furniture and personal property. There is no fee for the inspection.

If the home was found to be inaccessible at the time of inspection, the applicant is required to let FEMA know when the home is accessible and request a new inspection. To update the status of an uninhabitable dwelling applicants should call the disaster assistance Helpline at 800-621-3362. Once the status of the home is updated and the survivor has requested a new inspection, a FEMA-contracted inspector will contact the applicant to schedule the inspection.

On the day of the inspection, applicants should ask the inspector to show a FEMA photo ID badge. If an inspector refuses to show FEMA photo identification, do not allow the inspection. Disasters often bring out scam artists who prey on the needs of disaster survivors.
Someone 18 years of age or older must be present during the inspection. The inspector will also ask to see:
* Photo identification;
* Proof of ownership/occupancy of damaged residence (tax bill, mortgage payment book, rental agreement or utility bill);
* Insurance documents (homeowner’s or renter’s insurance and/or an auto insurance policy summary);
* List of people living in the residence at the time of disaster; and
* All disaster-related damages to both real and personal property.

Once the inspection process is complete, FEMA will review the case and send a letter to the applicant outlining a decision.

If an applicant is eligible for a FEMA assistance, FEMA will send funds via check by mail or direct deposit into the survivor’s bank account. If a survivor receives money for rental assistance, the survivor must keep documentation and receipts of payments made and have a written landlord/tenant agreement for the time frame for which assistance is provided.

If an applicant is not eligible for FEMA assistance, FEMA will send a letter explaining why the applicant was determined ineligible. The applicant should read this letter carefully. Many times ineligibility is due to FEMA not having important information, such as an insurance settlement letter, proof of ownership or proof of occupancy. Applicants have 60 days to appeal a FEMA decision. The appeal process is detailed in the letter.

After registering for disaster assistance, survivors may be asked to fill out a low-interest disaster loan application with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA offers low-interest disaster loans for businesses and nonprofit organizations of all sizes, homeowners and renters. Completing a home loan application makes it possible to be considered for additional assistance. Applicants do not have to accept the loan if they qualify.

SBA applicants may apply online at DisasterLoan.sba.gov. Information about low-interest SBA disaster loans and application forms are available online at SBA.gov/disaster or by calling 800-659-2955 (TTY users call 800-877-8339) or via email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Call SBA at 800-659-2955 to have an application mailed to you.

FEMA assistance may include help to pay for: temporary housing, emergency home repairs and rental assistance; medical, dental and funeral expenses; essential personal property; or miscellaneous immediate need items.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is unable to duplicate insurance payments. However, those without insurance or those who may be underinsured may still receive help after their insurance claims have been settled.

 

Don’t Let the Dangers of Mold Grow

Mold is a serious issue that can impact your health and home after a weather event that brought water into your home. Mold is caused by excess moisture and standing water inside your home. Steps can be taken to prevent mold growth if wet items are cleaned and dried within 24 to 48 hours. Make sure you only enter your home once it is safe.

Signs of Mold:
Mold can be recognized by sight or smell or present no signs at all (hidden behind walls or under floors)

• Sight (Mold growth often appears on walls and ceilings, looks like spots and can be many different colors)
• Smell (You may smell a strong unpleasant musty, earthy odor)

People at Greatest Risk for Health Effects from Mold:

• If you are allergic to mold, or you have asthma, allergies, or other breathing conditions, being around mold may make your condition worse.
• If you have a chronic lung condition or a weak immune system (such as people with HIV infection, cancer patients taking chemotherapy, and people who have received an organ transplant), you could be more susceptible to mold infections in your lungs.

Possible Health Effects of Mold Exposure:

• People who are sensitive to mold may have a stuffy nose, irritated eyes, wheezing, or skin irritation.
• People who are allergic to mold may have difficulty breathing or have shortness of breath.
• People with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases may develop mold infections in their lungs.

If you or your family members have health problems after exposure to mold and you think that mold is affecting your health, please contact your doctor or other health care provider.

Cleaning Wet or Moldy Items after a Severe Weather Event:

When your home is safe to enter, dry out your home as quickly as possible to minimize mold problems and perhaps even prevent the growth of mold at all.

Water damage specialists or mold remediation companies have experience with cleanups of flooded homes and can provide you the peace of mind of knowing mold problems will be properly taken care of. At a minimum, a maintenance or service professional that is experienced in mold clean up should check and clean your home heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system before you turn it on. If the HVAC system was flooded with water, turning on the system may spread mold throughout the house.

If you choose to perform clean up yourself, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers the following information:

• To protect yourself from potential exposure to mold, buy an N-95 or N-100 mask at your local home supply store and wear it while cleaning your home (an ordinary dust mask or handkerchief will not protect you from the mold)
• Hard-surfaced, non-porous items which do not absorb water can be cleaned using soap and water and disinfected with a bleach solution of no more than 1/2 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water. ( Never mix bleach with other household cleaners. Mixing bleach and ammonia can produce dangerous toxic fumes ). Nonporous materials include tile floors, countertops, showers, tubs, metal objects, plastic, glass, and other hard nonabsorbent materials and surfaces.
• Porous materials soak up water like a sponge. Items that cannot be dried thoroughly within 24-48 hours of getting wet are much more difficult to disinfect and may need to be replaced to prevent mold growth. Porous items include wood, drywall, carpet, mattresses, fabrics, and furniture made of particle board.
• Ensure that wood studs are completely dry prior to re-installing wallboard. If the wood is not completely dry, more mold can start growing behind the new wallboard.
  Use plastic to shield areas adjacent to where you are working so that spores disturbed by the clean-up don’t become reattached to a new substrate and grow. This includes sealing off nearby HVAC ducts, which often have sources of moisture and food for spores to grow.

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