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Cindy Hartman
56, Female
Indianapolis, Indiana
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Cindy Hartman's discussions
Hartman Inventory Announces Expansion
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Started this discussion. Last reply by Kyle Lacy Nov 25.
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Contents insurance - know your policy's limits
Personal property is described as the contents in a home or business. The easiest way to visualize it is to think of taking the roof off and turning the building upside down. Everything that falls out is personal property. Therefore, built-in cabinets, appliances, desks and bookshelves are not personal property. Carpet, wood and tile flooring, window treatments and light fixtures are not personal property. These are items that are considered part of the structure and are not considered when determining the dollar amount you need to insure your personal property.Another way to describe personal property is what you’d take with you if you move. Whether you are a renter, homeowner or business owner, it is very important to be aware of the limits of your personal property insurance coverage.
There are specific limits to your insurance policy regarding assets in your home or business. You should be aware of these limits and discuss your specific needs with a qualified insurance agent. Every insurance company designates their limits for specific items. Here are a few items, with common limit amounts:
- Jewelry: $1000-$3000
- Guns: $1000-$3000
- Silverware: $1000-$3000
- Sports/Stamp Collections: $1000-$2500
- Money: $200-$500
These numbers are not per piece, but the full amount allowed. So, if you have a diamond engagement ring that is valued at $3000, and that’s the jewelry limit on your policy, you will have maxed out your entire coverage for all jewelry with just that one ring. If your policy has a $1000 limit, based on the example of a $3000 ring, you’ll only receive $1000 toward a replacement. Take a look at your jewelry armoire or jewelry box. How many pair of earrings do you have that are considered costume jewelry? You can easily exceed $1000 with 5 pieces of jewelry from Sears!
Original, irreplaceable fine art and collectables are items that could easily exceed their limit. To be sure you’ll receive full settlement, have them appraised and listed on your policy to ensure you’ll receive full replacement value at the time of the loss.
Have you inherited your grandmother’s fine silver? Do you know the value? How about guns? Just one rifle could exceed your policy limit!
If you have assets that exceed the specific limit in your standard homeowner’s policy, you will need to purchase additional coverage. The cost is minimal when you consider how much you stand to lose.
Disaster preparedness - 10 tips for homeowners and renters
We all are aware of disasters (fires, burglaries or natural disasters) and how they negatively impact ones life. So what can you do? The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offers 10 tips to help you. By addressing these items, you’ll know that you’re prepared for a disaster, and just as important, be able to properly recover.- Take an inventory of your valuables and belongings. This should include taking photographs or a video of each room. This documentation will provide your insurance company with proof of your belongings and help to process claims more quickly in the event of disaster.
- To enable filing claims more quickly, keep sales receipts and/or canceled checks. Also note the model and serial numbers of the items in your home inventory.
- As you acquire more valuables — jewelry, family heirlooms, antiques, art —consider purchasing an additional “floater” or “rider” to your policy to cover these special items. These types of items typically are not covered by a basic homeowners or renter’s insurance policy.
- Remember to include in your home inventory those items you rarely use (e.g., holiday decorations, sports equipment, tools, etc.).
- Store copies of all your insurance policies in a safe location away from your home that is easily accessible in case of disaster. You may want to store your policies and inventory in a waterproof, fireproof box or in a safe, remote location such as a bank safe deposit box. Consider leaving a copy of your inventory with relatives, friends or your insurance provider and store digital pictures in your e-mail or on a Web site for easy retrieval.
- Know what is and is not covered by your insurance policy. You might need additional protection depending on where you live. Make sure your policies are up to date. Contact your insurance provider annually to review and update your insurance policy.
- Keep a readily available list of 24-hour contact information for each of your insurance providers.
- Find out if your possessions are insured for the actual cash value or the replacement cost. Actual cash value is the amount it would take to repair or replace damage to your home or possessions after depreciation while replacement cost is the amount it would take to repair or replace your home or possessions without deducting for depreciation. Speak with your insurance provider to determine whether purchasing replacement coverage is worth the cost.
- Speak with your insurance provider to find out if your policy covers additional living expenses for a temporary residence if you are unable to live in your home due to damage from a disaster.
- Appraise your home periodically to make sure your insurance policy reflects home improvements or renovations. Contact your insurance provider to update your policy accordingly.
Tips for a safe holiday season
Unfortunately, the holiday season claims the highest number of fires than any other time of the year. Fireplaces give warmth and a relaxing atmosphere, strings of lights help provide a festive look to your home or business and candles fill the air with your favorite holiday scent.
But all of this can be gone in minutes. When I was 8 years old, I heard someone yelling outside in the early hours of the morning. Jumping out of bed to see what was up; I saw our neighbor’s house on fire. It was a 2-story house and the mom and two sons were sitting on the roof while the father was banging on our back door, hollering for an extension ladder. He needed to rescue his family!
Their house caught fire because of a faulty string of lights on the Christmas tree. Luckily, they were OK. I can remember the impact that loss had on them – even at that young age. The pain they felt wasn’t just that one night, but for months and months because of the effort spent trying to remember their belongings so they could provide a list to their insurance agent.
The Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) offer these safety tips to help ensure that you have a safe holiday.
- Look for the UL Mark on light strings, electrical decorations and extension cords. The UL Mark means that UL engineers have tested representative samples of the product for foreseeable safety hazards such as fire and electric shock.
Ensure lights, decorations and extension cords are rated for outside use. Lights intended for indoor-only use bear green UL Marks. Light strings intended for indoor and outdoor use bear red UL marks. - Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for electrical decorations.
- Carefully inspect each electrical decoration - new or old - before plugging it in. Cracked sockets, frayed, bare or loose wires can cause a serious electric shock or start a fire.
- Replace damaged items with new, UL-Listed decorations.
- Don't use staples or nails to hang light strings. Instead, purchase hooks or clips designed for hanging light strings.
- Check packaging to determine the maximum number of strings that may be connected or use this rule of thumb: Connect a maximum of three midget (push-in bulbs) light strings or up to 50 bulbs of light strings with the screw-in bulbs (C7s and C9s).
- Don't overload extension cords by plugging in too many decorations.
- Turn off all electrical lights and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.
And while you have your decorations out of storage, remember to take photos of your holiday items and list the high value ones, then add this information to your business and home inventories. Have a safe holiday season!
Prevent, protect and recover
Catastrophes are any misfortune, mishap, or failure. Disasters are calamitous events, occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship (Dictionary.com). Whatever we call them, when a flood, fire, tornado, hurricane or theft occurs, it can cause major financial loss.You never know when something is going to happen, and rarely is anyone completely prepared. There are three ways, however, to help minimize the loss.
PREVENT
Though no one can completely prevent anything from ever happening, there are levels of prevention that will make your life more secure. An alarm system quickly detects fire and smoke. This will not prevent the fire, but it will minimize the loss by notifying the fire department as quickly as possible. This is especially true if the fire breaks out when no one is home!
An alarm system will also provide a level of prevention against theft. Professional burglars know how much time on average they have to get in and out of a building before law enforcement arrives. They know their time is limited, so it will reduce the number of items they’ll be able to remove from your home or business. The less professional burglars might even pass by your property as they seek an easier target (one with no alarm).
PROTECT
Purchasing the proper insurance policy will help protect you against financial loss. Make sure you have an annual review with your insurance agent and discuss anything new that has happened over the previous 12 months. The intent of insurance is to get you back where you were before your disaster. The proper insurance policies will give you that vehicle. But just having insurance isn’t enough.
RECOVER
One of our customers stated that without an inventory of his personal property, an insurance premium is just another bill. This is because without a listing and photographs of your belongings, it will be extremely difficult to remember and list everything that has been stolen or destroyed. A thorough inventory will give you that information so you can file your claim quickly and maximize your claim settlement.
An alarm to lessen the loss, an insurance policy to protect your financials, and the inventory to provide a maximized claim are the full package required to prevent, protect and recover.
An asset inventory for your business is essential
Business owners face the possibility of a fire, tornado, theft or other disaster. One of these instances could destroy everything you worked so hard to create. When this happens, a personal property – or asset - inventory will provide detailed documentation of the contents of your business and ease the claim process. You’ll recover faster and maximize your settlement.You most likely have a depreciation schedule, and are probably figuring that’s where you’ll access that list. But consider that the rule of thumb by most CFOs and CPAs is to expense items valued at less than $500 (some suggest $1000). How many items are owned by your company that have a price tag of under $500; are they documented?
In addition to listing the contents, item by item, you’ll also be asked by the insurance company to include the purchase date and cost. Having a document to refer to reduce the stress so you can focus on getting back to doing business in a much shorter timeframe.
The number of burglaries are increasing, fires and tornados destroy businesses. Will you be able to compile a complete list that will enable you to receive a proper settlement?
Cindy Hartman's Page
Profile Information
- How did you hear about Smaller Indiana?
- Friend
- What is your greatest strength?
- perseverance
- What are you working on?
- My new blog.
- How big is your business?
- small company
- What is your Job Title
- Owner
- What is your Company Website?
- http://www.HartmanInventory.com
- What is your Personal Website?
- http://www.HartmanInventoryBlog.com
- What is your alma mater?
- Indiana Institute of Technology
Cindy Hartman's Groups
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Hoosier Twitosphere
174 members
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Avon Calling
8 members
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Buckeye Fans
10 members
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REFERRALS, REFERRALS, AND MORE REFERRALS
57 members
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Hendricks County Smoosiers
44 members
Cindy Hartman's Blog
Technology - time wasters or time savers?
Posted on November 24, 2008 at 8:46am — 2 Comments
Small businesses should embrace social networking
Posted on October 31, 2008 at 3:39pm — 2 Comments
Stock losses, hurricane claims will drive up premiums
Posted on October 21, 2008 at 2:00pm —
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Smaller Food Indiana
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Social Media Marketing
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Greener Indiana
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Apple User's Group
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Did you have some information about the ITEX event that you had mentioned at last month's Rainmakers event?
Talk about Providence. I was just reviewing my notes from my meeting with Mike on Wednesday and was just literally minutes away from adding you as a friend. Anyway, it was great to talk with Mike. Hope to see you soon!
Talk to you soon,
-Matt Wenger
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