Meteorologists predict that the 2011 hurricane season will be more active than in previous years. Read this article.
Now's the time to send out a news release on the need for a home inventory -- if you live in a hurricane area.
Showing posts with label news release. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news release. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, September 22, 2008
An Example of Publicity After A Storm/Disaster
This news release by Total Logistics Solutions is a perfect example of a company building on the publicity generated by large natural disasters. This news release was posted on PR.com for distribution to news media around the world. It generated news coverage of their product, Cover Your Assets home inventory documentation system.
What have you done to get publicity?
What have you done to get publicity?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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).
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).
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Spring Severe Weather a Marketing Opportunity
The recent above-average outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes has provided a marketing opportunity for home inventory service business owners in the Midwest. Photos of devastation and families sifting through their lost belongings are potent reminders for prospective clients about the need for home inventory services.
If you are a home inventory service provider in an area that has been hit by tornadoes -- or is traditionally a tornado-prone area, use this opportunity to generate media coverage of your services. Send out a news release or call your local television station and offer to show how homeowners should conduct a comprehensive home inventory. Now's the perfect time.
My 16-page special report on "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" includes several sample news releases, including one appropriate for adapting to promote your services in a tornado-prone area. You can purchase for $10 using the link below and the report will be delivered to you immediately. The special report also has information about how to build your media list, what to put in your media kit, ideas for what to write about in your news releases, sections you can target in your local newspaper, 12 timely news release topics, and 20 reasons to send a news release.
http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Enlist the Police Department's Help
On our local news tonight was a story about burglaries and break-ins ... and the difficulties police have in returning stolen goods to their rightful owners after the items are recovered. As you might guess, *serial numbers* are a huge step in helping reunite owners with their goods.
Contact your local police department and see if they have a property recovery division -- and see if you can speak to the person in charge of that operation. Explain what you do -- and ask for his/her help in getting the word out to the media about the importance of a home inventory in helping the police get items back to their owners. Then approach the media with this story.
Contact your local police department and see if they have a property recovery division -- and see if you can speak to the person in charge of that operation. Explain what you do -- and ask for his/her help in getting the word out to the media about the importance of a home inventory in helping the police get items back to their owners. Then approach the media with this story.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Now's a Great Time to Get Publicity
As this news release from the Insurance Information Institute shows, now is a great time to get free publicity for your home inventory service business!
Here's their release:
NEW YORK, December 27, 2007 — One of the best ways to make the most of your homeowners insurance is to have an up-to-date home inventory of your personal possessions. With so many people receiving expensive holiday gifts or taking advantage of the end-of-season sales on everything from home electronics to linens, dishes and other household items, there has never been a better time to create or update your home inventory, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)
“Having an up-to-date home inventory is one of the best ways to make the most of your insurance dollars,” said Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president and consumer spokesperson for the I.I.I. “A home inventory lists all your personal possessions and their estimated value. This helps you to purchase the right amount of insurance and will make the claims process faster and easier if there is a fire, hurricane or other type of disaster. And, remember, there is virtually no part of the country that is immune from some sort of catastrophe.”
To encourage consumers to create a home inventory, the I.I.I. has developed the popular software program, Know Your Stuff. The software has been updated and version 3 is now available, making it easier than ever to enter, edit, print and store a home inventory. The new version can store multiple photographs of rooms and objects, and makes handling large inventory files fast, stable and secure.
The I.I.I.’s Know Your Stuff - Home Inventory Software makes the task of creating an inventory simple. It allows you to organize your possessions room by room and provides lists of possessions that are typically found in certain rooms as a prompt. It also has the capacity to store digital photographs so that you can document your possessions visually.
It is easy to update and store a digital home inventory—it takes no more effort than the click of a mouse to add a new possession. And when it comes to storing your digital home inventory, there are many options: saving it on an internal or external hard drive or; using an online storage solution; burning it onto a CD; or printing out a room-by-room document. Try to make multiple copies, and be sure to keep at least one copy of your inventory outside of your home, in a safety deposit box or other secure location.
Both Windows and Mac OS versions of Know Your Stuff, version 3 are available as a free download at: http://www.knowyourstuff.org . The software and your personal home inventory files are all stored on your computer to safeguard your privacy; the I.I.I. does not have access to any of the information about your home or possessions that you input.
=====================================================================
To view a video about taking a home inventory, go to: http://www.iii.org/static/video/mediaplayer/hinventory.wmv .
To download a related audio file, go to:
http://www.iii.org/media/radio/prkys3/
=====================================================================
Don't forget: My 16-page special report on "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" includes several sample news releases. You can purchase for $10 using the link below and the report will be delivered to you immediately. The special report also has information about how to build your media list, what to put in your media kit, ideas for what to write about in your news releases, sections you can target in your local newspaper, 12 timely news release topics, and 20 reasons to send a news release.
http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id=357385
Here's their release:
NEW YORK, December 27, 2007 — One of the best ways to make the most of your homeowners insurance is to have an up-to-date home inventory of your personal possessions. With so many people receiving expensive holiday gifts or taking advantage of the end-of-season sales on everything from home electronics to linens, dishes and other household items, there has never been a better time to create or update your home inventory, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)
“Having an up-to-date home inventory is one of the best ways to make the most of your insurance dollars,” said Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president and consumer spokesperson for the I.I.I. “A home inventory lists all your personal possessions and their estimated value. This helps you to purchase the right amount of insurance and will make the claims process faster and easier if there is a fire, hurricane or other type of disaster. And, remember, there is virtually no part of the country that is immune from some sort of catastrophe.”
To encourage consumers to create a home inventory, the I.I.I. has developed the popular software program, Know Your Stuff. The software has been updated and version 3 is now available, making it easier than ever to enter, edit, print and store a home inventory. The new version can store multiple photographs of rooms and objects, and makes handling large inventory files fast, stable and secure.
The I.I.I.’s Know Your Stuff - Home Inventory Software makes the task of creating an inventory simple. It allows you to organize your possessions room by room and provides lists of possessions that are typically found in certain rooms as a prompt. It also has the capacity to store digital photographs so that you can document your possessions visually.
It is easy to update and store a digital home inventory—it takes no more effort than the click of a mouse to add a new possession. And when it comes to storing your digital home inventory, there are many options: saving it on an internal or external hard drive or; using an online storage solution; burning it onto a CD; or printing out a room-by-room document. Try to make multiple copies, and be sure to keep at least one copy of your inventory outside of your home, in a safety deposit box or other secure location.
Both Windows and Mac OS versions of Know Your Stuff, version 3 are available as a free download at: http://www.knowyourstuff.org . The software and your personal home inventory files are all stored on your computer to safeguard your privacy; the I.I.I. does not have access to any of the information about your home or possessions that you input.
=====================================================================
To view a video about taking a home inventory, go to: http://www.iii.org/static/video/mediaplayer/hinventory.wmv .
To download a related audio file, go to:
http://www.iii.org/media/radio/prkys3/
=====================================================================
Don't forget: My 16-page special report on "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" includes several sample news releases. You can purchase for $10 using the link below and the report will be delivered to you immediately. The special report also has information about how to build your media list, what to put in your media kit, ideas for what to write about in your news releases, sections you can target in your local newspaper, 12 timely news release topics, and 20 reasons to send a news release.
http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id
Friday, December 7, 2007
2008 CSU Hurricane Forecast Released
U.S. forecasters are predicting seven hurricanes for the 2008 season:
Researchers from Colorado State University's hurricane team predicted that 13 tropical storms will develop in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1-November 30, 2008), of which seven would strengthen into hurricanes. They are predicting a "somewhat above-average" hurricane season for 2008.
This is another opportunity for home inventory service professionals to tie into national publicity. Contact your local media and offer to be a local angle for the story -- about how hurricane season might be six months off, but you can't be prepared too early ... and how more common "disasters" (such as fires and burglary) also provide motivation to get an inventory done.
My 16-page special report on "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" includes a hurricane news release. You can purchase for $10 using the link below and the report will be delivered to you immediately. The special report also has information about how to build your media list, what to put in your media kit, ideas for what to write about in your news releases, sections you can target in your local newspaper, 12 timely news release topics, and 20 reasons to send a news release.
http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id=357385
Researchers from Colorado State University's hurricane team predicted that 13 tropical storms will develop in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1-November 30, 2008), of which seven would strengthen into hurricanes. They are predicting a "somewhat above-average" hurricane season for 2008.
This is another opportunity for home inventory service professionals to tie into national publicity. Contact your local media and offer to be a local angle for the story -- about how hurricane season might be six months off, but you can't be prepared too early ... and how more common "disasters" (such as fires and burglary) also provide motivation to get an inventory done.
My 16-page special report on "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" includes a hurricane news release. You can purchase for $10 using the link below and the report will be delivered to you immediately. The special report also has information about how to build your media list, what to put in your media kit, ideas for what to write about in your news releases, sections you can target in your local newspaper, 12 timely news release topics, and 20 reasons to send a news release.
http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Aftermath of California Wildfires: Ashes and Insurance Claims
By Thursday, the California fires had destroyed 1,800 homes, injured 57 people and burned a half-million acres, a little more than twice the size of New York City. Homeowners are returning to their neighborhoods to see what remains, and perhaps salvage some memories.
Next comes the nightmare of filing the insurance claims. For a few, the process will be made easier by the home inventory they prepared. Others will have to scramble to list their possessions and document ownership. For most, the records will have burned up in the fire.
Home inventory service professionals across the U.S. are reporting that interest in their services is growing in the wake of this latest natural disaster. With insurance industry sources estimating that fewer than 20% of all homeowners have an updated home inventory, the recovery process for most Californians affected in the wildfires will be long.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Publicity Opportunity from California Wildfires
The California wildfires have provided an opportunity for home inventory service business owners to promote their services -- even if you're nowhere near the West Coast.
I've prepared a news release that you can customize and send to your local media to "localize" this national story and generate awareness of the home inventory service business.
If you'd like to receive the news release, please e-mail me at homeinventoryservicemagazine
I've also prepared a 16-page special report on "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" that you can purchase for $10 using the link below. It will be delivered to you immediately upon ordering. It contains two sample news releases (including the link to immediately download the Wildfire News Release -- see page 16 -- as well as a news release for hurricane season that can also be adapted for tornado-prone areas). The special report also has information about how to build your media list, what to put in your media kit, ideas for what to write about in your news releases, sections you can target in your local newspaper, 12 timely news release topics, and 20 reasons to send a news release.
http://payloadz.com/go/sip?id
One of the biggest challenges that we face as an industry is spreading the word about our services. Advertising is expensive -- but free publicity is invaluable! Help increase the profile of the home inventory service industry -- and your business!! -- by sending a news release to your local media!
Purchase "Getting Publicity for Your Home Inventory Service Business" E-Report:
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Fires Continue to Rage: A Marketing Opportunity
The California wildfires continue to burn. More than 1,800 homes have already been destroyed; 68,000 more are at risk.
It's a terrible tragedy, but it also represents a marketing opportunity for our industry. Never before have so many people been faced with a classic scenario where our services are so needed. Few people had the time to document their possessions before they had to flee. Many likely lost everything. If they weren't prepared, they face the difficult challenge of filing an insurance claim without adequate documentation.
Now is the time for home inventory service professionals to issue a news release to their local media. Tie it in with the wildfires, even if you're hundreds of miles away. Fires happen everyday, and homeowners need to be prepared for any disaster.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Celebrate Fire Prevention Week
It's Fire Prevention Week!
This is another great opportunity to get publicity for your home inventory service business! Contact your local media!
Along with updating and practicing your home fire escape plan, this is an excellent time for individuals to prepare a home inventory. If they need assistance, you are there!
Remember, in your news release, follow the guidelines I gave back in July for promoting your home inventory service business along with the start of hurricane season.
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