Understanding Home Insurance Coverage Limits in Heavy Snow Winters with Allison Glasier of Country Financial
Karen Malanga: Hi, this is Karen Malanga with another episode of House Talk. I’m so happy to welcome Allison Glasier from Country Financial. She’s our go-to insurance agent here in Central Oregon.
We’ve had—for those of you that don’t live in Central Oregon, just to fill you in—the largest storm in 50 years. So, we’ve had homes with incredible amounts of damage throughout town.
Through this crisis, I counted on Allison, and she always called me back. She gave me information for myself, for clients.
And so Allison, I’d love to have you just explain to our listeners a little bit of what we went through and what you learned through the process as well.
Allison: Sure! Thanks so much, Karen. It’s nice to be back. Thanks for having me.
Karen: You’re welcome.
Allison: You’re right. It was a really interesting storm. I’ve been in the business about 10 years now. And this was the busiest claims chapter that I’ve ever seen. So there was a lot of ice dam damage as I’m sure you know. And then, also, a lot of roof damage and people were not sure how to deal with those types of things.
I, myself, had a claim, so it was a really interesting experience for me as a person as well as a professional.
And what I learned was, again, communication is almost the most important thing. So, to really understand what your policy is covering you for, how to get a hold of the people that you need to reach, all of the fine print is something that most people really don’t ever look at in their policies until they need, at which point, in many cases, it’s not appropriate.
And so, there were people that I spoke with who may have had a 1% deductible on a $500,000 home, and not known that. So, deductibles were a pretty common topic of conversation in the coffee shop and breweries around Bend during that period because some people said, “Well, I have a claim, but I just found out I had a $5000 deductible” or “I had a thousand dollar deductible.” Everybody was concerned of their deductibles.
It’s so funny, I know!
So, those types of things, it comes down to really making a big difference at the end of the day. But it’s the kind of thing, like I said, no one really pays attention to until they need that.
The other thing that I found really interesting was if there was damage to a roof based on the snow or the ice weight or the ice dam, that would be a covered claim.
But the second that I hopped up there and shoveled all that snow off of my roof onto the ground, and then washed it melting and going into my garage, that would’ve been an uncovered claim…
Karen: Because that’s like flood water or…
Allison: Exactly, exactly. So then it becomes more of a flood issue, which, as we all know, normal home insurance policies do not cover. And so it was really a lot of navigating those different risks and trying to help advice people on the best way to proceed.
For most of us, our home is our biggest investment. And so to be able to understand how it’s covered, how it’s going to be repaired, and what your opportunities are to fix it, I think communication is the most important part there.
Karen: I agree. And for all of you that are listening, Allison gave me some great advice. She said get a claim filed. Even if you may not file the claim later, get in line, get on the phone. She gave me the direct number to call. I called. And Country Financial’s adjuster called me that same day, and I think he was at my property the next day or the day after. I could not believe the service. So, the whole process was much easier. And that was back to communicating and you telling me how to get in line and get going.
Allison: Yes! Thank you. I’m glad to hear that. I’ve been really happy with our claims folks as well. But that is true. People are often a little nervous to file the claim. You absolutely have a right to file the claims. Speak with the adjuster. Have them come out to do an inspection and give you an estimate. And then, you have a choice of whether or not you follow through and take that payment or if you’re going to mitigate that damage yourself. But that way, you can make an informed decision.
Karen: It was very helpful, Allison. I can’t thank you enough.
So, how do people reach you? What’s the best way to contact you?
Allison: Thanks, Karen. I’ve got a local number here in Bend, 541-322-9432. That goes to my office. I’ve got fabulous assistants that can help if I’m with a client. I also do a lot of business with my cellphone; and that’s 541-420-7377.
Karen: Thank you so much for joining us today.
Allison: Thanks for having me.
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