What Has Your Homeowners Insurance Agent Done for You?

You just never know when you are going to make a difference in someone’s life.  In October of 2011, I was building my insurance agency and was meeting a lot of clients based on requests they made for insurance quotes on the Internet.  One of the clients I met via this method of obtaining new clients came to me for auto and homeowners insurance on their 1914 Craftsman home, which was on the local historic registry.  After a review of their homeowners insurance, I informed them that I believed they were under-insured and needed to consider a sizable increase in coverage to meet today’s reconstruction costs, especially given the fact that the house was a specialty home.  While the client had originally hoped to reduce their expenses, they agreed with my assessment and decided to purchase an upgraded policy with my agency.

Who would have known at the time that their decision and my recommendation would have a tremendous impact on their life?  On an uneventful Saturday evening, in April of 2013 I received a frantic call on my cellphone as I was getting ready for dinner with my family. The client’s house had caught fire and the flames had spread through a majority of their beautiful 99 year-old craftsman home. Rebuilding their home has not been a simple task.  The architect and contractors had to adhere to very strict guidelines regarding the design, detail, and construction quality since the home was part of the local historic registry.  Every detail had to match the original construction or fit in to the construction and quality of the era in which their home was originally built.

Since that Saturday evening, I have had many conversations with my clients making sure the construction was going well and that they were happy with our claims service and their temporary living space.  They keep me updated on all of the choices they are making regarding their home repairs.  Time after time they remind me that it was at my urging that they increased their homeowners’ insurance coverage.  They are able to rebuild their precious home.  Had they kept their previous insurance policy, the amount they had their home insured for would not have been enough to accomplish the task of rebuilding it.  Instead construction is almost complete and they will be able to move back shortly and celebrate the 100th anniversary of their renovated Craftsman house with some upgrades of their choosing.

Not all stories about house fires have happy endings.  Thankfully we were able to have a frank conversation and the client found my recommendation to be in their best interest.  They deferred to a licensed and educated insurance professional, and that choice has made all the difference…