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At hail and wind we love to find new cool stuff that helps home owners live more comfortably, and save money, and this week’s product of the week is no exception! Attic Breeze is a leader in solar powered attic ventilation, and that’s about as cool as it comes! They are made 100% in the USA, and come with the best warranty in the business.

Many home owners do not realize that their attics require a way to “breathe”. Without air circulation, no amount of insulation can keep your attic cool. The Attic Breeze fan units are self contained, wireless, and run entirely from a battery inside the solar collector unit. They come in a wide variety of colors to blend into most roof surfaces. The rugged exterior is built so tough, that Attic Breeze offers the only lifetime warranty in the industry!

One issue that can arise with other types of solar ventilation units is the “always on” mode that is set to start and run the fan when attic temps reach certain point. This evacuation of air can cause what is known as depressurization, a condition that exists when outflow is greater than inflow. Safeguards built into the attic breeze line prevent this. Wireless control units are also available for multiple fans, allowing the temperature to be set where you want it, when you want, and also allowing for settings that kick the fan into action when humidity is high inside the attic.

We work with Caliber Roofing here in Central Oklahoma to provide these and many other great attic products! Be looking for our attics and ventilation book coming out later this month! For a free assessment of your insulation and attic ventilation call Greg Cannon at 923-3879. Now is the time to fix it!

Featured Articles,

Storm Chasers

by Greg CannonJuly 11, 2012no comment

So many times when Oklahoma and tornadoes reach media attention is through the description of an individual with more dogs under the porch of their trailer than teeth in their head. We get that, we really do. There are a lot of good down-home, laid-back country folks in Oklahoma, but sometimes you want to see the other side.

We found it in this story about storm chasers first published on ABC News.com

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

By MATT GUTMAN (@mattgutmanABC)

CANTON, Okla., May 24, 2011

Within minutes of joining the Storm Chasers, a group of scientists and filmmakers from the Discover Channel who hunt down tornadoes to capture stunning severe weather video, my producer Seni Tienabeso and I nearly ran into a massive multi-vortex tornado.

Hail plunked off the exoskeleton of the Chasers’ “Dominator” (a converted Chevy suburban), prowling country roads like some prehistoric creature at 80 mph.

Our driver and Storm Chasing vet Kevin Barton lowered the Dominator to the ground, saying, “That way the wind doesn’t pick us up and toss us.”

He hooted that we’d entered something chasers call the “bear’s cage” — the area within the storm cell where a tornado could strike. And directly overhead this giant swirling cloud, a giant overhead whirlpool nearly perfectly formed.

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It rippled the wheat fields in a nearly perfect circle.

Barton now shouted against the wind: “You guys are members of the zero meter club. … That means you’ve now been zero meters from a tornado. My third intercept in three seasons…”

They seemed to anthropomorphize the storm, calling it “beautiful,” as archeologists would a rare find.

“It’s rare to see it this close,” Barton said. “Not too many people see that. Absolutely gorgeous tornado, guys.”

We drove on, finding another giant twister churning near Canton. The air smelled of freshly cut grass, the result of so much splintering and hacking of the forest. The debris field was immense, like a giant lawnmower had moved through a forest.

We moved on, and hours later we were back in Oklahoma City.

The Storm Chasers move so fast, we spent hours just trying to catch up with them. Reed Timmer and his crew literally stop for no man.

Finally, as they were forced to hook a U-turn, we simply drove our car in front of one of the Dominators, blocking it, nearly ramming it.

Clumsily, but quickly we swapped cars, jumping into the Dominator, for a ride of a lifetime.

SOUNDS AWESOME! So, when the storm finds You, please give us a call. at 1 (405) 923-3879

Featured Articles,

Red Dirt Ready Part 2

by Greg CannonMarch 19, 2012no comment

Plan ahead

Once the storm hits, it is too late to be prepared, and thinking through what you will do if the inevitable happens is one way to provide yourself an alternative to freaking out when the jello hits the fan. Here are some ideas on setting priorities based on what you may need to do to protect your family.

First Aid

First, assess everyone health wise, and make any necessary decisions about healthcare. Do this even for seemingly minor injuries now, rather than later. Apply first aid, where applicable, get critical patients to emergency care.

Help Others

Once everyone is ambulatory, or under care, assess the surrounding situation. Help anyone you can to get themselves safe and medically sound.

Find Shelter

Your next concern should be finding shelter, particularly if the storm has struck at night. Staying warm and dry is essential to health, which should be your primary concern.

Secure Your Area

Once you have determined that adequate shelter is available, or makeshift shelter has been created, if necessary, security should be your next concern. Check your surrounding area for downed power lines, dangerous trees, or structures that may fall due to storm damage, and any other threat to physical safety should be dealt with first, then secure your property as best you can.

Provisions

Once health, shelter and safety are taken care of, find water and food as soon as possible. Most conditions can be survived as long as is necessary once these basic necessities of life can be taken care of.

For further information check out the Red Dirt Ready site here: http://www.ok.gov/reddirtready/PREPARE/Get_a_Kit/

Featured Articles,

Red Dirt Ready Part 1

by Greg CannonMarch 13, 2012no comment

Spring is here, and as we have witnessed, so is severe storm season here in Oklahoma. While we are accustomed to it, and may not be as nervous as newcomers, it never pays to be unprepared, so here again is our annual “Red Dirt Ready” checklist to make sure you are ready to stay ahead of the storm.

1^st Have emergency water and food for your family.

2^nd Prepare an emergency kit. It should include emergency blankets, flashlights, crank or battery operated radio and the like.

3^rd Have a good first aid kit with guide ready.

For a full list go here: http://www.ok.gov/reddirtready/PREPARE/Get_a_Kit/

Image via Wikipedia

In addition to these steps, you should also prepare an action plan for your family, your neighborhood, and where you will go should your entire community be involved in a disaster.

If you do not have a storm shelter, one of your plan priorities should be getting one, or finding the nearest shelter with room for you and your family, and making plans to share it.

Remember to watch for signs of severe weather and take a moment to find out what the forecasters are saying. They can only keep you safe if you pay attention.

Featured Articles,

Prestorm Checklist Part 5, Insurance Agent Vs Insurance Company

by Greg CannonFebruary 24, 2012no comment

Now that you have a basic understanding of your policy, and what it does and does not cover, you are better prepared to handle your claim, and the recovery process in case of storm damage. Even with a policy that I designed to give you the coverage you want, it is important to remember that insurance is only as good as the company that stands behind it.

This may be a touchy subject, if your agent is a long time friend, but remember that the agent is only a small part of the bigger picture and it is the insurance company that will actually write you the check when you begin your recovery process, so they had better be good! Think of it this way, when you go to a car lot to purchase a new vehicle, the salesman is part of the company that owns the car lot, or dealership. That salesman is much like your insurance agent. They sell a product, and to some extent stand behind it. Further up to the top of the ladder is the car’s maker. They are the ones that ultimately determine the quality of the vehicle you drive off the lot, and will be the ones to honor the warranty, in case of needed repairs.

Your agent may be your best friend, you may have named your first born after him, but he has very little control over how the insurer treats you, as the policy holder, in the event of a claim. That customer service record should be very important to you, since it is a good indication of how easy they will be to work with, when it comes to your claim.

The relationship you have built with your agent is important, but is not enough to stop an insurer from treating you like a criminal, rather than a victim, or severely under appreciating the value of your property, making your claim worth much less than the actual cost of recovery.

Most insurance companies are publicly held, and are responsible to their shareholders to make a profit. This can lead to insurance companies denying many claims, or forcing you, the policy holder, to fight tooth and nail for every penny, hoping you will give up. Insurance is there for crises. What good is the perfect coverage and price, if the insurer makes the recovery more difficult than the disaster, or even outright refuses to pay?

Do some research. In this day and age, it is easy to find many reviews, blog posts and other data regarding insurance companies and how they have handled claims. Of course, there are always bad stories with almost every company, but a consistent track record of poor treatment, or refusal to pay, may be a clear indication that it is time to consider alternatives.

Featured Articles,

Part Four, Endorsements and Exclusions

by Greg CannonFebruary 24, 2012no comment

If you are following our blog, we haven now explored many of the common elements in a home owner‘s insurance policy and showed you some things to be aware of. In this post, we are going to walk you through understanding endorsements and exclusions.

In most cases, a homeowner purchases insurance with the belief that if something happens, their property and possessions will be covered. This is not always so. When it comes to items of particular value, or specials features your home may have, you may need to have a special clause added to your policy known as an endorsement. An endorsement simply puts in writing special coverage for items that are not covered under a standard policy. In most cases, there will be additional cost, but that is only right, since the insurer is now assuming additional risk. You will need to talk with your agent specifically to determine if they offer coverage that can be added to your policy for the item you want endorsed, and to find out how much it will add to the cost of your policy. Any endorsements you already have, will be listed on your declaration page, and new endorsements can be added at any time, provided no damage has occurred, and a major storm event is not predicted.

Exclusions are exactly what they sound like

Exclusions are exactly what they sound like. These parts of your policy list items and features that are specifically outside the coverage of your policy. Unlike endorsements, which are added by the home owner and become part of the declarations page, exclusions are added throughout the policy, and there are many of them in most policies. You should know what exclusions are a part of yours to avoid unpleasant surprises in the case of a damage claim.

Endorsements can sometimes be added to cover excluded items, removing the exclusion and outlining the coverage provided. Talk with your agent about specific exclusions that you would like to include in your coverage to determine if that is possible.

Common exclusions include, terrorist attacks, mudslides, fire, flooding, damage due to negligence, and other common possible sources of loss.

Don’t assume that because one agent cannot offer a product to protect your property, or a portion of it, that you cannot be insured. Shop around, and don’t be afraid to ask for exceptions, you never know what you might find once you start looking. By the way, many insurance agencies offer insurance from more than one company, so your long time agent, is the best place to start.

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RCV or ACV that is the question. Pre-Storm checklist part 3. Coverage Types

by Greg CannonFebruary 17, 2012no comment

If you have read parts one and two of our guide, you have a handle on what your policy covers, and what your deductibles may be There is one other important factor that deserves a good hard look. Is your policy RCV or ACV? No, they are not ACDC cover band names, they are insurance terms that many policy owners have never had defined for them.

RCV

RCV stands for “Replacement Cash Value”, while ACV stands for “Actual Cash Value”. All many policy holders understand is that ACV is much less expensive in most cases than RCV, but, as you may have guessed, there is a perfectly good reason for that.

ACV

Let’s start with the less expensive, ACV policies to understand the difference. Most of us are familiar with the concept of depreciation. Depreciation is the reduction in value of an item, or property due to normal wear and tear, or other damages.

Actual Cash Value

This means that the Actual Cash Value of any given part of your home, when making an insurance claim, equals the repair or replacement cost-minus- your deductible-minus-depreciation. This may seem fair, until you realize that the contractors and material suppliers are not going to give a discount equal to that depreciation. This means added out of pocket expense for you in the recovery process.

Replacement Cash Value

A Replacement Cash Value policy covers your losses based on the fair market price of repairing, or replacing items, and construction elements, such as roofs, windows and doors. The claim, in some cases, can even be adjusted up to cover additional, unexpected costs. So your coverage in the case of an RCV policy is the cost of recovery-minus-your deductible, which often saves a homeowner thousands of dollars.

When comparing insurance carriers, policies and plans, always make sure you are comparing apples to apples, and not apples to oranges. Many times an insurance agent may sell a policy based solely on what the policy holder wants to spend, and neglect to give a full explanation of the differences between ACV and RCV.

If you would like more information about types of policy and how they effect you, please contact us at Info@hailandwind.com or contact your insurance agent and ask for a policy review, armed with the information you have learned here.

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Before the Storm, Prestorm Checklist, Part Two, Declarations Page part one

by Greg CannonFebruary 1, 2012no comment

The Declarations Page Part One

In our last post, we took you through the basics of documenting your belongings and the condition of your home in the even that catastrophe strikes. This is a great tool for insurance adjusters to accurately assess the value of your property. In this post we going to lift the curtain on your policy and show you how to find out just how much you expect from your agent. We know you thought you were done with reading when you left school, but the declarations page of your insurance policy should definitely be on your reading list, here is what to look for.

Reviewing

If you are like most of us, you only look at your policy at the time of purchase, or when changes are made. In fact, you probably only saw it long enough to put a pen to it and sign it. When you pull the policy out, you will find a stack of papers filled with indecipherable legal mumbo jumbo, all designed to outline your insurers responsibilities to you, the policy holder. You only need one page to understand most of the rest. Find your “Declarations Page”

Deductible

You probably know that there is a deductible on your policy. This is the amount you will be expected to pay out of pocket to restore your home after damage has occurred. What you may not know, is that there are separate deductibles for hail and wind! That’s right, it is calculated differently. Check the amount of your deductible and make note of whether the hail and wind deductible is different. It may not be stated in a dollar amount, but rather a percentage of your home’s value.

Insured Value

This, in many ways is the real value of your home. This part of your policy describes what your insurance company would pay you in the case of catastrophic loss, in other words, in Oklahoma, if a tornado clears the foundation. The Coverage Limit is the big key here, this is the most money your insurance company is willing to pay if your home is destroyed. This number should not be confused with an appraisal, or the sale value of your home, these are two completely separate numbers. Your coverage limit should be 15-to-20 percent higher than your homes value, to cover the cost of reconstruction, which is always higher than new construction. Many policies will cover only 80 percent of the cost in the case of a total loss.

To be Continued

There are several other things that you should be looking at, including whether your coverage limit is Actual Cash Value, or Replacement Cash Value. Stay tuned for more!