Home Insurance consumer advocates United Policyholders (UP) gives other common examples of the ways in which an adjuster might fail to properly scope the loss. Windows need to be replaced, but the adjuster fails to separately specify the need to replace wood trim on the inside of the windows. The measurements of the room are taken inaccurately or rounded down; since the drywall, paint, baseboard, and floor coverings, and the electrical, heating, and air-conditioning costs will be based on room dimensions, underestimating here will result in an unreasonably low estimate.

Measuring the damage

Measurements may be taken accurately but may not account for waste, particularly where more material is needed to match complex color combinations or borders in carpeting, vinyl flooring, or wood flooring.9 Adjusters may calculate the dimensions of a wall and then deduct the area of cutouts for doors and windows even though those cutouts may increase, not decrease, the cost of repair; the drywall removed for a window opening cannot be used elsewhere, and it takes more time to paint around an opening than to paint a solid wall.

What are the home insurance trends?

Problems in scoping the extent of a loss sometimes result from industry trends. Trade publications, training courses, and word of mouth spread “common wisdom” among adjusters from different companies, and policyholder advocates report seeing many companies adopt the same unfair scoping tactics at the same time. The concept of an “abandoned floor” is one recent example. A homeowner suffers a plumbing leak that is included in the policy. Water f

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The following is a guest post written by our partners at Instinct Magazine.

What’s that saying? Something like, “How do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been?”

Well, at Instinct, we know that means a lot. Pride Month is not just an excuse to drink until you fall asleep with a slice of pizza glued to your chest at your local Pride festival. Pride Month is a time to celebrate all of the reasons we have to be proud.

In this day and age of information overload and 24/7 media, it’s easy to forget what happened just last week, never mind last year. Sure, we remember the major milestones, but sometimes it’s those smaller moments that slip away. Yet, all too often, it’s those memories that end up making the biggest differences.

This got us thinking — what’s made us proud over the past 13 years since Instinct first hit the newsstands? Well, from the political to the pop culture, the historical to the hysterical, we’ve combed through the history books and our dresser drawers to compile our retrospective of true Pride!

• 1997 — 36 million viewers watched Ellen DeGeneres’ character Ellen Morgan come out as a lesbian on the popular sitcom Ellen.
• 1998 — Will & Grace hits airwaves giving us thousands of “Just Jack” moments for years to come.
• 1999 — Vermont becomes the first state in the country to legally recognize civil unions between gay or lesbian couples. The law states that these “couples would be entitled to the same benefits, privileges, and responsibilities as spouses.”
• 2001 — The Netherlands becomes the first nation to grant same-sex marriage.
• 2003 — Queer Eye for the Straight Guy premieres on Bravo, introducing a vast majority of Americans to everyday gay men and manscaping.
• 2

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Insurers are overcharging pensioners by hundreds of pounds on car insurance and travel insurance, according to a recent report.

The findings suggested that elderly drivers and holidaymakers are paying an extra 300 for the more common types of cover simply because of their age.

Consumer group Which? highlighted one annual car policy in the study which cost 702 for a 75-year-old, but the same Saga cover increased by 74 per cent to 1,224 for an 85 year old. The difference is also noticeable for annual worldwide travel policies, with a policy provided by Rias costing 383 for a 74-year-old, but rising to 707 for someone just a year older.

Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which? said: “Many over-65s are getting a raw deal when it comes to arranging insurance simply because of their age. Restrictions imposed by insurers leave many people struggling to pay increased premiums just when they may need cover the most.”

Charities said the difference in cost was “absolutely outrageous” and “unacceptable”.

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Unless it’s happened to you before, or to someone you know, chances are you haven’t stopped to consider just how devastating it would be if you were to lose everything you owned in a fire or other disaster. You haven’t thought about what would happen if you were to be robbed of your most valuable possessions.

Maybe it’s time you did think about it a bit. Not that you should obsess over the unknown or live in perpetual fear, but let’s face it: these things are a real possibility. Having renters insurance can go a long way towards giving us some peace of mind, knowing that we would be covered against loss if one of these untimely disasters were to strike us.

Make no mistake: you have some things that no amount of money could ever replace, such as your family heirlooms, keepsakes, and photographs. But, there are a good many of the practical necessities of life that rental insurance can help us to replace if we should find ourselves in the unfortunate situation of being the victim of a fire, theft, or many other causes of property loss.

Uninsured renters will often find themselves both without a place to live, and without such simple necessities as clothing and furniture. Having rental insurance insures you that, in the case of disaster, you will have the cash on hand to replace your lost possessions, and perhaps even to find new living arrangements.

You might not know it, but your landlord is not responsible for any loss of personal property in most cases. All of th

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