The Aftermath of Ike: The Need for Home Inventory Services

This is a news release I wrote -- this one is geared towards home inventory service professionals who live in areas outside of Texas (i.e., Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, etc.)

HURRICANE IKE VICTIMS MAY BE REVICTIMIZED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES

Hurricane Ike has come and gone, leaving billions of dollars of destruction in its wake. The state and federal government will pay to fix the damage to the infrastructure of Texas and Louisiana; small and large businesses will file insurance claims to cover their losses. That leaves the individual homeowners. They too will file their insurance claims -- the first step in a slow process of recovery. But while many businesses have "business interruption" coverage to help them cover costs in the meantime, individuals do not.

Insurance companies will dispatch their mobile disaster claim units to Texas, and the first thing the customer service representatives and agents will ask for is documentation of the loss.

For those that are quickly able to produce a comprehensive home inventory, processing the claim will begin almost immediately. For those without one, the process has just begun. They must begin to compile an inventory -- a difficult experience for shell-shocked survivors whose homes may have washed away or been reduced to a pile of rubble. Some may have to rely on their memories to reconstruct a record of their belongings. Others will have to slosh through their flood-ravaged homes to compile a record. In the absence of documentation or proof of ownership of the goods claimed, much of their claim may be denied.

"Your heart goes out to those who have already suffered the loss, and then must wait to start putting their lives back together because they can't prove what they've lost," says Bridget Brooks, editor of THISmagazine, a trade journal for home inventory service professionals. "For those who live in many hurricane-prone areas, it's not a matter of IF, but WHEN something will happen."

While many survivors of hurricanes will tell you "It's just stuff -- and stuff can be replaced," the hard reality is that many of them will receive an insurance settlement that is only a fraction of their loss, due to inadequate documentation.

For example, you may have just purchased a brand-new, 42" high-definition flat screen television for your living room. But if your home is swept out to sea in a hurricane, the insurance company may only pay to replace a "standard" television (at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost you paid) in the absence of proof of your purchase.

A comprehensive home inventory -- updated regularly -- is the only way to facilitate speedy, comprehensive payment of your claim. And while it's true that anyone can compile a home inventory, the harsh reality is that fewer than half of all homeowners actually have one.

A news release from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reports that 48% of all consumers do not have any kind of an inventory. Further: "Of those consumers who reported having a checklist, 32 percent had not taken any pictures and 58 percent had no receipts validating the cost of their possessions. In addition, 44 percent of respondents acknowledged that they had not stored their inventory in a remote location," the survey found.

"When you live in a hurricane-prone area, not having a home inventory is just foolish," says Brooks. "We all hope that hurricanes don't hit, but if -- and when -- they do, you'd better be prepared. Prepare an emergency plan; prepare an evacuation plan; and most of all, prepare a home inventory -- or contact a professional who can compile one for you."

Brooks notes that the cost of a professionally-prepared home inventory ranges from $99 to $500, depending on the size of the home and the detail involved in the inventory (special collections and extensive belongings require more time to compile).