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Taming Contents Claims

To the detriment of consumers, claim adjusters, and the carriers themselves, it's still the wild, wild West when it comes to current practices and processes for handling contents claims.

By Jon McNeill | Updated on November 04, 2009
Images of loss stick in our minds when catastrophe strikes. We saw this most recently late in the summer with what became known as the Station Fire in Southern California. A broadcast news segment showed families picking through the charred remains of their homes and, for a few seconds, flashed an image of a woman holding two teacups that she had picked out of the ruins. “This is all we have left,” she said.

Those few seconds of video resonated with viewers and the woman, who became known as the “Teacup Lady” was interviewed on the Today Show and other network news programs.

What the news coverage of catastrophes does not show is what happens next for those who have lost their homes and everything once contained within those walls. It is far less visceral, urgent, and captivating and, therefore, does not lend itself well to news coverage, but it’s an important part of the story that needs to be told. The fact is that the contents claim process for getting consumers back in their homes and back to their lives can drag on for six months or longer.

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