VU Resources

Here are some holiday tips to help your insureds get through the holidays safely.

In 2021 according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), almost 24% of losses under homeowners insurance arose from water damage (including freezing-related) claims. From 2017 to 2021, III reports that the average claim severity for water damage claims for homeowners multi-peril policies was $12,514. What if some simple homeowner education could help your insureds prevent…

In a recent article we wrote on the problems of canine liability, agents asked where they could obtain a standalone canine liability policy. Our guest writer, insurance agent Debbie Turner, describes in this article some of the challenges of finding and evaluating a standalone canine liability policy.

Approximately 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to DogsBite.org, from 2005 to 2017, 433 Americans died from dog attacks. Of these fatalities, 65.6% were the result of attacks by pit bulls, with Rottweilers accounting for an additional 10.4%. There’s a…

Is it time to re-visit the methodology used by agents to determine replacement costs and/or re-construction costs? How confident are you that the real property replacement values that you develop are sufficient to either replace or rebuild? If a natural catastrophe hit your community, would you have the same confidence in your replacement or rebuild…

Statistics don’t lie, and all across the internet recently we see articles about underinsured homes throughout the U.S. After a loss is a terrible time to discover your insured’s policy limits are insufficient. How can today’s agents best help their insureds adequately protect their homes, even when it means a higher premium? Here are some…

Replacement cost estimators are a tool in the property underwriting process, but they are not intended to be exact. They are an organized guess based on data that changes, at times very quickly. Agents writing either commercial property or homeowners’ coverage would do well to reivew this content.

With hurricane season a concern and unpredictable weather on the rise, homeowners’ losses can be devastating. After your insureds submit a claim, the insurer will request they document their damaged contents. Remind your insureds that homeowners’ claims are always much easier to settle if they prepare a home inventory before they experience a loss. Now…

Summertime can be a bonanza for burglars. If you insure second homes owned by “snowbirds,” the risk of burglary increases during the summer, especially in July and August, according to the Insurance Information Institute. But even an overnight trip can create the opportunity for theft. Spring is a good time to remind your clients of…

Charts are probably the most helpful resource for keeping track of key Homeowners’ policy provisions. Being able to see key information in one, easy-to-read form aids in memory and retention; besides, it allows easy recall because the charts can be printed for easy reference. ISO’s release of its 2022 multi-state homeowners’ filing requires two different…