TORNADOES

Most insurance policies cover damage

* Insurer advises residents to be patient in waiting for settlement on tornado damage claims.

By Angela Townsend DAYTON DAILY NEWS
Published: Saturday, April 10, 1999

For those whose homes were ravaged by the tornadoes that struck southern Ohioand northern Kentucky overnight, there's a bit of good news.

If you have a standard homeowners' insurance policy - and 97 percent of you do- or renters' insurance (about 26 percent), you are automatically covered.

PREVENTING LOSSES Tornado losses to a home are covered by windstorm peril under thehomeowner's insurance policy. Check with insurance agents now to assure adequate coverage is providedby the homeowner's insurance policy. Remember to notify agents of anyimprovements or additions to the home. Investigate purchasing the replacement-cost coverage endorsement for thehome and its contents. The option provides for the rebuilding or replacementof damaged property and belongings at current costs, rather than depreciatedvalues. Take time to videotape, take photographs or compile a written inventoryof your home and belongings. Keep the inventory in a safe deposit box awayfrom your home. This will provide a record for you and the insurance companyshould a loss occur. When compiling a written inventory, include the purchase price and date,and the model and serial numbers, if possible. Also include the appraisedvalue of antiques, jewelry and other costly possessions. Attach professional,written appraisals, when necessary.

But because of the sheer amount of devastation, it may take some timebefore you can settle your claim.

"It's like a triage situation," said Jeanne Salvatore, vice president forconsumer affairs at the New York-based Insurance Information Institute. "It'sthe reason why companies physically go on site to help with the claimsprocess."

Typically homeowners buy one of two kinds of policies - a guaranteedreplacement cost policy, which pays to rebuild a house and the cost ofreplacing belongings; or an actual cash value policy, which takes into accountdepreciation of items.

Brian Maze, a spokesman for Allstate Insurance Co., which sent about 40catastrophe specialists to the area on Friday, said wind damage accounted for18 percent of Allstate's claims in Ohio for 1998. That figure has remainedstable throughout much of the decade, he said.

INSURANCE TIPS

* Make sure you buy enough insurance, and keep up with it in case yoursituation changes (ie. new purchases of valuables). Understand what kind ofpolicy you're purchasing.

* Take down a thorough inventory of everything you own. That may meansitting down with your agent or hiring an outside appraiser to determinerebuilding costs.

IF YOU HAVE A CLAIM

* Contact your insurance company immediately.

* Let the company know where you are staying temporarily. Expenses that youincur while waiting to get back into your home are typically covered.

* Make a list of all the damage, and take photographs of the damage tobetter substantiate your loss.

* If you make temporary repairs, keep your receipts so you can bereimbursed.