Recognizing and planning is a vital part of facing the risks we do everyday. Insurance is something we purchase in order to cover the losses the insurance policy covers, or those things that can be covered by an insurance policy. It’s all about dollars, and when a customer suffers a loss, it’s all about the insurance policy covering the costs they contracted to cover.
When someone suffers a loss the insurance company doesn’t always just write a check, depending on the extent of the loss, the insured customer will be expected to provide details and in some cases proof of the property they have lost. The household inventory should become a basic part of ordinary life. Maintaining records, and keeping inventories can make it much easier to settle with the insurance company and for a fair amount. The insureds have the obligation and responsibility to provide this information when they have a loss.
It’s also not the insurance company that will maintain your use, or plan for disasters. While there may be fliers in your monthly bill suggesting steps that should be taken–no one comes and twists your arm about changing the batteries in your smoke detectors. These steps are the responsibility of the homeowner. It’s our obligation to look at our home and think about loss prevention and safety issues. The insurance company will not check to see if your family has created an emergency survival kit, or made sure to pack a “Go-Bag” in the event there is only 3 minutes notice to evacuate.
Most people won’t expect their insurance company to step in and micro-manage the fine details of protecting a families life, or quality of life. This would be absurd and it wouldn’t work. Not only would the loss of privacy become an issue, but insurance companies have no business telling customers how to survive. It’s just assumed each person wants to survive and is willing to take the effort to make the odds better if the worst happened.
Insurance companies are also not in the business of telling people how much insurance or what kind of insurance is right or wrong for anyone. Oh, there are those insurance policies that are required such as auto liability insurance, or homeowner insurance for a lender but, the insurance company expects customers to educate themselves, and understand how to manage their own risks.
Insurance companies expect their customers to read the policy and understand any conditions, exclusions or limitations. We are expected to read and understand that our homeowner insurance policy for example, may only cover $1,000 for computers, period. And, it’s our responsibility to purchase additional insurance where we want it.
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