That’s so kind of you!
I just saw a gofundme pop up on FB for them.
I don’t want to sound insensitive, but wouldn’t all their stuff be covered by insurance apart from a deductible? I suppose it isn’t that simple, or maybe they need some $$ sooner than their insurance company will make it available or in the case of getting meals? I just can’t relate. ETA I specifically price farm insurance for a living 
but that doesn’t mean I know exactly living through a claim looks like to the insured.
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I think you’re probably right. However, it takes a while to get claims processed. Idk what their deductible is but I doubt they have it lying around. Insurance doesn’t cover everything.
I threw them a few bucks. 
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Good to know you do farm specifically. I may annoy you down the road one day.
Yeah, a family member lost everything in a house fire. In theory the insurer paid for their things, but in the short term you need cash to buy essentials, maybe pay for temp lodging, pay the deductible. A real short-term need for however many thousands of dollars.
If it happened to me, I’d tap savings and maybe sell some stocks. I think it’s fair to say most Americans are in a different cash position than most actuaries.
I only manage about 2% of the US market share so your odds are only 1 in 50. Message me and I’ll tell you where to buy insurance to narrow those odds to 1 in 1 unless you are serious about the annoying part in which case go with Nationwide.
The temp lodging is coverage D loss of use which according to a quick search should cover meals and lodging. Buy chipping in to a GoFundMe you it seems you are just paying for what an insurance company would cover. And the deductible should in theory be something you are prepared to cover on your own.
Maybe I can convince my Kentucky insureds to set up GoFundMe pages
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In theory. In practice, I don’t know how much cash a farm hand might generally have laying around.
How soon does an insurance company cut the first check? Is there a mechanism to get them a quick $10k or whatever to get through the first set of hurdles?
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A lot depends on how the contents coverage is structured. In many cases, it’ll be an Actual Cash Value (i.e., the depreciated value) payment. So that $10k entertainment system you bought 5 years ago with a life expectancy of 7 years . . . you’re getting only $2,857 from insurance. Note that I’m kind of making up numbers here to illustrate.
So getting some things replaced may not be 100% covered by insurance. Replacing clothing can get expensive, but not covered much by insurance (as a line item).
Here at least, day of for lodging, food, replacement clothes. Adjuster will check that it’s covered, write a basic first check, move on to the next people in need for such a large event. They’ll ask the necessary questions, and come back later to settle on the deets.
In many cases that I’ve seen, when there is building and contents losses, the deductible is applied to the whole claim and not split between the various coverages.
But I agree that the situation in these catastrophic situations is an issue of cash flow far more than if it’s covered or not (and to what extent if it is covered).
I will at some point learn to price our farm lines. It hasn’t really been touched since I moved to the actuarial arena around here (there are 3 of us doing all of personal/commercial/farm). If I find something that makes no sense, I’ll ask someone somewhere in any case. Chances are I’ll have forgotten all about you by then, but maybe I’ll remember. O_o
Of all the things in this thread that needed spoilering, the quoted is #2 imo
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Really? That’s interesting. When my dad tried to switch from replacement value to actual value on his homeowners insurance the insurance company wouldn’t do it. They said they only sell replacement value.
I guess I was under the impression that was more common because no one (other than my Dad) really wants actual value and it just causes too much bad blood between the insurer and insured. So it’s easier to just offer replacement value and then everyone is happy at claim time and the claim analyst spends way less time on it and the insurer isn’t excoriated online for only paying out $2,857 for a $10,000 entertainment system.
To be fair that was homeowners and it sounds like this is farm insurance, which is something I have no experience with whatsoever.
Even on HO, contents coverage is typically ACV by default. It can be endorsed for replacement cost though, which I often see.
Interesting. I’ll have to look up what we have.
Note that you can have a difference in settlement value between building coverage (typically called Coverage A) and contents coverage (typically called Coverage C*).
Most insurers won’t sell ACV for Coverage A as this will usually lead to headaches with the insureds having a total loss (or near total loss) in getting their dwelling fixed.
But Coverage C is where things can be mixed between various insurers. Replacement Cost on contents can be pretty expensive when you’re replacing items that are “old” but still useable. (Think of stereo equipment and home entertainment systems.) ACV makes it a bit more tractable for the general insured population and makes it clear that you’re paying a premium for that added coverage for Replacement Cost.
.* Coverage B is usually other buildings (think detached garage, large shed in the back corner of the yard, etc.) coverage; and this can be written with ACV or Replacement Cost.
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Thanks for that explanation. I might be thinking of Coverage A. His place was pretty run down… the whole thing needed to be gutted basically. Carpet, cabinets, light and plumbing fixtures all VERY old. Heck even the light switches were in bad condition.
The following document could be useful in understanding HO coverage (from an industry perspective). Page 5 has information related to ACV vs. RC; and the wording implies that Contents are usually covered on an ACV basis. (But insurers will customize their “base” policy for their business model.)
A Consumer’s Guide to Home Insurance (naic.org)
Note that Guaranteed Replacement Cost is applicable only to Coverage A and it will extend the amount payable to a value above your Coverage A limit (often around 120%).
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Serena: some family friends lost everything they own in a fire!
Everyone else: wow, that’s terrible, do they need help with anything?
GoA: we really need a copy of their policy. Do they have replacement value? I assume they have plenty in savings to cover the deductible, that’s the only rational thing to do. Who is the adjuster working on this? Is it Tom? That guy is the worst, I’ll call and have Joanna put on this case, she’s the one you want here.
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