Your Quilts and Your Insurance

Quilting and Insurance

History:

You’ve heard of Lloyd’s of London? Well, you can blame all of the archaic language in your insurance documents on them. They became a company in1688 to write coverage for sailing ships that were globe-trotting at that time. They were based in a coffee house in – you guessed it – London.

In the centuries since, the language of insurance hasn’t changed much, because all the companies that came later just copied what Lloyd’s had written.

In the 1980’s State Farm, the company I worked for, revised the policy to be easier to read. They claimed that it was written at a sixth grade level. Well, unless that sixth grader was Sheldon Cooper, they were wrong. I have a degree that says that I am an expert in policy interpretation, and a lot of it is still Greek to me. So, don’t worry if you don’t understand it all. If you want to have some fun with your insurance agent, ask him/her to interpret some of the weirder stuff in the policy, then watch them squirm.

In Case of a Loss:

(See handout) – If you keep the purchase documents on your machines, that will help you remember details and values. Be precise with your listing, and provide the insurance company with copies of these documents. The material – stash – is another matter. Keeping an inventory of the material you have on hand would be a whole different hobby. As I noted on the handout, take a video of your material and supplies on a regular basis – it should only take a few minutes. But, it could save you hours of discussions in case of a loss.

If you have a water or storm loss – do what you can to protect the property and/or remove it from the area of damage. Insurance companies like that.

If you have an active fire or smoke loss: get out of the building immediately. Do not go back in until it is safe. Fire losses, and the accompanying water damage is the most damaging loss to your quilting machines and materials. It is also why the lists, videos and documentation are essential.