If 2020 has taught us anything, it's to prepare for the unknown.

I’m going to do something really boring right now.  I’m going to bring up the topic of property coverage. 

It isn’t exactly the hottest topic around, but if 2020 has shown us anything, it’s shown us we need coverage.  And we need it now, more than ever before.

I think most of us will agree, 2020 has been a bit of a wild ride.  From the derecho that hit Iowa, to the fires raging out west, to the floods that have decimated the south, 2020 has kept us on all edge.

Throw in the mess that is politics and the ongoing chaos surrounding Covid-19, and it’s been a hard reckoning this year.

If you’re like me, you’ve made attempts to take back control of the year (that’s a good thing!).  Regardless of what we do, though, the fact remains we are all at the mercy of 2020, and we must be prepared for whatever it throws our way.

Take the recent derecho that tore across the Midwest, for example.  

Most of us had never even heard of a derecho, but many of us are far too familiar with it now.

So familiar, we’re still working hard to clean up some of the millions - if not billions - of dollars worth of damages the derecho left in its wake.  A number of local communities are actually still trying to figure out how to pay for the replacement and/or repair for some of those damages.

This is a sad realization for many municipal representatives, who discovered some of their property was underinsured - and even uninsured - after it sustained damages in the storm.

As representatives of the Pool, this is a hard thing for us to see.

We, as a Pool, exist for our members, and we want them to be covered.  We work for them to be covered.

So to see a member building sustain damages and realize that member didn’t secure coverage for it is really difficult for us.  So difficult, the Pool funded a professional property valuations program, which discovered more than $7 BILLION in un- or underinsured member property.

This means the property that was missed before the derecho struck isn’t a one-off, but rather a common occurrence.  And it’s something we’d like to see changed.

The tricky thing about coverage, is no one cares about it until they need it.  And when the day comes that they actually need it, it’s often “too little, too late.”  This is true in many situations, and certainly it’s true when it comes to going through a member’s SOV.

That’s the property statement of values (SOV), for anyone who isn’t familiar with the acronym, and it is especially important when it comes to securing property coverage for a building or other structure (think fences, wells, water towers and the like).

Every ICAP member that secures property coverage through the Pool provides us with an SOV, which should be updated annually, at minimum, to ensure the member’s coverage is appropriate for its exposures.  But simply having one individual review the SOV typically isn’t adequate.

This is because it is virtually impossible for one individual to know all of the buildings, structures and miscellaneous items an entity owns.

Instead, we recommend an entity break the SOV out by department, and have department heads list out every property, structure and automobile their department utilizes, maintains and/or manages.  They can them cross-check them with the SOV.

Did your entity purchase, sell or change use for a building, structure or vehicle mid-term?  Let us know about any changes!

Though the Pool does not implement charges for most changes made mid-term, we do process them, and can help ensure your SOV stays up-to-date, which can help protect your entity when it comes to the unanticipated or unknown.  

And, as most of us now know, the “unanticipated” tends to rear its head just when we least expect it…

Interested in learning more?  Check out this audio clip, or take a look at the video posted here.