Lauren W., our College blogger, experienced a dorm “fire” at her university. Here’s what she learned:

About a month ago, 414 students were rudely awoken at two-thirty in the morning from their slumber to a chaotic scene. The students were pulled out of bed by loud alarms and ceiling sprinklers going berserk and had to trudge across the street to the other dorm. What caused this scene?

Three male students threw cigarettes in the bathroom’s trash bin without putting them out and the sprinklers immediately went off as soon as they sensed the smoke. They not only went off on the boy’s floor, but the other three floors of the dorm. It did not help when pipes burst and more water exploded into the hallways.

With all of this water coming into the hallways, it was unavoidable that innocent students would receive lots of water damage to their things in their dorms. One of my friends woke up to three inches of standing water, a destroyed laptop, and soaking wet clothing. Not only did he have to evacuate his room for four nights but he also had to bring his clothing to a dry cleaner and figure out the laptop dilemma.

My friend was not the only one who was put in this situation because of a group of boys who were not thinking about consequences. Thankfully, the university volunteered to reimburse all of the students who had property damage. However, it is still important to be aware that fires and other incidents can happen and how to protect your things if something were to happen.

So what can you do? Here are some steps you can take:

Plan Ahead: One of the top ways to guarantee your college belongings are safe is to talk to your insurance companies. Mine covers any damages to electronics and computers without any question for a low price every month. Most large electronic or computer companies will also offer insurance packages as well.

Keep Things Safe: When leaving the room, make sure to look around at what damage could possibly happen while you’re gone. Electronics being plugged in when they receive water damage can be harmful to the object as well as possibly letting of dangerous sparks to the rest of the room. If necessary, put you’re computer tucked away into a drawer. This way it will avoid damage and the possibility of it being stolen.

Organize: Keep as many things off the floor as possible. The floor is the first place where water damage would hit, so the less on the floor the better. Also, keep important items of clothing you wouldn’t want anything to happen in waterproof bins or dress bags.

College life brings along a lot more troubles than just school work - even other students cause a mini-disaster at any moment! When approaching college life, make sure your important belongings are safe from these unexpected twists and turns.

Thanks Lauren!! Have a tip or question for Lauren? Post it below! 

Welcome back! It’s Day 2 of our week-long spring cleaning series. (Read Day #1 here!)

Spring cleaning can be a lot more than just cleaning out closets and putting winter items away: how about “cleaning” and organizing your financial house as well!

Pick a topic below and get started!

Insurance

Having adequate coverage is key, just in case the unexpected occurs. You never know when Mother Nature might cause a slight disruption in your life, so get ready!

1. How much is your home worth? Do you have enough insurance on your home to rebuild it if it is destroyed? Do you even know how to calculate the amount of insurance you need? Learn how to estimate your home’s value.

2. Am I covered? The more you know and understand about home insurance, the better you can insure yourself and your family in case of loss. Top questions to ask your agent…

3. Get extra coverage. Did you know that most home owner’s insurance policies only cover about $1000 worth of electronics and only $1500 worth of jewelry? Look into extra riders to make sure your possessions are protected…

4. Review your policy. There are about five key events that should trigger a review. The first one is…

Finances

1. Start an emergency fund. Unexpected medical bills, disasters, even car accidents - you should have a pool of money set aside for these little speed bumps of life. Learn how to get started…

2. Do a home inventory. It’s like “found money” - it can help you make your case to the insurance companies when filing a claim after a loss, theft or natural disasters. Learn more…

3. Write a will and name beneficiaries for major policies. Take care of your finances for your loved ones before it’s too late. Start today.

That’s Day 2! Check back tomorrow for tips on how to prep your home for the spring severe weather season ahead. Have a tip? Post it in the Comments section below!

By Jacqueline Lloyd, our guest fire blogger and the author of The Thief Of Sacred

You wouldn’t take a cruise without a life boat, right? Insurance is the same idea. It protects you in the event of an emergency. Just remember, when selecting your policy, coverage, and agency, know what you’re buying and understand its limitations.

If a person buys a policy via the internet or just takes the cheapest bid, the old adage holds true: you get what you pay for. Here are a few helpful tips to be sure you’re adequately covered.

1. Do your research. Take the time to do research and develop a relationship with your agent and agency.

2. Read everything through.

• Go through your policy very carefully and make sure you’re adequately covered in terms of replacement costs.
• Be sure to factor inflation into your calculations, as well as the current cost of construction and materials.
• Granted, this is just about as exciting as a visit to the dentist, but you’ll be kicking yourself eternally if the worst does happen and your coverage isn’t what you thought it was!

3. Get extra coverage for the things that matter.

• Pay special attention to items you really treasure. Many people mourn special items they didn’t bother to insure because they never thought the worst would happen. Even if it’s irreplaceable, if it’s properly insured you can at least buy yourself a condolence prize.

As a fire victim, I learned the hard way. You don’t have to!

Bad service, late service, lost possessions…we’ve all been there. Here are two handy resources that help you share your complaints and avoid future problems:

Travel

Had a thirty-minute wait to get through airport security? Met some unpleasant security workers? Now you can let it all out and share your security gripes on TSA’s blog called the Evolution of Security.

Insurance

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, delays in the claims process was the No. 1 complaint of insurance consumers in 2007. Here are the top 5 tips from NAIC on how you can avoid lengthy claims process delays:

• Know Your Policy: Understand what your policy says. The policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. Know what’s covered, what’s excluded and what the deductibles are.

• File Claims as Soon as Possible: Don’t let the bills or receipts pile up. Call your agent or your company’s claims hotline as soon as possible. Your policy might require that you make the notification within a certain time frame.

• Provide Complete, Correct Information: Be certain to give your insurance company all the information they need. Incorrect or incomplete information will only cause a delay in processing your claim.

• Keep Copies of all Correspondence: Whenever you communicate with your insurance company, be sure to keep copies and records of all correspondence. Write down information about your telephone and in-person contacts, including the date, name and title of the person you spoke with and what was said. Also, keep a record of your time and expenses.

• Auto and Homeowners Claims: Auto and homeowners policies might require you to make temporary repairs to protect your property from further damage. Your policy should cover the cost of these temporary repairs, so keep all receipts. Also, maintain any damaged personal property for the adjuster to inspect. If possible, take photographs or video of the damage before making temporary repairs.

Are your New Year’s resolutions focused on getting more organized and save some money? Here are a few articles and tips to help you keep that resolution going:

1. Talk to your insurance agent: Make sure you have enough coverage now so that you’re not racking up expensive credit cards bills in the wake of a natural disaster or fire:

Home 

• Homeowners: Ask About Insurance
• Renter’s Insurance
• When to Review Your Policy
• Adding Additional Coverage

Car

• Accidents - Ask Your Insurance Agent
  
• Car Insurance Coverage Questions

2. Keep your numbers safe: Identity theft can certainly put a dent in things financially. How to keep your information safe from thieves:

• Top Ten Tax Time Safety Tips
• Detecting ID Theft
• Prevent ID Theft

3. Carry smart: You certainly don’t want a thief spending all your hard-earned cash! Keep an eye out when shopping or running errands:

• ATM Safety Tips
• Shopping Safety - Stay Smart
• Wallet/Purse Theft - Carry Smart

Have a tip to share? Post it in our Comments section below!!

If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with a serious illness, you may have already discovered that dealing with actual health issues is just part of the individual puzzle you must reassess and reassemble.

One major hurdle: paying the health care bills. However, there are solutions out there. Our guest columnist and licensed insurance agent, M. Bryan Freeman, explains one often over-looked solution: life settlements.

What is a life settlement??

Basically, a life settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy. Although life settlements are usually undertaken by relatively healthy seniors for financial- and estate-planning reasons, people with serious illness also may qualify.

Learn more - read M. Bryan Freeman’s article here…

This is the last part of the article “Insurance Riders: Do I Need One?” written by our guest insurance blogger, Stephen Hadhazi.

How much coverage is enough? Do I need to buy extra riders to cover the contents in my home? Stephen Hadhazi, a certified public insurance adjuster, tackles the answers to these very questions:

Policy Limits

In addition, certain items such as jewelry, firearms, coin collections, furs, fine art, computers, and electronics are subject to policy limits. To make sure you’re adequately covered, inventory your possessions and compare the value against your personal property coverage and any related limits.

The following list represents common policy limits:

• Business personal property - $2500
• Computer equipment and electronics - $1000
• Firearms - $2000
• Jewelry, furs, fine arts - $1000-$1500
• Money (including coin collections) - $250
• Silverware - $2500
• Structures other than dwelling such as sidewalks, driveways, fences, permanent yard structures, and swimming pools – 10% of the dwelling limit
• Trees and landscaping – 5% of the dwelling limit

Endorsements(riders) to consider:

• Individual floaters for valuable items
• Replacement Cost Value coverage (not available for personal property on flood policies)

Personal Liability Limits

Most policies offer liability limits of $100,000 to $300,000. While this sounds like a lot of money, it might not be enough especially if you have a high net worth or own expensive assets, a dog, a swimming pool, or your own business.

Most policies offer liability limits of $100,000 to $300,000. While this sounds like a lot of money, it might not be enough especially if you have a high net worth or own expensive assets, a dog, a swimming pool, or your own business.

If you have a home-based business, your liability is limited. For example, if a customer or business contact is injured in your home, your homeowners insurance won’t necessarily cover injuries, medical costs, or lawsuits.

Endorsements(riders) to consider:

• Home business endorsement
• Increase liability limits to match or exceed your net worth
• Umbrella policy

Because all situations are different it’s important to understand your policy and address any shortcomings before disaster strikes. Review your policy annually and add or remove endorsements as needed to reflect any changes in your situation.

In addition, you may want to call a Public Insurance Adjusting company in your area and ask them what insurance company is writing the best policies and is which company would be easiest to deal with if you were ever faced with a claim. Then, keep that company’s number handy just in case you ever need them.

This is the second half of the article “Insurance Riders: Do I Need One” written by our guest insurance blogger, Stephen Hadhazi. Missed the first part? Read it here!

What’s the difference between replacement cost value and actual cash value? Does it really matter what coverage I have on my home owner’s policy? Stephen Hadhazi, a certified public insurance adjuster, tackles the answers to these very questions:

Personal Property Limits

The contents of your home are generally insured for 50% to 75% of the total dwelling limits. If you carry $100,000 of insurance on your home, you may have personal property coverage of $50,000 to $75,000 depending on your policy’s provisions. Is it enough?

Further, depending on the type of replacement coverage you carry, the contents of your home could be dramatically underinsured. There is a huge difference between Replacement Cost Value endorsement which will replace your possessions with brand new, like-kind items and Actual Cash Value, which depreciates the possessions and pays only a fraction of their original cost.

In many cases, however, the term Replacement Cost Value reimbursement can be a slight misnomer both on personal property and structural claims. Nationally, many Replacement Cost Policies state that they will pay only the Actual Cash Value until such time replacement has been completed and you send them proof of the replacement.

Under such circumstances, you should also be aware that reimbursement of the full depreciated amount is also contingent on you spending at least the amount of the replacement cost amount allowed by your insurance company.

For example, you filed a claim for damage to a five year old sofa and your insurance company allowed a Replacement Cost Value (RCV) of $2000. You agree that the average useful life expectancy of the sofa would be ten years. The adjuster then depreciates the sofa at the rate of 50% leaving you an Actual Cash Value (ACV) of $1000.

The adjuster then writes you a check for $1000 and then tells you that you have a certain amount of time, usually 6-12 months, to replace the sofa and file for reimbursement of the $1000 they held back in depreciation under the Replacement Cost benefits of your policy. You then find a suitable replacement couch on sale for $1,500.

You eagerly send in your receipt to your insurance company expecting to receive the $1000 they held back in depreciation. However, you’re also limited by what you actually spent for replacement so instead you get a check from your insurance company for an additional $500 with a thank you note for saving them $500.

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of Stephen’s article, complete with a list of personal property limits for most policies.

By Stephen Hadhazi, our guest insurance blogger, public insurance adjuster, and publisher of DocuDamage.com

You pay your homeowners premiums on time and feel reasonably comfortable that you are well covered should disaster ever strike, right? Wrong. Even if you think you have adequate coverage, you could be drastically underinsured. The typical homeowner’s insurance policy includes the basics that most people need and places limits on the coverage.

The basic policy offered should be considered a starting point, not the final solution. Endorsements (or riders) are important (but often overlooked) tools that modify the insurance policy to better meet your insurance needs. They don’t usually add a significant amount to your premium and most are put into effect immediately though this will vary from company to company.

Structural Limits

Does your policy cover water damage from burst pipes? Many bare bones policies don’t contain this important coverage and policyholders don’t find out until they file a claim.

1. Most policies cover water damage from windstorms such as when the wind blows out a window and the rain gets in – unless you live in a hurricane or tornado prone area where you might need to purchase windstorm coverage or pay extremely high “hurricane deductibles” which average 2% of the value of the home but can be as high as 5%.

• At an average home value of $200,000 this equates to some $4000 to $10,000 right off the top of any damages you incur. In effect, the cost of your roof has been deducted.

2. Floods and earthquakes are excluded from standard policies.

• This could even include flooding during a hurricane if it’s not wind related. In the Katrina disaster, many engineering firms were caught changing their reports to reflect the cause of loss to be from Flood rather than Wind, which is what the insurance companies needed to be able to justify the denial of millions of dollars in property damage claims.

3. Another potential problem with your coverage involves the cost of rebuilding.

• Do you have enough insurance to cover the cost to completely rebuild your home using current construction costs? If your home is older, you may be forced to upgrade to current building codes which can be cost-prohibitive.

Endorsements to consider:

• Earthquake insurance - usually covers earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides
• Flood insurance
• Inflation guard - ensures that your policy keeps up with inflation including building costs
• Law and code enforcement - pays to get your house up to current code during rebuilding
• Mold rider
• Sewer backup

Check back tomorrow for Stephen’s advice on personal property limits and endorsements (riders)!

Productivity and frugality blog, WiseBread, has a great post about the top 6 professionals that you should have in your phone’s contact list…just in case. I’ve narrowed their list down to three and added in one extra professional I think you really should have in case of emergencies:

Attorney: Whether it’s a car accident, medical lawsuit or helping you draw up a will or other important document, everyone will probably need or meet with a lawyer at least once in their lifetime. Before something major happens, do the scouting now:

• Nolo.com (this is a commercial site but they have good, basic information on how to find a lawyer and understanding fees)

Doctor: Even if it’s just a cold, having a doctor that you can trust can make the world of difference. Build that relationship now before you feel under the weather:

• Choosing a Primary Care Doctor
• Choosing a Pharmacy and Pharmacist
• Finding the Right Hospital

Insurance Agent: Auto, car, life, medical, home owner’s and rental insurance…doesn’t matter what coverage you’ve got, you’ll need a great agent to get the coverage you need and help you get the most out of your claims.

• Auto Insurance Coverage: What to Ask Your Agent
• Home Owner’s Insurance: What to Ask About Your Coverage
• Purchasing Flood Insurance
• Working With a Claims Adjuster

Mechanic: Let’s face it. Someday (could be tomorrow, could be next year), something in your car will break. You’ll need a great mechanic you can trust to get your car back on the road - and fast. Otherwise, you’ll be back in the shop before you know it.

• Choosing a Mechanic

What professional couldn’t you live without? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below! (Thanks, WiseBread!)