Listen to this interesting and thought provoking interview with consumer advocate and ValChoice founder and CEO, Dan Karr. We discuss the state of the insurance industry and why consumers need more transparency into the performance of insurance companies. Dan also provides insights into web apps including (car insurance price calculators and home insurance price calculators), auto insurance ratings and home insurance ratings as well as lists of the best auto insurance companies and the best home insurance companies, by state. These tools and apps are designed to help both consumers and agents identify the best companies for their needs and their clients’ needs.

Kurt Thoennessen, VP at Ericson Insurance Advisors, discusses risk management strategies and tools that can help protect second homes from danger with Dan Sweeney, President of Danco Management.

Danco Management LLC offers property and grounds management services for owners of luxury homes in and around Litchfield County Connecticut.

Featured Guest:
Danco Management
President - Dan Sweeney
http://dancomanagement.com/

 
Interview Highlights:

Automatic water shutoff valves:
- Protect homes from major damage from water leaks.
- Help promote water conservancy
- Flo Technologies Inc. - www.meetflo.com

Smart Thermostats provide an indication of temperature at a second home, which can help prevent damage caused by low temperatures.

Oil level indicators keep an owner aware of the oil level in the oil tanks. This helps prevent a situation where the oil runs out and leaves a home without heat.

Alarm systems are a critical component of a second home's over all protection. There are several components that can be utilized to provide protection to a second.
- Heat / smoke detection
- Motion detection
- Low temperature monitors
- Signal continuity
- Closed circuit TV monitoring
- Humidity monitors

Lightning can cause significant damage to a home's electronics whether there is a direct hit to a property or a there is a strike off property that leads to a power surge.
- Lightning protection systems can help mitigate / prevent damage from lightning. EMP Defense is a technology that is being used for this purpose. https://www.empdefense.us/
- Whole house surge protection is also an effective solution.

Fire suppression systems can also help prevent major damage from fire. Plumis is a technology that is being used to add these systems to homes with reduced need for major retrofitting renovations. https://plumis.com/index.html

WorldClinic Overview:

WorldClinic provides instant physician access and the latest longevity science to executives, families, and world travelers. Our clients use us to address any medical condition anywhere, anytime.

We care for families and individuals who use our service to resolve 95% of medical issues without ever going to a doctor's office. We leverage genome sequencing, stem cell therapy, and other emerging treatments along with smartphone monitors to maximize longevity.

Contact information:
Alexa Carlin
Phone: (603) 526-9003
Email: [email protected] 

Dr. William Lang Bio:

Dr. Lang is the Director of clinical policy and services for WorldClinic. He also leads their Occupational Health Practice. Prior to his role at WorldClinic Dr. Lang served for over six years as the Chief Operating Officer of the White House Medical Unit. Throughout this period, he also served as Deputy Physician to the President of the United States. He has been dedicated to the practice of family medicine since he began his medical career in 1987 after finishing his medical training at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. 

Podcast highlights regarding COVID-19:

• Millennials and younger folks who may be considered low risk from this novel Coronavirus should do what they can to protect the people who are considered high risk. 
  • High risk people include:
    • Older adults
    • People who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
      • Heart disease
      • Diabetes
      • Lung disease

Podcast highlights regarding telemedicine and WorldClinic:

• WorldClinic is a leader in the field of telemedicine and has practiced it for over 20 years. 
• Telemedicine gives patients of WorldClinic the ability to skip the long waiting lines at hospitals and doctor’s offices and receive the care they need just by picking up the phone. 
• Technological solutions are used to deliver care to patients and to monitor their well-being remotely. 
• WorldClinic maintains up to date medical files for each of its patients. This enables their physicians to provide care their patients can trust and objective oversight of any medical situation their patients are going through. 
• Telemedicine allows physicians to provide a high level of care similar to way family doctors used to deliver it by eliminating many of the logistical issues involved with in-person care.
• Many successful individuals are considered “Global Citizens” because they own property in multiple countries or because of the significant amount of travel they do outside their home country. WorldClinic is a valuable partner to have in these situations since they maintain a complete medical file for each patient. Therefore, no matter where the patient is in the world, WorldClinic can provide trusted objective oversight as well as physical assistance for their patients. 

Show links:

• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
• https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• www.Covid19.worldclinic.com

Kurt Thoennessen, VP at Ericson Insurance Advisors, discusses the risks of owning a luxury second home with Dan Sweeney, President of Danco Management.

Danco Management LLC offers property and grounds management services for owners of luxury homes in and around Litchfield County Connecticut.

Featured Guest:
Danco Management
President - Dan Sweeney
http://dancomanagement.com/

 
Interview Highlights:

How is owning a second home different than a primary home? 

·         Second homes can be seasonal usage, periodic uses or both. Seasonal homes develop concerns due to inconsistent usage and in a lot of instances the concerns go unreported (out of sight, out of mind). The fact that they may be dormant poses potential issues when it comes to the overall preservation plan.

What are the added risks? 

• Limited occupancy – Houses, like vehicles, do not do well if they sit dormant. Systems should be used on a regular basis to ensure proper operation and to identify any issues that may arise (plumbing, water filtration, generators, doors, windows, etc..)
• Rental exposure - From a property management standpoint, the care and usage exposure is a variable often difficult to narrow in on. Renters and guests may not understand the home’s systems and operation. Their use of the home may result in costly repairs and frustration for both parties. 
• Unprotected – Second homes may be located far from the normal protections that primary homes benefit from such as a fire department, water source and other protection services. 
• Vacation spots - With the erratic weather we have had over the last several years, homes we manage have really been well tested from an elements standpoint. Ice, rain, droughts, etc. 
• Maintaining heat - My experience is that aside from the water damage exposure, fit and finishes don’t like large temperature and humidity swings (cabinetry, trim, flooring to name a few). Performance built homes have many variables that are factored into a home’s performance and manually disturbing that calculation can lead to potential issues.
• Monitoring water use - Water conservancy is a huge concern for any home where an onsite water well is the domestic source. Also, there is a need to monitor areas where conservation measures can be implemented.

What are some of the most common issues that arise in second homes? 

• ·         What are the maintenance issues? Deferred or unidentified issues such as mechanicals, exterior surfaces and infrastructure lead to costly capital expenditures.
• ·         What are the insurance issues? Gaps in coverage based on usage,  geographical factors not allowing for prompt response, updating property status and revisiting policy coverages (additions, upgrades to interior, wine rooms, art galleries, etc..)
• ·         Changing the usage without considering the impact on your insurance. Surprising the insurance provider with new information at the time of new claim

What services do you provide? 

• ·         Property preservation/maintenance/management, construction management

Do you have a specific service for homes that are being rented on home sharing sites? What does that look like and what are the risks? 

• ·         AirBNB and second homes - Local ordinances may cause a property to operate outside of regulations. Properly managed, some properties can have revenue streams to offset operating expenses and ensure home is being used. Wear and tear by others can be concern, if not clea

More than 50% of all property insurance claims in the U.S. are related to non-weather related water losses in the home.  A vast majority of those losses could have been significantly minimized or avoided if the home was equipped with an automatic water shutoff valve device.  Such device will monitor the water in a residence's pipes for unusual water flows and close to valve to shut off the water home’s water supply. This episode will provide an in-depth analysis of this risk management strategy and how it can help homeowners avoid costly damage from water leaks. 

Personal risk management starts with a frame of mind that puts an emphasis on protecting something from harm through thoughtful preparation and planning. Every risk management plan is different because it is based on a unique set of factors dictated by a person’s lifestyle and asset base.  Once it is determined that a personal risk management mindset will be utilized, the next step is developing a plan that can be executed. 

There are three components to a thorough personal risk management plan. They are: 

1. Prepare and plan
2. Predict and prevent
3. Respond and recover

Each of these areas targets are certain aspect of risk management that should be incorporated into a comprehensive personal risk management plan. This episode goes into further detail about what is involved with this type of plan and how it can be developed. 

#001 - Join Kurt Thoennessen, CAPI and expert art appraiser, David Shapiro of Victor Wiener Associates, LLC, to learn about price volatility in the contemporary art market, the different methods of art valuation, and the risks that art is exposed to. Their conversation explores the factors that are driving the prices of some artists work to stratospheric levels and how art collectors can ensure their works are properly valued. This episode also provides information about insurance coverages and risk management techniques that will help protect art from a loss.

If you would like to learn more about this episode's special guest, please click the link below.

http://www.victorwienerassociates.com/team/david-shapiro

* Correction: The Julie Curtiss piece, Princess sold for $106,250 at Phillips (New York) against an estimate of $6,000 - $8,000 (not $4,000 - $6,000 as was stated in the interview). Here is the link: https://www.phillips.com/detail/julie-curtiss/NY010519/316