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e-newsletterTurn the tide on water damageWhen leaving a residence, whether for a long weekend or for an extended vacation or business trip, people often do the obvious; double lock doors, ensure the stove is turned off, put lights on a timer, cancel newspaper delivery and have someone mow the lawn/shovel the walk, and pick up mail. However, the vast majority of people that own a washing machine fail to think of turning off the water connection when they are going to be away. This mistake can be very costly because in a single hour, a broken washing machine hose can leak 650 gallons of water (at an average of 70 pounds of pressure). According to some figures, washing machine hose failures result in an estimated US $100 million in damage to homes in the US and Canada each year. A large portion of this has to picked up by homeowner insurance. Homeowners should regularly inspect hoses for cracks, bulges, leaks, or loose connections and replace the hoses every two to three years, or sooner if needed. A burst washing machine hose is one of the most likely causes of home water damage, but is also one of the most easy to prevent. A fire in the furnaceIts not too late to have your chimney swept! Creosote is a tar like deposit that's a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Creosote can build up in the flue and be ignited by heat. The resulting flash fire could be intense enough enough to crack the masonry, or generate enough heat sparks to start a roof fire. A reputable sweep will clean out the creosote and also ensure the chimney is free of squirrels, raccoons, or other animals that may have nested in through the summer. Damage caused by insects and rodents like squirrels, mice, and rats and sometimes raccoons, is not insurable. Earth shattering newsThe deductible on earthquake damage is a percentage of the amount of insurance, usually 5 or 10%. For a loss under an Axa Pacific personal lines policy, the deductible would be applied separately to losses under each coverage section (building, private structures, and personal property). Other policies may apply a deductible that is a percentage of the sum of all the sections combined, which would mean a significant reduction in available coverage if, for example, only building loss is being claimed for. Another thing to be aware of is the difference in various policy's definition of a single earthquake. At Axa Pacific they interpret one or more shocks within 168 hours (7 days) to constitute a single earthquake. Therefor accumulation of loss from multiple shocks within this period will only be subject to one earthquake deductible. Wordings which are not as broad have a shorter definition (sometimes only 3 days). These policies would respond to each shock occurring beyond this time period as a separate earthquake, subject to another application of the earthquake deductible. Finally, watch for wordings that make resultant fire damage subject to the same deductible as the earthquake ("fire following deductible"). This could mean that if the earthquake caused no structural damage but fire or explosion ensued, the loss will be subject to the higher earthquake deductible rather than the policy deductible and, that policies without Earthquake Damage Coverage would have the resultant fire damage excluded. Axa Pacific policies do not contain a "fire following deductible".
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