SLA November 2015 Newsletter

wsletter

November 2015

In This Issue

Golf & Tennis Tournament winners

How Much Is Too Much

Membership Application

Quick Links

SLA website

On Line Dues Renewal

November Lunch Registration

2015 Board Members

Chris Nichols - President

PLS Claims

770-381-8855

Lawson Thompson -

Vice President

Frontier Adjusters

770-951-0044

Gwendy Schulte - Treasurer

OneBeacon Insurance

781-332-8688

Robbie Maples - Secretary

Cunningham Lindsey

770-828-0098

Marilyn Roberts - Asst. Secretary/Treasurer

ACE North American Claims

678-795-4293

Executive Board

Dominic Thurston - Past President

FM Global

770-777-3641

Griffin Rogers

Crawford & Company

404-300-1262

Randall Campbell

Camco Claims

866-421-2219

John Southall - Historian

770-331-8572

Howard Zandman -

Financial Advisor

Habif, Arogeti & Wynne

404-813-4915

Schedule of Events

11/12/15 - November Luncheon

12/10/15

Christmas Luncheon

President's Message

Greetings everyone,

Thanks to all who participated in our semi-annual Southern Loss Spring Golf & Tennis Tournament to make it another wonderful success. Beautiful fall weather on the lovely Chateau Elan course certainly makes for a glorious day! A special thanks is due our golf committee that make this event run so smoothly - these ladies dedicate countless hours planning and administrating this event:

Susan Freeman - Haag

Jennifer Hagerman - Universal Restoration / Response Team 1

Crystal Germanenko - Haag

Candace Caldwell - Forensic & Design Group

Kristy Hauger - Premier Adjusting

Special thanks also go to Kim Crist for making the trip to accept our donation on behalf of the Susan G. Koman Foundation for breast cancer research. The funds raised at this event combined with some generous donations enabled Kim to return home with a $7,500 donation. Please keep Kim and her family in your thoughts and prayers as she bravely fights this terrible disease.

A final note of appreciation to all of our sponsors; we could not do this without them!

Our primary goals at the SLA remains focused on continuing education, but philanthropy and community are also important aspects of what we do. This year I believe that we have made good strides toward improving our continuing education offerings. My next goal will be to begin exploring service opportunities, to amplify our charitable donations, and create a stronger sense of community within our organization.

We will need your help to do this, but the rewards will be gratifying. During my time serving on the board, the SLA has donated tens of thousands of dollars to various charities including cancer research, Shriners, the Salvation Army, and college scholarships to name just a few. Together we are making a difference.

Our next lunch meeting will be at Ray's at Killer Creek, followed by our December lunch at Villa Christina. I hope to see most of you there. I thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support of the SLA, and I continue to invite your feedback and suggestions on how we can improve the SLA.

I wish each of you a special Thanksgiving holiday with some time to reflect on all for which we have to be thankful. I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming luncheons.

Chris Nichols

President - 2015

Join us for the November Luncheon

Our speaker will be Nanette L. Wesley with Wesley Holladay, LLC for a discussion on "Georgia Bad Faith in First and Third Party Claims--the elements of each and how to set yourself up to avoid and/or defend against bad faith allegations."

Register now!

GOLF TOURNAMENT WINNERS

SOUTHERN LOSS ASSOCIATION ROUND ROBN

OCTOBER 15, 2015

TENNIS WINNERS

Men's 1st Place - Matt Osterhaudt

Men's 2nd Place - Chad Williams

Women's 1st Place - Karen Grizzard

Women's 2nd Place - Christy Claude

Fastest Serve - Nancy Burke

Hit the Target - Tom Doyle

GOLF WINNERS

CHATEAU AND WOODLANDS

Closest To The Pin Chateau: #8 Jim Kiser, Unlimited Restoration, Inc.

Closest To The Pin Chateau: #16 Bill Ver Ercke, Madsen Knetters

Longest Drive Chateau: #9 Wayne Hughes, Epic Response

Longest Drive Chateau: #15 Chad Bingham, Epic Response

Closest To The Pin Woodlands: #2 Dave Paul, Epic Response

Closest To The Pin Woodlands: #13 Pete Robinson, Epic Response

Longest Drive Woodlands: #1 Tyler Miers, Whitehart & Assoc.

Longest Drive Woodlands: #10 Adam Cronik, Blu Sky

GOLF TEAMS

1st PLACE TEAM SCORE -16

Jason Clark

Andy Roper

Jason McNeil

Greg Petty

2nd PLACE TEAM SCORE -16

Pete Robinson

J.T. Frank

Jo DeBose

Greg Hills

3rd PLACE TEAM SCORE -16

Jaysen Witherspoon

Lee Shaw

Donnie Cogburn

Wayne Hughes

How Much Is Too Much?

By Tom Lackey

How much is too much? This is a question being asked more frequently about water mitigation bills. According to the Insurance Information Institute, water damage claims account for approximately 30 percent of property insurance claims. Of that percentage, the greatest amount is paid for water mitigation services to companies that provide nothing other than water extraction and equipment rental.

The average cost of a water mitigation claim has risen three-fold since 2000. Last year, water losses cost $9.6 billion in homeowner property losses. Most industry observers believe the result is a combination of insurer reticence to hold a hard line on these types of exposures and the contractor's ability to justify ever-increasing charges previously considered inappropriate.

As a claims professional, how can you control the cost? Unlike fire-where damage is immediate. Let's look at the following scenario as an example.

Mrs. Smith's water heater collapsed on Friday afternoon. The water mitigation company begins work Friday evening. Monday morning arrives, and the bill already includes: emergency service Call (after hours); equipment rental (three days); sheetrock removal CAT3 (after hours); water extraction CAT3 (after hours); and apply anti-microbial (after hours). Come Tuesday morning, the claim hits your desk with a $7,000 water mitigation bill in which you had no input.

Was the above scenario controllable? Probably not. Was the mitigation necessary? Probably so. How can you control it? Mitigate the invoice by educating yourself about water mitigation, the tools of the trade, and the difference between categories of water. In Xactimate the cost of "extract water from carpeted floor" is $.45. The cost of the same line task for "CAT3 water" is $1.14. That's a 61 percent difference, so knowing the difference will save you money.

Today, the guiding standard of care in mitigation comes from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning & Restoration (IICRC). Here are some helpful definitions from IICRC:

Shall: When the term "shall" is used in this document, it means the practice or procedure is mandatory due to natural law or regulatory requirement, including occupational, public health and other relevant laws, rules or regulations, and is therefore a component of the accepted "standard of care" to be followed.

Should: Referes to the practice or procedure is a component of the accepted "standard of care" to be followed, while not mandatory by regulatory requirements. When the term recommend (ed) is used in this document, it means that the practice or procedure is advised or suggested, but is not a component of the accepted standard of care to be followed.

May: Signifies an ability or possibility open to a user of the document, and that a referenced practice or procedure is possible or capable of application, but is not a component of the accepted standard of care to be followed.

Category 1: Water originates from a sanitary water source and does not pose a substantial risk from dermal, ingestion, or inhalation exposure. Examples: Broken water supply lines, tub or sink overflows with no contaminants, appliance malfunctions involving water supply lines, melting ice or snow, falling rainwater, broken toilet tanks

and toilet bowls that do not contain contaminants or additives.

Category 2: Water contains significant contamination and has the po tential to cause discomfort or sickness if contacted or consumed by humans. Category 2 water can contain microorganisms or nutrients for microorganisms, as well as organic and inorganic matter (chemical or biological). Examples: discharge lines from dishwashers

or washing machines, overflows from washing machines, overflows from toilet

bowls on the room side of the trap, and broken aquariums.

Category 3: Water is grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic, or other harmful agents. Examples: sewage, toilet backflows that originate from beyond the toilet trap, all forms of flooding from seawater, ground surface, and rising water from rivers. Other contaminated water entering or affecting the indoor environment,

wind-driven rain from hurricanes or other weather-related events. All can carry silt, organic matter, pesticides, regulated materials, or toxic organic substances. These are some definitions that will help save money, but knowing the difference in category of water is the beginning. To save substantial money, call a professional who can determine the correct scope of work. How much equipment was really needed? Why

did it take more than three days to dry? Why did you need to install a negative air machine (air scrubber)? Did you use an inject-dry system, or was it really a multiport adapter? Having a knowledgeable and experienced mitigation auditor with the

proper credentials to assist the claims professional in managing the increasing

leakage of the mitigation claim can help restore peace of mind that you are not paying too much.

Tom Lackey, IICRC WRT, ASD certified, has 29 years of experience in the restoration

Industry and serves as Director of Oriel Services, powered by Cunningham Lindsey. He can be reached at [email protected]

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