SBOA: The Magazine Fall 2015 Edition | Page 38

Prepare for Turbulence and/or hail caused marring, pitting or other superficial damage that altered the appearance of the roof surfacing, but such damage does not prevent the roof from continuing to function as a barrier to entrance of the elements to the same extent as it did before the cosmetic damage occurred.” Insurance Services Office CP 10 36 Essentially, this endorsement allows the carrier to charge a premium for the loss exposure but greatly re-define the definition of a loss to its favor. Such an endorsement complicates an owner’s option of buying a standalone wind/hail policy because its existence would greatly complicate a claim settlement. In many cases these endorsements are not discussed with the owner. The owner either does not know of the existence of these endorsements on their policy or may have never had the potential coverage impact adequately discussed with them. Regrettably, the matter becomes all too clear when a claim is denied. Great care should be taken to avoid endorsements such as this. Based upon the feedback Willis has received, nearly all self-storage insurance programs are using a percentage deductible for wind and hail in their perceived higher hazard areas. This deductible is calculated by multiplying the deductible percentage by the total insured values at the damaged site. The percentage is not applied to the loss amount. For example, a facility that has a total insured value of $5,000,000 and a 3% wind/hail deductible has a $150,000 deductible for each wind/hail event. It needs to be noted that the definition of “wind” is not restricted to tornados. It is applied to any wind event. It is becoming a challenge to find solutions to these three problems. In our practice, we have been able to place insurance with certain insurance companies that still use a flat deductible for wind and hail in these affected areas. However, these carriers have a higher minimum premium and may not be an affordable option for the smallest operators as they have fewer assets over which to spread the insurance cost. Typically the minimum policy