Policy Ensurance

by Tony Braga

Acorn Library; 2005

-Short Review-

This book does an amazing job of putting you in the right mind set for moving through the claims process.  The book is packed with useful information.  It lists insurance deadlines, has blank forms as well as example forms showing you how you should fill them out.  The book covers the history of property insurance as well as insurance company monetary statistics, lists of regulatory authorities, unfair claims practices codes and regulations, quotes from adjusters training books and California 's Unfair Practice insurance Codes.  The case histories will be interesting to attorneys and claimants alike.

-Long Review-

Policy Ensurance is written by Tony Braga and published by Acorn Library. The first copyright was 1977, but has gone through many updates and was just updated and republished this year (2005). The book is available at bookstores and online at stores such as Amazon.  It is also available for download for $6.95 on his website at www.sure-net.com

Tony was an insurance company adjuster for many years. He explains his job was to "...make company inspired settlements with policyholders who lacked fundamental information and adjusting skills." He explains that "Knowledge is leverage. The more you know, the more you have adjusting power.... It is the continuing fate of unknowing, unprepared policyholders to deal ineffectively.... It is difficult to imagine doing something in an area of which you know little or nothing, no matter how simple the task."

This book is a must have for anyone filing a claim. We all should've read it BEFORE we even called the insurance company. In a perfect world it would've been handed out at the FEMA center with a note as to where the next insurance class would be held. (Okay, now I am dreaming.)

The first part of the book helps form the mindset that it is OUR responsibility to determine our loss, not the adjusters. It is the adjuster's responsibility to determine how much the insurance company will pay the claimant. The difference between the loss and what the adjuster initially agrees to pay is where the bargaining (aka adjusting) begins.

The book is packed with useful information. It lists insurance deadlines and has blank forms as well as example forms showing you how you should fill them out. The book covers the history of property insurance as well as insurance company monetary statistics, lists of regulatory authorities, unfair claims practices codes and regulations, quotes from adjusters training books (scary) and California's Unfair Practice insurance Codes. The middle of the book does get a bit dry with dozens... if not hundreds... of court cases showing you how the court has ruled in the past, but can be invaluable for a claimant trying to win a point. In short, this book is an invaluable resource all in one short (148 page, large type) book.

The author maintains a website with active newsgroups where you can post questions and get answers. The author has even extended a bulk discount on the book to community leaders in a disaster area. The following could be printed out and given to survivors informing them of the book's existence.
http://www.disasterprepared.net/disasterprepared.html

In the end, this book would have a hard time replacing a face-to-face seminar. Right after a disaster people are still in shock so reading a book and absorbing something of this nature might prove difficult, but this would be invaluable for any disaster relief worker to read and even hand out (or at least inform using a flyer) to survivors. It could also be used as a type of text book (and an inexpensive one at that) for someone holding a face-to-face seminar.

I highly encourage everyone to read this book. Many people have said they want to help future disaster survivors, and handing out this book (along with CARe and other information we have collected) would be a great first step.

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Your Credit Score, How to Fix, Improve and Protect the 3 Digit Number that Shapes your Financial Future

by Liz Pulliam Weston

Prentice Hall; 2005

-Short Version-

The author is a writer with the Los Angeles Times who's been covering personal finance issues for many years.   In simple, easy to understand language, she explains how your credit rating impacts how much you get charged for your insurance policies, and offers up-to-the-minute information on today's radically new credit scoring system.   The information in this book can save you thousands on credit and insurance.

-Long Version-

If you'd like to learn about how your credit score effects your life, including your insurance premiums, you can find the information in a book called, Your Credit Score, How to Fix, Improve and Protect the 3 Digit Number that Shapes your Financial Future by Liz Pulliam Weston, published in 2004.

This book also goes into some details which we only learned through experience. There is an entire chapter called "Insurance and Your Credit Score". One of the headings in this chapter is "Start Thinking Differently About Insurance". It goes on to explain how you shouldn't use your insurance unless you have a catastrophic event which you could not recover from financially without insurance. On page 139 she says:

"Does this seem unfair? If you think it does, you would expect to get some support from J. Robert Hunter, a consumer advocate and insurance expert for the Consumer Federation of America....

"But Hunter, an insurance actuary and former Texas insurance commissioner, also knows how insurance is supposed to work. He maintains high deductibles on all his personal insurance policies, and he urges others to do so as well. He sets aside the money he saves on premiums to pay for out-of-pocket expenses."

It might be a different way to think of insurance, but it could save you a lot of money in the long run.

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Payment Refused

by William M. Shernoff

William & Sons; 2004

-Short Version-

This basically is an updated version of How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims.  It has been reformatted and many of the tips have been removed which makes the 1990 book a bit more useful for claimants.  Although this book can be helpful, I think anyone who wants information filing a claim should read this one along with another book which has more practical information.

-Long Version-

"Unfortunately, as you will learn later in Part II of this book, the message [given by the courts to Aetna in the form of a $116 mil punitive award] heard by the industry was not "treat people better," but rather, "do whatever you can to keep cases of misconduct out of court."

"The courts have held that where insurance policy language is unclear, the language will be construed against the insurance company."

Mold, Fire, Flood, & Other Topics - Homeowners Insurance Explained

By RA Martinez

Self Published in Hong Kong; 2003

RA Martinez has worked in the insurance industry mainly as an adjuster for the insurance company. His writing style is to basically explain the insurance company's side without advocating for the claimant.  His explanations are so basic as to be basically useless.  If someone bought this book and followed his advice, in my opinion, they would get no more than the adjuster originally offered.  There is no "insider information," no explanations of how those strange insurance clauses will help you get what you paid for.

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Get Your Claim Paid: A Pro-Active Guide for Handling the Most Difficult Part of Insurance

by James Walsh

Silver Lake Publishing; 1999

Top Dollar Property Claims : Secrets to Successful Insurance Claim Settlements

by Les Watrous

TGWB Publishing, Inc.;1998

-Short Version-

Although this book is great for people with partial losses, individuals with a total loss (or even a constructive total loss), might find this book a bit lacking.  For example, Mr Watrous strongly recommends using a restoration contractor, which is completely NOT necessary for claimants with a total loss.  However, there is some information which I have not seen in other books such as, a good explanation of "resultant damage" and "proximate cause" which might help people who have covered damage which they don't know is covered.  He also has lots of detail on ALE.

-Long Version-

Fight Back & Win, How to Get your HMO and health insurance to Pay Up

by William M. Shernoff

Bottom Line Publishing; 1998

Real life examples of HMO claims abuses and practical suggestions for claimants who have been denied necessary, covered medical care.

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The Household Inventory Guide

by Carol Phillips

IPP Press; 1994

This book is extremely important for anyone who needs to create a household inventory from memory.  It is a bit old and outdated, but can still be an invaluable part in your inventory creation.

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How to Win the Insurance Claim Game

by Ron Alford

The Plan Publishing Company; 1992

-Short Version-

Easy to read with simplistic graphics to drive home the points.  There is some great information, but he strongly pushes public adjusters which might not be in everyone's best interest.  This book is also basically for people with partial losses and has relatively little information for people with total losses.  His timelines and attitude to move forward quickly might leave a person in a disaster situation or with a total loss struggling with their sanity.

-Long Version-

How to Win the Insurance Claim Game by Ron Alford was published in 1992 by Plan Publishing Co. It is out of print, but still available used on many different websites.

This book is relatively short (less than 100 pages) and has forms and charts in the back which could be useful to a claimant. He writes in an easy to read style which is especially useful after a disaster. The tips are basic and useful. He uses real examples to drive home his points which would be helpful to a new claimant.

My first impression upon reading this book is that George Kehrer had definitely read this book! Some of the diagrams and stories are things that George himself demonstrated to us at his seminars!

On the other hand, Mr. Alford strongly pushes the use of public adjusters. He does give very strong cautions against using a "bad" public adjuster and there are many quotes and scenarios which might be useful to anyone who has been introduced to a public adjuster, but just the fact that he pushes them so heavily really bothers me. Unfortunately, it seems that the majority of public adjusters are the "shark" type he cautions so strongly against.

Another drawback is that this book is mainly for people with a partial loss. I know that the majority of people do have partial losses, so this book is definitely written for them and gives many helpful hints for people with partial losses.

For example, he has a timeline which he strongly suggests following. The problem is, for a total loss, this timeline is completely unreasonable, even suggesting that you should sign a contract with a contractor within 72-96 hours. Heck, it took us about 4 weeks to get our bids back, let alone review them and negotiate with them before we finally signed a contract (which for us was at least 2 months). I have a feeling that this timeline might be unreasonable period, but since I have not had to deal with a partial loss (especially in a non-disaster situation), it is difficult for me to comment on this.

All in all, this is a useful book which I will draw on in the future, but not a "must-read" as other books have been.

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The Claims Game: How to Win at Negotiating Insurance Claims

by RJ Atherton

Lambert & Morris Press, Inc.; 1991

This book was written in the voice of someone who appears to have seen way too many adjusters trick innocent claimants out of their money.  With experience as an adjuster under his belt, in one section he tells the reader about questionable techniques that he has seen used by con artists that actually worked.  Although these techniques can not be recommended it is interesting to see how the insurance company works through these claims.

The book also has some detail on bad faith and even shopping for an insurance policy.  Ultimately his unrestrained manner will NOT be for everyone.   These two sections along with negotiation techniques are pretty much the extent of the practical information available to claimants.

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Claim Paid, A Consumers Guide through the Insurance Claims Maze

by Frank R Dumas

Stratton Press; 1990

-Short Review-

One of the best overall books on getting through the claims process. Due to the age of the book, beware of items (especially legal tips, laws and insurance codes) which might need to be updated.  Insider tips can be useful and the chapter on hiring a lawyer is especially powerful.

-Long Review-

To date, this book has the most down to earth, step by step claims help of any book I've read.   Other books have been extremely helpful in other aspects, but this book is a nuts and bolts kind of book.

Here are some things I love about the book:

a.        Having both a glossary and an index at the end of the book make the book much more useful as a reference book.

b.        Has many insiders tips on how the insurance company works and how to get your claim paid.

c.        The chapter on hiring a lawyer is especially helpful if you're considering litigation.   Even helpful if you are currently in litigation.

d.        If you have a small property claim or partial loss after a disaster, this book is definitely for you.

Here are some things that I don't love about the book:

a.        Due to the age of the book, some of the tips sound hopelessly out of date (I have a strange feeling insurance companies no longer have a typing pool typing up checks), but the sentiment behind the words comes through loud and clear.

b.        There is not as much information on total losses as I would like.   I wonder in all of his years in the industry, how many total losses he actually adjusted.

c.        Talks a lot about collecting on Actual Cash Value without talking much about recovering the Replacement Cost.   The only thing I can figure is that maybe policies were different in 1989 in this regard although I have heard that most homeowner policies were guaranteed replacement after the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire.   I find this conflicting information very strange.

d.        Does not mention that replacing a home can cost more than building new.   He does not tell you how to determine this or how to get this money from the company.

e.        Tells the stories of several court cases without giving court references.

f.          He continuously gives the insurance industry way more credit than I would.   Admittedly, he had worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years and it definitely shows in the book.

This is definitely a book that should NOT be skipped over.   This book should be on every person's shelf who owns an insurance policy of any kind.   If you ever have to file a claim, this book is definitely a must read.

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How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims

by William Shernoff

Hastings House; 1990

-Short Review-

The first section of the book has some good tips on how to keep track of your insurance claim.  If you follow this advice, you will be in a far better position if there are legal issues down the road.  The case histories in the last 1/2 of the book are especially interesting and can be enlightening if you have similar "bad faith" problems with your claim.

-Long Review-

How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims was written by William Shernoff and published by Hastings House in 1990. It is the precursor to the book Payment Refused published in 2004. Although many of the case histories are the same, this book features more extensive claims tips and contrary to his newer book, come before the case histories. Just this one feature makes the book seem more helpful to insurance claimants.

Right out of the shoot, this book seems to be written for the fire survivor. The first two paragraphs in the book (to get you in the mood) are as follows:

“It’s your worst nightmare come true.

“Little Johnny was playing with matches again. Thank God Johnny is all right, but unfortunately you cannot say the same thing about your home, which would be better described as a giant heap of ashes. After temporary spasms of panic and grief, you try to get hold of yourself. ‘It’s okay. It’s okay,’ you console yourself. ‘Insurance will take care if it, right?’”

And so the scenario starts. The next two pages of the book might sound all too familiar, but it will also bring you to the conclusion “I am not alone” which is a helpful conclusion in and of its self. It brings a certain kind of credibility that I know I needed right after our disaster.

The first chapter is everything you should’ve done before the disaster. Although it might seem like it’s too late to read this chapter it might help you remember what happened during the time you got your policy. It also helps you to understand your policy, although in very generic terms. Another helpful section in chapter one gives some examples of things which are most likely to give you problems such as exclusions and paying your policy late.

The most important chapter for people after a disaster is in chapter two: “How to File an Airtight Insurance Claim”. Although he gives instructions in an easy to read eight step processes, I don’t see a great deal of specific instructions for claimants of total losses. Unfortunately, the format of a book does not allow for this type of detail. This is not to mean that the book is not useful for these claimants, just that they will need to look elsewhere for specifics on total loss claims.

The third chapter “How to Challenge an Insurance Ruling” is important once the insurance company has made a decision that is not in your favor. Chapter four “How the Legal System Can Work for You” is the natural conclusion if you can’t get anywhere following the instructions in chapters two and three.

The last eight chapters are individual stories of claimants who won their cases against the insurance company. As you might guess, William Shernoff is a lawyer who takes on insurance companies. In fact, he is one of the premier “Bad Faith” insurance lawyers in the country.

Overall, this book is a good read for anyone who has a loss, or for people who want information on buying an insurance policy. This book does cover all kinds of insurance, but in my opinion is especially good for property claims. When compared to other books written on insurance claims, it is definitely written from a lawyer’s point of view, but from my experience, this is the type of information you will need when filing a claim.

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Insult to Injury : Insurance, Fraud, and the Big Business of Bad Faith
by Ray Bourhis

Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 2005

You Pay Your Insurance Company to Protect You in Case of Tragedy—But Will They Be There When You Need Them Most?

Synopsis
Joan Hangarter bought a disability policy in 1990 to protect her should she ever become seriously ill. She dutifully paid her annual premiums for nearly a decade. But when she became disabled, she and her children found themselves homeless and bankrupt when her insurer—UnumProvident—stopped paying her benefits. With the help of attorneys Ray Bourhis and Alice Wolfson, Hangarter won a landmark $7.7 million jury verdict against Unum.

Hangarter's dramatic story illustrates in shocking detail how insurance companies put profit above the promises they make to policyholders. Exposing the intricate systems insurance companies use to target and terminate expensive claims without just cause, Bourhis reveals the back-room mindset that drives these illegal practices. He shows how low-level employees are duped into unethical conduct, how insurers manipulate the facts and the law in the few cases that do go to trial, and exactly what ordinary people are up against when forced to take on this industry.

Bourhis paints a frightening picture of how key decisions by Congress and the US Supreme Court have enabled these schemes to continue unchecked—and he provides a sorely needed roadmap to reform.

"Ray Bourhis continues his strong commitment to justice by successfully taking on the insurance industry and criminal fraud in this compelling case study. He makes clear that we need to do much more to end the shameful abuses of the current system and guarantee honorable insurance coverage for every American."
—Senator Edward M. Kennedy

"What has happened to Joan Hangarter-and so many others like her-is a grave injustice.... Readers of this book should urge their congressional representatives to force the big insurance companies to honor their obligations just as the holders of those policies honor theirs."
—John Garamendi, Insurance Commissioner, State of California

"Painstakingly documented, hilarious, and insightful. A seething indictment of the out-of-control insurance industry..."
—Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders

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The Game of Insurance, How Insurance is Conducted in California

by Paul Nicholas

Jade Publishing Co.; 1990

I haven't reviewed this one since I have only seen one or two available used on Amazon.com at an exorbitant price.

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The Invisible Bankers

by Andrew Tobias

Linden Press/Simon & Schuster; 1982

-Short Version-

Even though this book was written over 20 years ago, it is fascinating to read about the history of the insurance industry and the claims culture that follows through to today.  This book compares the insurance industry to the banking industry and shows the average person why the insurance industry is such a huge money maker.  This books makes insurance interesting and explains why the insurance industry wants us to think it's "boring".  Mr. Tobias describes why ignorance by the policy holder is key to the insurance company's success.

Due to the age of the book, much of the back half of the book seems to be outdated, but most of the principals still hold true.

-Long Version-

American Ground

by William Langewiesche

North Point Press; 2002

This book is about the "Unbuilding of the World Trade Center "... basically the clean up of Ground Zero.  William Langewiesche had unique unrestricted access to the site and he wrote the book in a narrative approach as if looking back on the events with a bit of emotional distance, but in his own words "more openly in the first person, as their [the reader's] agent on the ground." 

The result is a fascinating account of how the organization of the clean-up formed in a completely unplanned, ad-hock manner where people you don't expect step up and become the indispensable leaders despite the fact that other organizations (such as FEMA) were supposed to be in charge of this type of operation.

Although the writing of these events was very well done, I was hoping to read more of the victims organizing and the issues they faced (such as the likely life insurance "snafus"), but the unpredictable way the organization formed was none-the-less very similar as I have heard and observed in other disasters.

In any case, it is a fascinating book and I do highly recommend it!

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Living With Wildfires: Prevention, Preparation, and Recovery

by Janet C. Arrowood

Bradford Publishing Company, 2003

The book is easy to read at only 136 pages in length with a large glossary and several pages of “Suggested Reading. This alone can be very valuable if you’re interested in Wildfire Damage Protection, Flood Insurance or Wildland Fire and Firefighting. There are also two pages of web links... mostly of government websites which follow the same topics as the book references.

The meat of the book consists of 6 chapters. 1) Prevention 2) Preparation 3) Evacuation 4) Recovery 5) Insurance and 6) History and Background. At first blush, this sounds like a well rounded book. A bit heavy on preparation and prevention, but this book seems to be aimed at that topic. Unfortunately, as you might glean from the Bibliography and Suggested Reading, the section on Recovery and Insurance is a bit lacking.

For example, of the 28 pages which make up the "recovery" chapter... 12 of them explain how to safely re-enter your burnt out property 1 1/2 talk about the responsibility you have to the insurance company, 2 pages on “clean-up” and “selecting a contractor”, 4 or 5 pages about preparing for debris flows, 7 pages about FEMA, SBA, the Red Cross etc, a 1/2 a page thrown in about how you should've had auto and business insurance and the last 1/2 a page is about the "emotional aftermath" following a disaster.

In my opinion, you can learn a lot just looking at the proportions of what is talked about in this section. In my opinion, just the fact that she spends 7 of the 28 pages talking about FEMA, SBA and the like is a bit harmful since it perpetuates the myth that they will actually be a significant part of the recovery process.

After I finished the Recovery section, I was anxious to hear what she had to say about insurance. I figured maybe she would make up for it in this section. Unfortunately, again the focus of this book is on preparation before the fire, instead of actual help for survivors after the fire. The majority of the insurance section should be read before a disaster hits. Of the 21 pages in this chapter only about 3 pages actually try to explain anything that would be useful after a disaster. The rest is about buying, selecting and pricing insurance.

In the end, most of this information is great for people PREPARING for a disaster. I would definitely recommend it for people in this circumstance. It might even be an interesting gift for a fire survivor to give as a gift to a friend or family member. It might get the conversation rolling on your experiences and how you (and they) can better prepare for the next disaster.

In fact, I think that preparing people for the inevitable disaster is the main drive of this book, and as such, it does a wonderful job.

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Wildfire: A Reader

Edited by Alianor True

Island Press; 2001

(have, but need to read and review)

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The Control of Nature

by John McPhee

Farrar Straus Giroux, 1989

This book consists of three short essays on three completely different natural phenomenon's which man is - at least trying to - control. The first is Atchafalaya which is basically the Mississippi river delta region.  The second are lava flows in a certain harbor in  Iceland .  The third is the urban-wild land interface in Los Angeles.

This last chapter is obviously the section which is most apropos to our group.  Although the focus of this chapter is on debris flow, it is impossible to discuss debris flow in the Southern California Urban-wild land interface without at least mentioning fire.

The descriptions of houses filling up with mud are disturbing enough to give one pause and to really appreciate the power of this destructive force.  Although most of the book is set in Los Angeles , the environment is identical in San Bernardino and many of the landmarks ( Foothill Blvd , Rte 66) are close enough to home to really make you think. 

I grew up in San Bernardino and was aware of the many fires that ran through the area.  My father was a City of San Bernardino fire fighter and fought the Panorama fire and a friend of the family lost their home from a mudslide in the early 80's, but maybe because of this, I didn't realize quite how rare, or destructive it is until I saw it in black and white, compared right there next to a lava flow and the Mississippi river.

This book gave me some perspective on the commonness of firestorms in California as the following shows:

"It is not a great rarity to pick up the Los Angeles Times and see a headline like this one, from September 27, 1970 : '14 Major Fires Rage Out Of Control, 256 homes destroyed as flames burn 180,000 acres.'"

And then:

"Some of the most concentrated rainfall in the history of the United States has occurred in the San Gabriel Mountains ....  These are by no means annual events, but when they occur they will stir even hydrologists to bandy the name of Noah.... Mystically, unnervingly, the heaviest downpours always occur on the watersheds most recently burned.  Why this is so is a question that has not been answered.  Meteorologists and hydrologists speculate about ash-particle nuclei and heat reflection, but they don't know."

All-in-all I think this should be mandatory reading for all residence in Southern California Urban-wild land interface area to help spur on preparedness just prior to and during the rainy season and is over-all a very good read.

-050909 update-

You might have noticed in paragraph 1 that one of the three sections is on the Mississippi Delta region.  Hurricane Katrina puts this book on the "must read" list for everyone.

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I Can't Get over It: A Handbook for Trauma Survivors

by Aphrodite Matsakis

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.; 1992

I have NOT read the above named book, but out of the 16 people who reviewed it on Amazon.com, all 16 gave it 5 stars. In this issue I am going to use, verbatim, a review from a reader of this book from Amazon.com's website.

Reviewer:

Rosemary Bannon Tyksinski (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This is the best self-help book on the topic of trauma recovery. I have used this book with literally hundreds of patients who have experienced severe trauma -- and have yet to find a better single reference. The author guides you (and your therapist, if you have one) step by step through the entire process of recovery. She takes a psychoeducational approach through out. This approach helps to create necessary cognitive frameworks that trauma survivors desperately need in order to begin to make sense of the strange experiences they are often frightened to share with others. The careful building of these frameworks buffer the survivor against overwhelming emotions and feelings of helplessness. The author includes exercises for each phase of recovery, helps you with pacing and timing, and most of all, normalizes the subjective experience of the survivor. One of the most important things she articulates is the phenomenon of "secondary victimization." In brief, secondary victimization results from the well-meaning but damaging responses of your friends and loved ones to your trauma. Often, these ignorant reactions amplify the original trauma and complicate, or completely prohibit, healing. Her description of the biological reaction to traumatic incidents is priceless. Many fail to connect the many possible negative physical reactions to trauma with the traumatic experience itself. Because the physical symptoms sometimes occur weeks or even months after the event, people fail to see them as connected to the trauma. They often see them as isolated entities, adding to the feelings of craziness and being out of control. Just understanding how trauma can affect us biologically (sometimes permanently) lessens the pain and confusion of those reactions and can help the survivor reduce feelings of weakness and self-blame. This enables a person to begin to design effective strategies to address these symptoms. One of the other strengths of this book the inclusion of various kinds of trauma -- from childhood sexual abuse to military terror to auto accidents. This normalization of the survivor's reaction across domains of trauma helps to de-emphasize the event and to refocus the individual on moving through the sequel to complete healing. Healing is truly possible. This book is a wonderful tool.

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Life After Trauma: A Workbook for Healing (Paperback)
by Dena Rosenbloom , Mary Beth Williams , Barbara E. Watkins

The Guilford Press; 1999

(do not have)

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