NEWS BRIEF
Insuring a New Teen Driver
September 3, 2008 — The start of each school year means new drivers hitting the morning rush hour, driving to after-school activities, and navigating the student parking lots. Learn some important teens and auto insurance tips.
Rocky Mountain Insurance Information
NEWS
6565 South Dayton St. #2400, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
Serving Colorado, New Mexico, Utah & Wyoming
Contact: Carole Walker, Executive Director
(303) 790-0216 or 1-800-355-9524
Release Date: Immediately
Topic: Catastrophes
MOTHER NATURE RACKS UP NEARLY $40 MILLION IN DAMAGE
FROM NEW MEXICO 'S SURPRISE OCTOBER HAILSTORM.
October 7, 2004 – For Albuquerque residents earlier this week, the pounding came in waves. The first stones battered roofs and cars in the middle of the night and then another round hammered the west side the following morning. For areas further south, it was baseball-sized hail totaling cars in Socorro and leaving its telltale marks on other communities such as Roswell, Hobbs and Belen. All that hail has added up to an estimated insurance price tag of $39.7 million. Based on the number of claims filed so far, the insurance industry estimates that the October 5th hailstorm will result in more than 8,300 auto claims and approximately 4,100 homeowner claims.
Some companies have brought in special catastrophe teams and have opened drive up claims centers to help with the settlement process. “Since it has been quite awhile since New Mexico has experienced this kind of damaging hailstorm, it's easy to forget the kind of damage that those little white stones can do in just a matter of minutes,” says Carole Walker, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “But insurance companies are geared up to handle the incoming claims, so if you haven't yet contacted your carrier to report damage you need to do that as soon as possible.”
The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association has this advice for consumers filing insurance claims for damage. Hail damage is covered under your auto policy if you have comprehensive coverage. Damage from hail, wind and tornadoes are covered under a standard homeowners policy.
- Be prepared to give your agent or insurance representative a description of any damage. Your agent will report the loss immediately to your insurance company or a qualified adjuster.
- Take photos of the damaged areas. These will help with your claims process and will assist the adjuster in the investigation.
- Prepare a detailed inventory of all damaged or destroyed personal property. Be sure to make two copies—one for yourself and one for the adjuster. Your list should be as complete as possible, including a description of the items, dates of purchase or approximate age, cost at time of purchase and estimated replacement cost.
- Make whatever temporary repairs you can . Cover broken windows, damaged roofs and walls to prevent further destruction. Save receipts for supplies and materials you purchase. Your company will reimburse you for reasonable expenses in making temporary repairs.
- Secure a detailed estimate for permanent repairs to your home from a reliable contractor and give it to the adjuster. The estimate should contain the proposed repairs, repair costs and replacement prices.
- Serious losses will be given priority . If your home has been destroyed or seriously damaged, your agent will do everything possible to assure that you are given priority.
The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association also recommends that you use the following checklist before hiring a contractor:
- Get more than one estimate. Don't be pushed into signing a contract right away.
- Get everything in writing. Cost, work to be done, time schedule, guarantees, payment schedule and other expectations should be detailed.
- Demand references and check them out.
- Ask to see the salesperson's driver's license and write down the license number and license plate number.
- Never sign a contract with blanks; unacceptable terms can be added later.
- Never pay a contractor in full or sign a completion certificate until the work is finished.
- Insurance coverage may be rendered void if intentional misrepresentation by a policyholder is discovered.
- If you believe you have been approached by an unlicensed contractor or adjuster, or have been encouraged to fabricate an insurance claim, contact your insurance company or call the National Insurance Crime Bureau Hotline at 1-800-TEL-NICB (1-800-835-6422).
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Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is a non-profit consumer information organization. Affiliated with the Insurance Information Institute, RMIIA has been serving consumers and the media since 1952.
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