Real-Life Communication
Insurance adjusters are master communicators. They have to be. They
have to communicate with experts to determine the cause of damages. They also
communicate with claimants whose property has been lost by fire, theft, flooding
and so on.
They need to reassure people. They have to be tough negotiators
and empathetic listeners. They have to write reports and briefs to insurance
companies.
And they have to be able to read and understand various
insurance policies.
The insurance company asks you to investigate an
insurance claim made by Lucinda Collins. Collins works at a garden center.
She is very upset because she has lost her one-carat diamond ring somewhere
in the greenhouse.
At least that's where she thinks she lost it.
She lost the ring a couple days ago and hasn't been able to locate it.
When you visit her, she tells you this story:
"My fingers
swell at night, so I always take my ring off before I go to bed. I put it
in an alabaster box on my nightstand. I always put it back on as soon as I
get up in the morning.
"I don't actually remember putting my ring
back on, but I must have because it's not in the alabaster box. I think
I lost it at work, but I'm not absolutely certain. I think it might have
slipped off my finger when I took off my gardening gloves.
"I honestly
don't know what happened exactly. All I know is I don't have my
ring now and I have searched my house up and down, as well as the nursery.
I guess it's gone forever."
Whether this qualifies
as a valid claim or not depends on her insurance policy. This is part of that
policy. Read it over and decide if you'll be paying Collins for her lost
ring.
Insured Perils
You are insured against
all risks of direct physical loss or damage subject to the exclusions and
conditions in this policy.
We include loss or damage caused by vandalism
or malicious acts, including loss or damage to your personal property caused
by the breakage of glass which is part of the unit described on the coverage
summary page.
We will not cover loss or damage to the glass itself,
unless you are legally responsible for replacing broken glass.
Loss
or Damage Not Insured
We do not insure:
- Units or structures used in whole or in part for business or farming purposes
unless declared on the coverage summary page;
- sporting equipment where the loss or damage is due to its use;
- contact lenses, unless the loss or damage is caused by a specified peril;
- animals, birds or fish, unless the loss or damage is caused by a specified
peril;
- property at any fairground, exhibition or exposition for the purpose of
exhibition;
- any property illegally acquired or kept;
- books of account and evidences of debt or title;
- any property lawfully seized or confiscated, unless such property is destroyed
to prevent the spread of fire;
- losses or increased costs of repair due to operation of any law regulating
the zoning, demolition, repair or construction of buildings and their related
services;
- marring or scratching of any property or breakage of any fragile or brittle
articles unless caused by a specified peril;
- wear and tear, deterioration, defect or mechanical breakdown;
- the cost of making good faulty material or workmanship;
- settling, expansion, contraction, moving, bulging, buckling or cracking;