Following is a guest post by J.Sewell Perkins. As a Life and Business Development Coach for nearly two decades, J.S. (as she is called) works with national and international corporations, corporate leaders and small business owners. Additionally she coaches many individuals who are seeking to change their lives for the better and realize their maximum potential. At one point in her career she was recruited by the president of the Robbins Companies for their coaching team. On the team for only a short while she was asked to assume the position of head coach which she accepted and assumed the responsibility of coaching the coaches. Not too long after that she was chosen to coach on Tony’s hand-picked Elite Coaching Team.
Now, back in private practice, she continues to pursue her life mission which is, in her words, “To make each life I touch better in some way for my having touched it.”
As I had my breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake I was enjoying another beautiful and slightly crisp October morning. I felt so blessed to be living the life I was living.
After breakfast as I walked my pup I noticed the smoke coming from many of my neighbors’ chimneys and was reminded of how much I love to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a cup of tea. I considered calling the office to tell them I was calling in well.
I noticed the smoke coming out of my own chimney and had visions of curling up in front of the fire with a…fire? I hadn’t put a fire in the fireplace! I ran down the hill, up the steps and opened the front door to be greeted by a huge cloud of black smoke. My house was on fire.
A neighbor came out at just about that time and took my dog to her house where she called 911. I went back to my house to see if I could lure my cat out. The smoke was too thick and I couldn’t breathe even on the porch. I ran to an outside faucet, took off my wraparound skirt and saturated it with water. I was going to put it over my head as I worked to lure the cat out of the house.
Just as I put my soaking wet wool skirt over my head, I noticed two things; first, I had drawn a crowd as I ran around in my panties, garter belt and stockings; second, my cat was with them watching me. Aside from the fact that I was running around half naked when the firefighters arrived, I felt everything was, at that point, under control.
Turns out the fire had been burning inside the wall for an estimated two hours while I had been happily eating my breakfast. I’m so fortunate at so many levels because it could have reached flashpoint with me in the house. “Timing is everything!”
Ultimately it came time to deal with the insurance adjuster. No wet skirt over my head could do anything to protect me from him. Among his statements and decisions were:
1. No one person has that many shoes, handbags, clothes, etc.
2. What was the real age of the: computers, TVs, VCRs, toaster, Vita Mix, juicer, etc.
3. How do I know who painted what’s left of the artwork?
4. You paid WHAT for these sofas?
5. Who can verify that this pile of ashes was an antique?
6. There’s no way to tell what this jewelry was!
7. It won’t cost that much to replace that desk!
8. This can be fixed, reupholstered, whatever!
Of the items that were able to be salvaged, he insisted that they couldn’t all be mine.
The proverbial straw came for me when I walked into one of the back bedrooms and witnessed the epitome of pettiness. There was the adjuster sitting on the floor going through a box of tampons. “What the heck (I didn’t say heck) are you doing?” I asked in the kindest voice I could muster. His reply? “Not all of these are damaged. I’m just trying to decide which ones are still usable.” You do not want to know how I responded to that.
The real tragedy of the whole thing is actually in the fact that I had decided to have a home inventory done. It made sense and I planned to do it. I just hadn’t made it a priority. After all, fires, thefts, etc. are things that happen to other people, right? Wrong!
While auto and homeowner’s insurance are a must and it’s easy to determine the replacement value of our home or car, that’s not the case when it comes to personal property. Having gone through something none of us expects to go through, if there’s one bit of coaching I can give you, it’s to take the time to pursue the documentation of everything in your home. It’s tough to loose cherished items. It’s even tougher to have someone decide what they are not worth.
Have no doubt; I don’t make the same mistake twice. Once all was replaced and the house was once again inhabitable, I had my home inventory done immediately. The Hartmans are caring professionals who are expert in helping people avoid going through what I could have avoided had I not procrastinated. Give them a call and do it now! You’ll never regret it.
After breakfast as I walked my pup I noticed the smoke coming from many of my neighbors’ chimneys and was reminded of how much I love to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a cup of tea. I considered calling the office to tell them I was calling in well.
I noticed the smoke coming out of my own chimney and had visions of curling up in front of the fire with a…fire? I hadn’t put a fire in the fireplace! I ran down the hill, up the steps and opened the front door to be greeted by a huge cloud of black smoke. My house was on fire.
A neighbor came out at just about that time and took my dog to her house where she called 911. I went back to my house to see if I could lure my cat out. The smoke was too thick and I couldn’t breathe even on the porch. I ran to an outside faucet, took off my wraparound skirt and saturated it with water. I was going to put it over my head as I worked to lure the cat out of the house.
Just as I put my soaking wet wool skirt over my head, I noticed two things; first, I had drawn a crowd as I ran around in my panties, garter belt and stockings; second, my cat was with them watching me. Aside from the fact that I was running around half naked when the firefighters arrived, I felt everything was, at that point, under control.
Turns out the fire had been burning inside the wall for an estimated two hours while I had been happily eating my breakfast. I’m so fortunate at so many levels because it could have reached flashpoint with me in the house. “Timing is everything!”
Ultimately it came time to deal with the insurance adjuster. No wet skirt over my head could do anything to protect me from him. Among his statements and decisions were:
1. No one person has that many shoes, handbags, clothes, etc.
2. What was the real age of the: computers, TVs, VCRs, toaster, Vita Mix, juicer, etc.
3. How do I know who painted what’s left of the artwork?
4. You paid WHAT for these sofas?
5. Who can verify that this pile of ashes was an antique?
6. There’s no way to tell what this jewelry was!
7. It won’t cost that much to replace that desk!
8. This can be fixed, reupholstered, whatever!
Of the items that were able to be salvaged, he insisted that they couldn’t all be mine.
The proverbial straw came for me when I walked into one of the back bedrooms and witnessed the epitome of pettiness. There was the adjuster sitting on the floor going through a box of tampons. “What the heck (I didn’t say heck) are you doing?” I asked in the kindest voice I could muster. His reply? “Not all of these are damaged. I’m just trying to decide which ones are still usable.” You do not want to know how I responded to that.
The real tragedy of the whole thing is actually in the fact that I had decided to have a home inventory done. It made sense and I planned to do it. I just hadn’t made it a priority. After all, fires, thefts, etc. are things that happen to other people, right? Wrong!
While auto and homeowner’s insurance are a must and it’s easy to determine the replacement value of our home or car, that’s not the case when it comes to personal property. Having gone through something none of us expects to go through, if there’s one bit of coaching I can give you, it’s to take the time to pursue the documentation of everything in your home. It’s tough to loose cherished items. It’s even tougher to have someone decide what they are not worth.
Have no doubt; I don’t make the same mistake twice. Once all was replaced and the house was once again inhabitable, I had my home inventory done immediately. The Hartmans are caring professionals who are expert in helping people avoid going through what I could have avoided had I not procrastinated. Give them a call and do it now! You’ll never regret it.
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3 comments:
OK First of all, I'd have had to kick that guy's butt!
Second of all, how many shoes, purses did you have? LOL
In all seriousness we tend to live in a bubble of invincibility. That will never happen to me! Starts when we are kids and kind of escalates.
It's sad that we have to protect ourselves from the insurance companies, but we do. This was a great reminder that I need to do a home inventory myself.
While all of your points were valid regarding planning and inventory (I have done these), my favorite part was how you described the situation with humor.
I hope you were able to recover from the destruction of the fire, and I also hope your neighbors didn't take pictures of you with their cell phones!
A sad story, but one with tremendous advice. The value of having an inventory of your personal/household items is a must. As you state, it is fairly easy to determine the value of a house or car, but nearly impossible to determine the value of the household and personal items. Thanks for sharing.
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