Final report - Insurance No other product like it?

Millions of dollars and millions of people pay insurance premiums yearly. They purchase home, auto, casualty and life policies. Yet it is a product they hope they never have to use. No one wants to have a fire to their home, be involved in an auto accident or be sued by someone who has fallen on their property. Certainly we do not want to have a serious illness or die. Yet this is what insurance consumers purchase and sometimes they may not understand.

Adjusters must always be mindful that there may be insured’s who have purchased the product for years and have never experienced a claim. In other words they have never used the product they have purchased. It is usually very rewarding for an adjuster to help an insured go through the claims process which can be very stressful and at times tragic. Working with insured’s that only want what they had can be an easy claim to handle. That is putting them in the same position they were prior to the loss. It can also be a very thankless job as we rarely get recognition for providing a service of what is to be expected. At times we may hear “I have been paying insurance for 10 years and I have never made a claim” or “what am I paying insurance for?” The most difficult claim can be those where an insured thinks their insurance policy entitles them to a new house, a new car or perhaps some sort of retirement plan for their injury.  

What other products do we buy and hope to never use? Perhaps a fire extinguisher, a life jacket or perhaps a parachute! I’m not sure if a cemetery plot counts? This is something you purchase and will eventually use. A first aid kit may fall in this category? While we hope to never have to use it, we usually do and are glad to have one handy even if it is for a small cut. Fire and burglar alarms are certainly products we need and purchase but hope they are never used. All these products are purchased once and not yearly.

 

In summary we must always be very mindful when we make the initial contact to an insured who has reported a claim. They may have just purchased a policy for the first time or they may have been paying insurance for many years and have never made a claim. Their expectations could be high and we must deliver.

William Humphrey, B.A., F.I.I.C., C.R.M.

Windsor Chapter Delegate

Hail Caesar Hail Windsor!

Depeche Mode once sang “I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors but I think God’s got a sick sense of humor”. On the eve of our biggest event ever, hosting the O.I.A.A. Provincial Claims Conference, Windsor was hit with a severe storm which resulted in many claims. It was not considered a “CAT” but it was a big body blow and some of our members and contractors had to miss parts of our Conference. However our conference team came through and I am told Windsor served up one of the best Claims Conference’s ever. Our conference team consisted of Debbie Tremblay, Isobel Hunter, Mike Hoffman, Aaron Straus, Rob Queen, Cindy Philips, Gary Phelps, Katrina Zalenko, P.J. Mclister, Mike Quinlan, Marc Gomes and Ivanna Savoni. Very special thanks should go to our MVP Laurie Walker as her experience and passion made us shine.

While the conference was constantly on our minds throughout the year we were still able to deliver some great events for our members. Our golf tournament was a great success but God must have been laughing as the temperature hit 100 degrees! The London members once again came down in a bus and had a great time. As usual they took home a great deal of prizes.( But we should not forget who won the big TV at their golf tournament!) We are very grateful for the continued support from the members of the London chapter, as we enjoy a wonderful friendship. Our Windsor chapter was also able to raise over $1,200.00 for our designated charity; Crimestoppers.

Our Christmas lunch was well attended with over 100 members gathering and enjoying a traditional turkey meal. We raised over $1,100.00 for The Downtown Mission. I would strongly urge all the outside members who are considering attending one of our events to come down to share our Christmas spirit and sing some Christmas carols with us!

We were the first to start it and once again our annual Chili Cook Off was a hoot and a “toot”! I always wonder what the cooks/tasters enjoy more; great tasting chili, meeting and mingling or laughing at some of the chili names?  

This upcoming term we will have some dinners with educational speakers. We hope to challenge London again to a pickup hockey game. Will they stack their team with “ringers” and still come up short against our powerful Windsor team? You are welcome to come out and watch. Please keep an eye on our website for all of our events. We look forward to seeing you!

William Humphrey, B.A., F.I.I.C., C.R.M.

Windsor Chapter President