"I pulled you over for Speeding. Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"

Regardless of what you ride, even if you don't ride at all, EVERYONE is welcome here.

Mr. Motorcycle


I am

My photo
I live at 1 Frozen place in, Minnesota, United States
My real name is Mark. For many years now my wife has called me Mr. Motorcycle. When I started my Blog I was looking for a catchy blog name, so I went with it. I'm happily married and I'm also a father of 6 children. I have two human offspring, one dog, two cats and one custom Harley. I believe that makes 6 children. When I'm not doing my real full time job, or going for a ride, I like to do art, custom paint jobs, and of course BLOG. If you would like to contact me, my e-mail address is phonetically spelled for avoiding spammers. (I actually do use the number 1 in the beginning.) 1mrmotorcycleATgmailDOTcom

*****This is my Bliss*****

*****This is my Bliss*****
Depending on your settings, Click, or Double Click on the image for full size photo.
The photo above is my ride :
"Kenny" started life as a stock '97, 883 Sportster. It's been a work in progress since the day I bought it many years ago. Its mostly custom with a built, "slightly juiced up" 1200 motor.
The Metal Fabrication, bodywork and custom paint was done by me.

How the Hell did I come up with a name like Kenny for my bike you ask?...... Most people who name their rides, go with chick names. I of course had to be different. I think bikes look tough, cool and masculine; not feminine. Plus, my father "Ken" has helped make me who I am today. Therefore with a little twist on the name, my bike was named "Kenny".

KUSTUM PAINT

KUSTUM PAINT
Come check out my custom paint! Click on the logo above to go to my custom paint blog.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

How prepaired for a burglary, or house fire are you?

This is clearly not directly related to motorcycling.

I recently ran across a post on Unbreakable bonds , where someone’s home was burglarized. It made me think about sharing some good advice to all my friends/readers out there in internet land.

I am an insurance adjuster, and I have a lot of claims that I handle for losses of this nature. In cases of a burglary or a house fire, you run the potential to loose a lot of personal property at once. Remembering what was stolen, or in case of a fire loss, what was burned can sometimes be difficult, especially if the list is long, let alone try to remember how much you paid for it, how old it was, where you purchased it, and trying to prove you actually owned it. My best advice to folks is to take an hour or so, get a camcorder, and do a video diary of each and every little thing that you would claim in case of a major loss. I mean everything! I know this will sound silly, but even include all of the little things like your underwear. You don't need each and every piece, but a general shot inside each drawer, etc. It gives you and the insurance adjuster a good idea of what you had, and also helps to discredit that you might be exaggerating your loss. Be sure to take close ups of model #'s on electronics, etc. This will help when looking for a comparable replacement.

Furthermore, watching the video after a loss while filling out a personal property loss worksheet with your adjuster, will help jog your memory and help you realize what might be missing that you would maybe not realize until much later when you go to look for it and use it. Many times these types of things get brought up long after the claim is settled because people forgot they had it until they went to use it and it was gone. You can’t possibly remember everything. As best as possible, getting all or most of your items listed right away without forgetting anything is important, because insurance claims do have statutes of limitations for coverage. Sometimes claims are limited to one year from the date of the loss for replacement cost coverage to apply, and two years for coverage to apply at all. Such is the case for the state that I'm in, and for the company that I work for.

Once you have the recording done and burned onto a CD, give the disk to your insurance agent to put in your file for safekeeping, or put it in a safety deposit box, or better yet, make an extra copy and do both. Saving receipts and owner's manuals is also a great idea.

Finally, remember to do an update disc about once a year. You don’t have to do the whole thing over, just video newly purchased items. Also, if you know you no longer own something previously recorded, make a verbal or written note for your file. This is also good for putting credit to your honesty in settling your claim.

I know this may sound like a headache, but believe me, if you ever have one of these losses, you'll be thankful you put the time in on this.

I know I spoke plenty of insurance jargon, and if you don’t understand something, please feel free to ask. You can ask me through comments, or my e-mail address is 1mrmotorcycle@gmail.com. Though I admit I don’t have all the answers, I’m happy to solicit any advice I can for free on what I do know.

Mr. Motorcycle

10 comments:

Lady R (Di) said...

Very good advice indeed! We have a lot of "stuff" documented, but we keep saying we need to do the video journal as well. Sometimes, procrastination is my other fault. Nothing is silly when it comes to replacing what you have. Can you imagine how much it would cost just to replace undies, socks and T-shirts? Having a pic of the drawers is really necessary, that stuff adds up!

Thank you for the reminder! We need to get involved ourselves to help protect what we've worked hard to achieve and accumulate. Great post!

Dean "D-Day" said...

Great advice. Thanks for posting this.

Ann said...

That's excellent advice. Thank you, Mr. M! We've definitely got to do a video.

Big Daddy said...

Whoa!!
I thought was I gonna have to get to Minnesota to have a serious talk with my friend the motorcycle man after reading mama's post.
But then I realized she meant a insurance Video.
Whew!!
Thank for the advice I can just imagine trying to tell a adjuster...that plie of ashes, that was my motorcycle mag collection.thousnds of them Never mind the stash of parts in the garage. lol.

Mr. Motorcycle said...

You are all welcome. That is what friends are for.

Big D., So is insurance the new buzzword for porn? J.K! LOL!

B.B. said...

Thanks for sharing, that's great info!

FLHX_Dave said...

Years ago whenever I bought something I would photo it and put the serial number and description in a word doc. However I left this on my computer. LOL

Good info. Thanks!

Kano said...

Thanks for the good advice. I always figured I didn't have enough stuff to worry about. But when I trying to write it all down, or videotaping, man the list gets big fast!

Mr. Motorcycle said...

BB., Dave, and Kano,

Your welcome. Thanks for reading!

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Hey all,

I have been at unclutterer, http://unclutterer.com/2008/08/25/know-your-stuff-home-inventory-software/#comment-18807
reading and commenting on their blog about this subject, and some software that you can fill out to keep inventory of your stuff. check it out, and read all the comments. There are some really good points here.