"Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”)§ 431:9-201(b), Insurance Commissioner Gordon I. Ito is issuing this declaration authorizing temporary assistance of nonresident independent adjusters due to fires across the State. The Insurance Commissioner has decided to allow nonresident independent adjusters to operate in the State temporarily to help handle the amount of work due to the fires. The Insurance Commissioner wants to ensure that adjusters and insurance companies can and will timely respond to property owners’ needs."

The updated edition of the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Claims Manual effective June 29, 2023, is now available at Flood Insurance Manuals and Handbooks | FEMA.gov. 

Information on some of the resources for adjusters that can be found on the NFIP site.

Speaking of roofs, my driving around the south and central Texas area finds that the developers are building houses in the new subdivisions with roofs that are not meant to be climbed. Steep, cut-up, mostly two stories. The old days of the accessible 4/12 ranch style house roof have been gone since the mid-1980's.

Increasingly, I am of the opinion that a preferred way to investigate these roofs are with a truck mounted crane and lift bucket. Our safety is now, more than ever, being compromised by inherently dangerous roof designs.

The source of the information below is the Insurance Information Institute, iii.org

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have hurricane deductibles: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington DC. Listed below are reports for these states detailing hurricane deductibles.

Subject: Historical Hurricane Tracks
Description: The Historical Hurricane Tracks tool is an interactive mapping application that allows you to easily search and display Atlantic Basin and Eastern North Pacific Basin tropical cyclone data. 

Source: NOAA Climate.gov 
 

Description:  for Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and Investigators

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor
The following is a TOC to the information provided in this online handbook.

Article info Updated 10/15/2020

....

In adjusting hurricane damage claims for homes within the 1968-1997 applicable residential code period, it is important that the inside of the walls be checked more carefully than
newer construction to ensure that moisture hasn’t seeped into the walls that will eventually result in mold and interior wall rot. If adjusters do not look for moisture build-up trapped inside the wall, then this damage could be missed, causing mold and rot to proliferate and resulting in bigger problems for homeowners in the future.

...

Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes the department’s powers and duties. Existing law, the Insurance Adjuster Act, sets forth various requirements with respect to operation as an insurance adjuster in this state and prohibits a person from engaging in a business regulated by the act, or acting or assuming to act as, or representing themselves to be, an insurance adjuster unless the person is licensed under the act. Existing law also prohibits a person from falsely representing that the person is employed by a licensee. Existing law exempts a person from the requirements of the Insurance Adjuster Act if the person is employed exclusively and regularly by one employer, as specified, with which the person has an employer-employee relationship. If the commissioner declares an emergency situation, existing law authorizes a nonlicensed insurance adjuster to adjust claims if certain requirements are met, including that the nonlicensed insurance adjuster registers with the commissioner via a written letter naming the nonlicensed adjuster, identifying adjuster licenses held in other jurisdictions, and stating when the claims adjusting activity began in the emergency situation. Existing law requires an insurer to provide an insured with a written status report if the insurer assigns a 3rd or subsequent adjuster to be primarily responsible for a claim within a 6-month period.

Source: insurancebusinessmag.com 

Subject: CEA Renters Policy
Description: California Earthquake Authority Renters Policy
Current Edition: BEQ-4B (01-2016 edition)

Excerpt;
This policy is issued by the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), a public instrumentality of the State of
California established and authorized by law to transact insurance in California as necessary to sell policies of basic residential earthquake insurance.

With a CEA homeowners earthquake insurance policy, you can choose the coverages and deductibles you need. We offer two policies for homeowners:

1. Homeowne​rs Choice offers coverage for your house, building code upgrades and emergency repairs. We also offer optional personal property coverage for your belongings, and loss of use, which can pay for additional living expenses if you have to live elsewhere due to earthquake damage. Homeowners Choice is flexible—you choose the coverages and options you need.
2. Standard Homeowners bundles all of the coverages we offer into one package: home, personal property, building code upgrades, the additional costs to live elsewhere due to earthquake damage (Loss of Use), and emergency repairs.
    

"As the nation continues to recover from the damage caused by hurricanes, floods and fires from coast to coast, we are reminded yet again that unforeseen, life-changing disasters can strike at any time. After the initial chaos subsides, it’s only natural that those affected would want to move quickly to start rebuilding their lives.

For many, the first step is a call to the insurance company, who should be able to resolve claims promptly, offering timely financial assistance when it’s needed most. But unfortunately, a complicated patchwork of state laws governing claims adjusters provides exactly the opposite: an inefficient, time-consuming, and expensive process that fails to serve the needs of consumers in the wake of a disaster."

9/29/2023 Update:  "FEMA has revised its NFIP Adjuster Fee Schedule. The revised NFIP Adjuster Fee Schedule will be effective on October 1, 2023, and is applicable to claims with dates of loss on or after October 1, 2023. The 2022 Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) Fee Schedule was not revised."

Crawford CATastrophe Services is constantly searching for qualified catastrophe adjusters to provide the additional claims expertise in the wake of natural or man-made disasters. Temporary property, auto, or casualty assignments opportunities are available through our U.S. Catastrophe Services Division.

The information below comes the WYO Bulletin W-22007 issued 10/1/2022

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 WYO Financial Assistance/Subsidy Arrangement (“Arrangement”) at IV.C.2 authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in its sole discretion, to authorize the use of an alternative Fee Schedule to ensure the availability of qualified insurance adjusters during catastrophic flooding events.

Subject: LADDER/CLIMBING SAFETY
First Posted on Saturday, September 02, 2000 - 1:32 pm: By: Lyndon

Bottom Line: Too Many Falls Last Year!!

1.) Take time to evaluate your ascension. Look at all slopes and valleys. Two and three story structures call for the utmost of attention and care. Ladder pulls are a particularly risky effort and deserve your utmost care.

2.) Do NOT be afraid to say NO! If you are very concerned about a particular roof, GET HELP! Local roofers are always willing to assist you! IF you ask the carrier, most of the will give their blessing as opposed to having you fall!

3.) A variety of ladders is not a bad idea. It offers you choices that you would not otherwise have.
 

... more

 To kill some time in this lull period & spread some knowledge, here is the scenario (or scenarios) as you see fit to make it. I will lay out the limited info as follows, and let's see where it goes.

Heavy fire loss occurs in a single family dwelling. Cov is HO-3, no issues with eff dates. Insureds have just left home about 6:00 p.m., a couple hours before fire breaks out and is discovered. High winds fan the flames and each house on either side sustain heat/smoke damage before the fire is brought under control. Let's say both neighboring houses now have some melted vinyl siding, one sided 2 years ago and the other 12 years ago. The elderly neighbor next door initially beat on the insured's door trying to see if they were OK, and burned his hand. He then rushed home to get his wheelchair bound wife out of their house, but she spends a week in the hospital with smoke inhalation related complications.

The insureds are a young couple, both smokers, with a 6 year old son. They just moved in about 2 years ago, only work in the house since they came was replacing the kitchen flooring, and adding a center island with a new cooktop on it. These were professionally installed within the past 6 months.