Free Android and iPhone apps to create home inventory for insurance

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has launched an Android application that lets you  use your mobile device to create a home inventory to document your possessions for insurance purposes.

The free app let you easily photograph your stuff, add descriptions and serial numbers, and stores the information electronically for safekeeping. It organizes everything by room and categoy, and creates an e-mailable backup file.

There's also an improved iPhone version, which is also free.

The apps are available through iTunes and the Android Marketplace. Search "NAIC" or "Scr.APP.book" at either site to download them.

Don't have a smartphone or other mobile device? You can still be prepared. Here's a simple, printable home inventory checklist, also from the NAIC.

Insurance and college students

As students head off to college, here are some things to consider:

Health insurance:

• Federal health care reform now means that your children, up to age 26, can stay on your health insurance plan. That's likely to be the option that provides the most medical benefits.


• Another option is to buy an individual insurance plan for the student. 


• Or you could consider a student health plan, typically offered by the college. Be aware that these policies tend to have limited benefits and more exclusions than traditional health insurance plans.

Renter's insurance:

• If the student lives off-campus, consider renter's insurance. It's pretty inexpensive, and covers personal property (computers, TVs, bicycles, furniture, etc.) if it gets destroyed, damaged or stolen. It can also provide coverage if someone gets hurt where the student lives.


• If the student lives on-campus, the parent's homeowner's policy will generally cover his or her belongings. If they have expensive electronics, though, they might need extra coverage. Talk to your agent or company.

Auto insurance:

• If the student drives a car to college, his or her existing auto coverage typically goes with them. But check with your agent to be sure.


• It's also a good idea to let the agent know each quarter or semester if the student maintains good grades. Many companies offer a "good student" discount.

Need help? Feel free to give us a call at 1-800-562-6900. We won't try to sell you anything; we're the state agency that regulates insurance in Washington state.

Hurricane Irene storm tracker

For those of you with family, friends, property, etc. in the Northeast, we've temporarily added a Hurricane Irene storm-tracking widget created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the little map on the right side of this blog.

(Update: With the storm now largely over (8/29), we're taking it down. You can see what it looked like here.)

What if the Japan quake hit the Pacific Northwest?

Living in the Pacific Northwest, you can't help but ponder or speculate about the "big one" - especially when quakes hit elsewhere. Today's article in Outsideonline.com "Totally Psyched for the Full-Rip Nine" will likely keep some of us up tonight.

Not sure you can handle it? Here's your teaser: What would happen in the Pacific Northwest, minute by minute, if the Japanese earthquake hit here.

NAIC cancels summer meeting due to Hurricane Irene

Just heard from the NAIC:

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has decided to cancel its Summer National Meeting, which was scheduled for August 29-September 1 in Philadelphia. More than 1,500 insurance regulators, industry representatives and interested parties had registered to attend the conference.


“In evaluating the potential threat of Hurricane Irene, our decision to cancel the meeting was informed by considering the safety of all attendees and members,” said Susan E. Voss, NAIC President and Iowa Insurance Commissioner. “The first priority for all state regulators is responding to disasters and we are fully committed to assisting the states affected by this disaster.”

“Many of our members and attendees had already decided to cancel travel plans due to their responsibilities for assisting consumers in disaster situations, as well as weather-related travel safety concerns,” said Therese M. (Terri) Vaughan, NAIC Chief Executive Officer. “As the storm subsides, we will re-evaluate the priorities and establish next steps for conducting business.”

Information about committee work will be updated regularly on the NAIC website at http://www.naic.org./

The NAIC Fall National Meeting is scheduled for November 3-6 in Washington, D.C.

Earthquake insurance 101

An earthquake rumbled across much of the East Coast today, startling folks in a region not known for quakes. So it seemed like a good time to highlight the basics of earthquake insurance. Among them:

• A standard homeowner's or renter's policy does not, repeat not, cover earthquake damage.


• Unlike homeowners coverage, earthquake insurance is designed to cover catastrophic damage. Deductibles of 10 percent to 25 percent of a structure's value are common.


• Earthquake insurers often temporarily suspend sales of new coverage after a quake. They do this to limit their exposure in case of aftershocks.

For more, including tips on what to do before and during a quake, see the earthquake insurance page.

Auto glass company owner ordered to pay $1.6 million in insurance fraud case

A Burien auto glass company owner has been ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution to several insurance companies for an overbilling scam.

Michael Alan Perkins, 44, on Friday was ordered in King County Superior Court to pay the following:

• State Farm Insurance: $864,640


• Allstate Insurance Co.: $726,700


• Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Co.: $24,888

Perkins pleaded guilty July 1 to three counts of first-degree theft. He was sentenced to 9 months in jail, with 30 days of the sentence converted to 240 hours of community service.

  

Perkins is the owner of Autoglass Express Inc. and Premier Auto Glass, LLC., both run out of Perkins' Burien home. An investigation by Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's anti-fraud Special Investigations Unit, which spent months combing through more than 10,000 records, found more than $1.5 million in deceptive billing by Perkins' companies between September 2005 and December 2009.

In some cases, the insurers paid full price for car windows that Perkins had gotten from auto wrecking yards. One Toyota windshield billed at more than $1,000 actually cost $92. A Lexus windshield that cost $145 was billed at $1,082.

State Farm was tipped off to the scheme by Lynx Services, a third-party administrator that handles glass claims. Lynx became suspicious after a random search of their database turned up an unusually high percentage of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) glass being installed in cars worked on by Autoglass Express.

State Farm investigators began contacting policyholders, inspecting the recently-installed glass, and comparing it to the bills. State Farm turned the case over to the insurance commissioner’s Special Investigations Unit, which obtained search warrants and seized more than 50 boxes of invoices and hard drives belonging to Perkins’ companies.


For more, see the press release we issued when Perkins was charged last year.