Interesting Insurance Article Concerning HiFi.

The author has a gripe with State Farm. He lost me at, "... the pure evil that is State Farm, which is the largest insurance company in the world ..."

Could be, but here's a story: I work for Delta airlines and and about 8 years ago, a film crew came through. I asked what the assignment was and he replied.,

"We did a piece for an insurance company on how not to pay claims"! 

You need Riders for you Audio Systems, Work Shop, Jewelry, Art and Collectables in your home or you will be SOL. I have my Beer Can Collection from College insured along with the little woman's CZ's.   

In Florida home insurance statutes, you are limited to $1,500 - 2,500 per personal property item, including jewelry, art, electronics.  (Who do you think helped write the statutes?  …just another example of the perfidy of the legal system.)

If you need more, you will need a separate rider or a separate policy.

To the Op, I am sorry for your loss. If you’re alive and toxin free that in itself is a blessing. I have family in Paradise , Ca and watched them suffer with minimal help. When the fire burned Paradise all the PVC melted and polluted the water supply. They received minimal government help as they are not a high profile well to do location. My family member contracted to have his land cleared and promptly filed his new construction plans. He bought a large 5th wheel trailer and put it on his property. He secured a large generator and a water filtration system and started the rebuild process. From the time of the fire to move in was almost 3 years. His homeowners insurance refused to pay for his driveway as the fire ruins concrete. He paid out of pocket to get the land cleared and $125k out of pocket for his concrete. Almost two years after move in he received a notice from his insurance company that he was to be cancelled if he didn’t replace his fence with one that’s fireproof. The people in  Southern California are “ City People “ that have an expectation the the California government is going to fix everything and that insurance will make them whole. It’s not going to happen. I also have friends and family that lost  homes in the Creek Fire, some rebuilt others sold out and left. The only way you stand a chance on a claim is to have documentation and an appropriate Rider. State Fram didn’t become the largest by paying claims. My cousin in Paradise did all his own footwork including authoring and filing his own suit against PG&E. When the fire hit they barely got out alive and they both suffer PTSD from the trauma. My sons close friend lives in So Cal and the family suffered in the Eaton Fire. They literally made 1 house payment. Theirs is one of two houses on the entire block that didn’t burn. All the exterior aluminum is melted and the walls are scorched. The house is SO TOXIC it’s not inhabitable and they have young children. AGIAN I feel your pain and I pray your health is good and that you can recover. Maybe you could do an Audiophile Go Fund Me. BTW my cousin is a hard core fly fisherman, and he was at a trade show and the rep for SAGE found out. They sold him 3 complete rods and reels at production cost and comped him a bunch of miscellaneous gear. So don’t be afraid to humbly ask your favorite manufacturer. Love and Respect, Mike B , Clovis, Ca. 

Practical advise goes a long way:  so first, photograph all your belongings.  Record serial numbers, dates of purchase and don’t forget all those little snake oil purchases. Next up, apply your driver’s license number with an etching tool to your belongings, especially hand tools, drills, etc. Lastly, think about how to insure the items.  I’m in California and several carriers do not place limits on HiFi equipment.  Most do have limits on jewelry, guns and computer stuff.  So find a good independent agent who offers many different companies.

When I was working as a Physician one of the Pharmaceutical Representatives told me his previous job was at Cigna.  He and his colleagues were incentivized to deny claims or authorizations for tests/procedures by using whatever pretense they could make up off the top of their heads.  As a Physician who would have to spend hours arguing with these completely absurd people I believed him implicitly.  I think he got $50 for every $1000 in services that he successfully denied (this was in the late nineties).  It was a lark for him , first job out of college, sit around and make up nonsense and get paid for it.  Ultimately when he saw an elderly relative being denied treatment with the same tactics he regretted his efforts and changed careers.

  Insurance companies don’t make money by paying claims.  Duh

Maybe 30yrs ago insurance companies were good in payment claims for medical claims, I also think they were abuse as well. So they started slowly tighten up.Nowadays there some insurance company that are hard to reach or they make you wait till you give up.Secret is you fight fight fight back, and always be nice telling them if something happen to your relatives and they don’t cover , you sue them. I don’t know why ? The word sue softens them and give in.