Labor Day Office Closing - Monday Sept 1st

The Provencher & Company National Claims Center will be closed this coming Monday, Sept. 1 in recognition of Labor Day.

AS ALWAYS

24-Hour Emergency Response

is available by calling

(866)722-5246

We Hope Everyone Has A Safe & Happy Holiday!

Technology Overload

Texting.  Phone calls.  Emails.  In today’s fast paced insurance industry, you must be available 24/7, 365 days a year and have a close ear to your clients.  Our worst fears are no cell service or loss of electricity.  The loss of information.

However, would slowing down assist us more than improving technology?  This article, originally published by PropertyCasualty360 advocates its writer’s opinion that maybe we should all slow down a bit.  Spend more time with clients.  Take the time to understand their needs.  Take time to process all the information that technology permits.  I agree, we should all slow down.  Do you? 

Read More Here 

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Submitted by:

Brian Single

Sr. Claim Examiner

2014 LITIGATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

Only 10 Spots Remain - Register Today!

In its fourth year, the prestigious Litigation Management Institute is a professional development opportunity like no other:

• Hosted by Columbia Law School in New York
• Graduates earn the CLMP (Certified Litigation Management Professional) designation
• Curriculum includes classroom instruction and valuable group projects with quality interaction among group participants
• Students learn the business of litigation management, helping to bridge the gap between client and attorney knowledge

Some of your colleagues who will be attending:

Laura Aznavoorian, Gallagher Bassett Larry Beemer, QBE Lorenzo Berenguer, XL Group Michael Brown, Fort Orange Claims Service Dorothy Capers, US Foods Inc. Lynne Cavallo, York Frank Chang, Uber David Cohen, CNA Insurance Carol Coursey, American National Property & Casualty Company Michelle Dadisman, BBA Aviation USA, Inc. Marillyn Damelio, Nationwide Insurance Company Tim Diveley, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company Laura Farjadian, Navico, Inc Joseph Gallo, California Insurance Guarantee Association William Garcia, Liberty Mutual Insurance Helen Gillcrist, Liberty Mutual Insurance Jeanette Hernandez, State Auto Insurance Companies

Jennifer Kaleta, Viad Corp. Scott Klingsporn, XL Group Chris Lisle, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Colleen Lyons, Liberty International Underwriters Vic Marmo, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation Lauren McBride, Publix Super Markets, Inc. Robert McCarthy, Nationwide Insurance Company Christopher O'Meara, Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company Michael Reid, Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. Ann Schnure, Macy's, Inc. Jennifer Sherber, Health Care Stabilization Fund Stephanie Smith-Evans, Chubb Peter Uzzi, ACE Roeg WIlliamson, School Claims Service, LLP Dan Winkler, Westfield Group Jennifer Zambrano, avisbudget Mike Zeoli, Chubb

Chancellors

• Larry Beemer, QBE
• Julie Fortune, Sr. Vice President and Chief Claims Officer, Arrowpoint Capital
• Mari Leigh, Senior Partner, Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson
• John McGann, General Counsel, CLM

LMI

Columbia Law School 

New York 

October 17 to 19 

Needless to Know Info!

5-CE Sessions, 7-CE Credits, Courtesy of Donan

DONAN CE Seminar on Thursday, September 11^th, 2014

5-CE Sessions, 7-CE Credits, Courtesy of Donan

When: Thursday, September 11, 2014

Where:  Holiday Inn 2261 N. Causeway Blvd. Metairie, LA 70001

Time: 8AM – 4PM

Classes are completely free for adjusters and lunch will be provided.

Commercial Roofing 101

Agricultural Equipment Fires 101

Successful Subrogation 201

Water Losses: Plumbing and Appliances

Asphalt Roofing 201

Click here to see invite details and reserve your ticket.

This event is FREE, but registration is required. 

Space is limited… so please RSVP by September 2^nd

*This posting is for informational purposes only, as a courtesy to our reading audience. Provencher & Company has in no way been compensated for the sharing of this information. The use of or enrollment in any classes, seminars, training, etc. in no way constitutes or implies any endorsement of the provider of said programs. Provencher & Company shares no financial obligation to attendee or organizer.

Interesting Information You Might Not Know.....

The Statue of Liberty's index finger is eight feet long.

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Let Me Make This Clear...

Correspondence

By

R.M.Bissell

Business Correspondence, from Fire Insurance Lectures delivered before the 

Insurance Institute of Hartford, Inc. season of 1916

Formerly a large and well-known book-store in Chicago had painted on its window shades, which were always decorously pulled down on Sundays, the following text: ”Words are the only things that live forever.” Sometimes it seems as though this text had especial reference to those occasional letters which tactlessly written or stupidly expressed steal quietly out from the home office of an insurance company and lead indefinitely thereafter harmful and malevolent lives in the minds of their receivers. 

Now, let us consider some of the more obvious qualifications of good business correspondence. In their order of merit and importance it seems to me these most essential characteristics could be listed as follows:

1. Clarity

2. Discretion

3. Courtesy

4. Form, i.e., proper use of the English Language

Of these the first is naturally of by far the greatest importance, even though it is true that a letter may be very clear and at the same time very objectionable. But clearness we must have at any cost. A good many things are involved in this matter of clearness. In the first place, clear thinking is necessary for clarity in writing. If you do not have a definite understanding of a proposition in your own mind you can hardly hope to give a correct idea of it to another. Indeed, I am inclined to believe that lack of clearness proceeds more often from a correspondent’s muddiness of thought than from any other one cause, although another factor, namely: ignorance of and lack of training in the meaning and use of words, prevents many intelligent men from writing good letters. 

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Coverage Triggers: Occurrence vs. Claims Made Liability Coverage

THIS WEEK WE RECOMMEND* THE FOLLOWING "ON DEMAND" WEBINAR:

Liability protection can be provided by either an "occurrence" trigger or a "claims made" trigger. There is no difference in the protection provided by these forms (subject only to the purpose of the forms); the only difference is what triggers each form to respond.

Participants in this webinar will learn:

• The coverage triggers for both "occurrence" and "claims made" forms;
• The four legal theories applied to determine when an injury or damage occurs;
• What BERP's and SERP's are, when they should be used and their limitations; and
• The problems created when a client moves from one coverage trigger form to another.

1 hour On Demand - Online Webinar

Instructor: Christopher J. Boggs

Cost: $129.00

*This posting is for informational purposes only, as a courtesy to our reading audience. Provencher & Company has in no way been compensated for the sharing of this information. The use of or enrollment in any classes, seminars, training, etc. in no way constitutes or implies any endorsement of the provider of said programs. Provencher & Company shares no financial obligation to attendee or organizer.

What are we dealing with...?

As property adjusters, we frequently encounter insureds leasing commercial space. 

A single net lease only requires the tenant to pay the amount of property taxes, 

A double net lease requires the tenant to pay for both property taxes and premiums for the building insurance. 

A triple net lease is where the tenant is responsible for paying all operating expenses relating to the building, this includes property taxes, insurance and the cost of any maintenance or repairs the building requires during the lease. 

UCC Liens

The general rule is that a creditor of the insured not named in the policy cannot collect policy proceeds because property insurance is personal to the insured and does not run with the property (5 Couch on Ins. 3d 66:1). One important exception to this general rule is when a secured creditor is involved. 

Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code regulates security interests in personal property and fixtures (UCC 9-102, 9-101). A "security interest" is, generally, "an interest in personal property or fixtures which secures payment or performance of an obligation." When a creditor has a "perfected" security interest, it has priority over other creditors' claims involving the same collateral. With certain exceptions, a creditor that files financing statements with the appropriate public authority, usually the secretary of state, "perfects" its security interest in the collateral. These filings become public record and serve as constructive notice to third parties -- such as an insurer of the creditor's interest in the property. 

The insurer should be concerned about a third party's security interest when it prepares to pay an insured because it may also be liable to that third party. There is controversy regarding whether the insurer can be held liable without actual knowledge, however UCC liens are usually easily checked on-line through the Secretary of State’s office. 

Contributed by:

Jerry Provencher
CEO/Executive General Adjuster


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Good Insurance or Bad Insurance?

HAPPY FRIDAY FROM

The First Catastrophe Office

Following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 the fire loss adjusters set up an office where they could meet, compare notes, and confer about the hundreds of losses which required adjustment. They agreed on the Sherman House, on West Madison Street and for months afterwards frequent meetings were held and claimants by the hundred were interviewed, the claims adjusted and losses paid. It was a sort of a storm office and the adjusters organized to jointly employed clerks, stenographers and, appraisers.

During the busy days of the work of adjusting, the owner/editor of  The Times newspaper called to see about his loss, and finding a large crowd of people waiting for a similar purpose he became impatient. In those days as in ours, Important Things happen to Important People, and he repaired to his sanctum, publishing a sensational editorial about the delay and red tape in getting his loss adjusted. He had apparently been told that he would have to await his turn; however, he closed his editorial by stating that there ought to be inscribed over the door of the catastrophe office the words, "Who enters here leaves hope behind;" and also made use of the well-known Latin quotation, "Soc Et Tu Um”.

The adjusters, apparently delighted with the pomposity, concocted the idea of having a little gold souvenir badge made with the inscription "Soc Et Tu Um" and presented one to each adjuster of the office. It is reported the badges were highly prized and worn as a kind of lapel pin for many years. 

Contributed by:

Jerry Provencher
CEO/Executive General Adjuster

Did the Cow Start the Fire?

Modern day forensic investigations have questioned the origin of The Great Chicago Fire as being the much maligned Mrs. O’Leary’s cow. However, Phoenix Insurance Company General Adjuster Robert S. Critchell confirmed he interviewed Mrs. O’Leary following the fire and he was “…informed by her in rather an ungracious way that the story was true. “

Recollections of a Fire Insurance Man, Press of Rogers & Hall Co., 1909

Contributed by:
Jerry Provencher

CEO/Executive General Adjuster

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Raiders of the Lost Profits - Part Five: Reporting to HQ

Dispatch: This is what we know so far…

Scenario 1:

• The structure suffered minimal damage from the storm in the form of wind driven rain through openings in the door
• The proprietor shut down the market for a period of eight days due to water damage and lack of customers due to the area wide evacuation requested by the mayor forty eight hours before the storm made landfall
• I observed no physical damage in the area around the market that would prevent ingress or egress to the building or prohibit access to the business
• The market was without power for five days – power supplier information and billing information has been requested to determine if the power failure was from a peril covered under the policy.

Scenario 2:

• Heavy winds damaged the roof over the leased market space causing water intrusion and damage to the covered business personal property
• Although our client does not insure the leased space or the roof, the damage to same was from wind which is a covered peril under the insurance policy
• I have spoken with the landlord’s contractor and found that the estimated repair time for the roof and interior structural damage is three months
• After adjustment time is factored in, the replacement of the BPP should reasonably take thirty days

Note that in both scenarios, cause of loss (covered or not) and periods of either suspension or restoration are addressed even if not completely resolved.

Determining coverage for Business Interruption can be a tricky road to navigate. Reporting all the known facts and observations at the time of inspection will assist in the triage process and will help to confirm whether coverage exists or not, applicable limits, restrictions, exclusions, deductibles, and most important: actuation of coverage (or lack thereof). The Report Writing guidelines in your adjuster on-boarding package will provide a more detailed outline of the information required when making your first report so you can complete your mission and move on to your primary mission – completing the damage estimate.

And, as always, the Business Interruption office at Provencher HQ is just a phone call away! If we don’t know the answer immediately, we’ll find it for you!

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Introduction: Introduction to Inspection for BI
Part One: The Secrets of Daily Loss Inspection
Part Two: Adventures in CAT Inspections
Part Three: Search for the Grail: Covered Cause of Loss vs. Actual Cause of Loss
Part Four: Pit of Snakes: Establishing Period of Restoration
Part Five: Reporting to HQ: Here’s What We Know So Far

Did you know…?

Did you know…?

Cleanup at Clark and Madison Streets after Chicago Fire, IL, 1871.

The reason a small fire turned into a $60M conflagration in Boston in 1871 was “epizootic”…. A disease that so disabled horses that they could not pull the fire wagons and only three self-propelled fire engines were available to fight the fires that destroyed the business district.

Contributed by:

Jerry Provencher

CEO/Executive General Adjuster

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Did You Know....?

“Did You Know…” 

The Appraisal Clause was first introduced in its present form in the New York Standard (Old) Fire Policy of 1886.

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