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Identity theft is considered the fastest growing crime in America, according to the FBI. Review the following helpful tips to reduce your losses from identity theft if your wallet or purse is stolen.
Photocopy both sides of your credit cards and other important documents and keep these in a separate, easily accessible location. As a result, you will have all of your vital information and can quickly call your credit card companies and cancel your cards.
File a police report as soon as you can in order to prove to credit providers that you acted diligently and took the first step toward an investigation of the crime.
Immediately call the three national credit reporting organizations to place a fraud alert on your name and social security number. This alert means that any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen and they must contact you to authorize new credit. These three credit organizations are Equifax at (800) 525-6285, Experian at (888) 397-3742 and Trans Union at (800) 680-7289.
Contact your bank as soon as possible if your checkbook is stolen.
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DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE
UP, UP GO HOMEOWNER PREMIUMS.
A NEW POLICY WRITING FORMULA REFLECTS RISING COST OF BUILDING MATERIALS.
Frank Bilovsky, Staff writer
September 12,2004
Miffed that an insurance carrier was increasing his homeowner’s coverage, Clarence Barg called his Penfield Agent to complain. Instead of receiving satisfaction the 91-year-old got even worse news about what was going to happen next year.
Currently his premium is based
on a value of $120,000, using the traditional assessed value
which has been a benchmark to establish replacement value.
But beginning in 2005 Barg's premium will be calculated on a new formula meant to cover full replacement value to the home he has lived in for 38 years. Under the new formula determined for his neighborhood and type of home, the premium will be based on square footage multiplied by
$112, or $179,000 in his case.
Barg's story is hardly unique. With rapidly rising building materials costs, insurance companies writing homeowner policies gradually have been changing the way they formulate replacement values. The bottom line for consumers: Policies
will cost more up front but provide more money should the house be destroyed.
Some companies are also require larger deductibles and tighten
up their review process to eliminate those who have made claims over the last few years. The insurance industry has introduced the change slowly. When a homeowner's policy is up for renewal or someone buys a house, the carrier will offer to renew but under full replacement terms. The customer then can either accept the new policy or reject it and try to get another policy elsewhere.Contracts other than full replacement are now becoming increasingly more difficult to find. "It's a trend," said Kevin Smith, vice president of Gerard Smith Agency, an independent insurance agency in Webster. "Homeowner rates are going up considerably. But also what has something to do with what is going on is the cost of building materials. Plywood cost has doubled in the last couple years and electrical wiring cost has skyrocketed, Smith said. Because of that cost increase and the fact that homeowners' insurance premiums have been relatively stable for several years,insurers claim that they have been paying out more in claims than they are obtaining
in premiums. Smith said that one national survey found between 1990 to 2002 insurance companies paid $1.13 in homeowner claims, commissions and expenses for every dollar they collected.The move to full replacement value also has been precipitated by studies such as one conducted by Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, a Los Angeles company that estimates construction costs. Their data shows nearly two out of three homeowners are underinsured.
"What happens, if you take a tract of 150 homes and the average rebuilding value is $150,000 and everybody insures for $100,000, the companies are receiving two-thirds of the premium they should be getting” Smith said. While insurance companies under some policies wouldn't have to pay the full $150,000 if the house were destroyed, they believe they still lose money on the smaller $5,000 and $10,000 claims, he said. Plus, some policies that guarantee replacement coverage are based on assessed values that might be outdated because of the building materials costs. "So when people ask if they shouldn't be able to pay for the amount of coverage they want, well, it's a little bit tricky now with the companies," he said.
None of which will appease Barg, who still can't fathom why he
has to pay premiums on more than assessed value. And he says his daughter, who lives in Shortsville, Ontario County, is going to have it even rougher if the same formula is used. "She has a house that's assessed at $74,000 and it's 2,500 square feet,"he said."Multiply that by $112 and it's 200-and-something thousand."Smith said that Barg's daughter may not take as hard a hit as her father suspects, however. "There can be a huge difference in the cost per square foot of rebuilding value," he said. Variables can include geographic location, which can determine the cost of materials and labor, as well as the age of the property and the type of construction, Smith said.
"In Webster, I've got some homes with a per-square-foot rebuilding value of $97 and others that are up around $145,"he said. Although it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find a carrier that will insure for less than full replacement value, opportunities may be available for the prudent shopper, according to New York state Insurance Department spokesman Eric Mangan. The department has a section titled "Consumers" on its Web site, www.ins.state.ny.us, that deals with homeowner insurance.
When to file claims
The days of homeowners filing a claim for every small loss from an ice storm or wind damage are in the past. You can do it, but it will probably cost you in the long run as insurance companies scrutinize their customer rolls and eliminate frequent filers.
"The companies, because they have had such a difficult time making money, are canceling people with a claims frequency," said Kevin Smith, vice president of
Webster's Gerard Smith Agency.
Another reason is higher deductibles. The lower deductible of $50 or $100 possible a generation ago have disappeared, Smith said. "There are quite a few $250 deductibles out there, but we're seeing more $500 and $1,000 deductibles," Smith said. A higher deductible will also lower premiums, he added: "The difference between a $250 and a $500 deductible will lower premiums roughly 8 percent. Going to $1,000 would be closer to a 12 percent reduction.
Clarence Barg, 91, recently found that beginning next year, the rate on the insurance policy on his Penfield home will be based a new formula that covers full replacement value. It will mean a substantial rise in premiums on the home he’s lived in 38 years.
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