By Terry Bibo
To buy a home, experts advise you to consider three things: Location. Location. Location. To protect that home, recent experience suggests you check three things: Insurance. Insurance. Insurance.
“It’s the most important thing we’ve learned,” said Tri-County Long Term Recovery Chairman, Jim Fassino. “Make sure you have the right insurance and understand your coverage.” That simple lesson comes courtesy of a lot of suffering. Tri-County LTR has handled more than 1,000 tales of homeowner woe since the mammoth Tazewell County tornadoes of 2013.
A stand-alone not-for-profit, LTR is designed to simplify the healing process after a major disaster. It provides a one-stop-shop where people with unmet needs get help from organizations with resources reserved for that purpose. Once a month, a group called the Funder’s Forum connects to provide everything from rent to soil remediation.
As the second anniversary of the tornadoes approaches, most LTR clients have found their way to some version of “the new normal.” Many rebuilt neighborhoods look better than ever. However, other clients have yet to get back home. Dozens of those 1,000 tales still await a happy ending.
What makes the difference? “One way or another, I would say most of them revert back to insurance,” says LTR disaster case manager, Chuck Friend. Case managers provide the hands-on assistance at LTR. It’s their job to listen, check paperwork, and make connections. In the past two years, they’ve held hands with homeowners who found themselves unable to rebuild because they were underinsured; or unable to replace their belongings, because they had no notion of what they owned.
Asked for advice, five LTR caseworkers agreed: updating your insurance can spare a lot of pain. A former insurance agent, Ed Murray, said people forget to increase their insurance when they improve their homes. “Make sure you have enough coverage for your building, your house. Your basement, if it’s finished. Your deck, if you have one,” said Murray. “I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who are in trouble because they didn’t have enough insurance.”
Friend said some people find they can’t meet high deductibles. Others are unpleasantly surprised to learn things like jewelry or soil remediation require specific coverage — and they didn’t have it. Your memory will not be improved by a disaster, so take inventory now.
“I learned from talking to my previous clients: take pictures of whatever you have. Put them on a flash drive,” said Mishel Sack. An inventory and/or video will help determine what it takes to reestablish your home, and cushion the sticker shock. Rebuilding or replacing will almost inevitably cost more than you paid the first time — especially if you must update to meet current code, or you’re not one to redecorate frequently.
“It’s new for old,” Murray says. “If you’ve got an old couch, you’ve got to get a new one. Insurance companies want a list…They want replacement cost. That’s an immense headache for everybody.”
Kathy Casey walks the talk she gives LTR clients. She checks her insurance coverage regularly to ensure everything she owns is covered for its current replacement value. Twice a year, she does an inventory of her possessions, and stores the results in a fireproof safe. The tornadoes aren’t the first catastrophe she’s helped handle. “That insurance advice works for a single-family fire, too,” said Casey. “A disaster’s a disaster,” confirmed supervisor Sondra Hayes.
With most clients covered, the LTR office will go dormant later this month, although the last few cases will be followed to the end. Before the next disaster, LTR hopes to spread a warning — on behalf of a thousand different people who’ve learned it the hard way.
From fire to flood to EF-4 tornado, make sure you’re protected. Do it now. If you’d like more information about Tri-County Long Term Recovery, contact myltr.org, or call 309-696-6923. Like us on Facebook! Terry Bibo is a freelance journalist and consultant for LTR. She can be reached at terry.bibo.freelance@gmail.com.