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Fire and Smoke Damage Mitigation
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Fire and Smoke Damage Mitigation
description
Fire and Smoke Damage Mitigation. A Moment of Silence…. Mitigation?. Consists of two segments. What can be done before the claim to lessen severity. What can be done after the loss to stop secondary damage and lessen severity. Insurance Claims Types. Less Claims. It’s only 5.7% - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Fire and Smoke Damage Mitigation
Fire and Smoke Damage Mitigation
A Moment of Silence….
Mitigation?
• Consists of two segments.–What can be done before the claim to lessen
severity.–What can be done after the loss to stop
secondary damage and lessen severity.
05101520253035404550
hail49.3%
water40.3%
fire5.7%
other4.7%
Insurance Claims Types
Less Claims
• It’s only 5.7%• Approximately 18 Billion in residential losses
in 2006.
The largest %
• Inattentive Behavior– Children– Candles– Holidays• Thanksgiving• Christmas• 4th of July
Result
The Fire Department
Goals and Concerns1) Save Lives2) Protect Surrounding Properties3) Save this property4) Contents
Mitigation
• To make less severe.– Psychological damage.– Smoke damage.– Fire/Burn/Combustion.– Physical hazards.– Hazmats.– Open files.– Poor loss ratios.– Lost clients.
Psychological Damage
After an emergency we all tend to get a bit lost. Most of us will never have to live through a fire but we’ve all been touched by some kind of disaster and understand how hard it is to focus after a terrible thing has happened. Every insurance professional should be working towards helping make the policyholder whole in every sense of the word.
Smoke Damage
Air volume doubles for every 10 degree rise in temperature.
As the heat increases the pores in materials open and smoke/odor molecules are driven into surfaces.
Fire/Burn/Combustion
Two types of fires.- Simple- Complex
Two types of burns.- Chemical- Heat
Two types of combustion.- Complete- Incomplete
Physical hazards
Are there holes burned in the floor? Are the overhead rafters still structurally sound? Is the floor wet and slippery? Is the fire still smoldering? Did anything burn that may cause contaminants?
Hazmats
What burned?Plastics and other materials that are
commonly found have toxic fumes.
What's in your house?
Open Files
An adjusters perspective:Adjusters are bombarded by new
claims on a daily basis. There are approximately 17,000
claims per day in the US.That’s 340 claims per day/per State.
Poor Loss Ratios
Everyone perspective:If loss ratios are not balanced
everyone in the system ends up losing. Carriers won’t be profitable. Agencies will lose money. Adjusters will have to re-examine files. Policy holders will pay increased premiums.
Lost Clients
The agents perspective:What does the policy holder buy?
When do you loss policies?
How do you avoid it?
Factors of Fire Mitigation
• Time
• Humidity
• Temperature/pressure
• Type of combustion materials.
At Risk Surfaces
• Metal and glass surfaces
• Faucets• Towel bars• Aluminum window
frames
• Chrome trim• Marble• Porcelain• Tile/Grout• China• Crystal.
Emergency Cleaning
Also called a pre-clean.
The goal:Neutralize the acid residue• Use A Surfactant Agent• Or Cooking OilProtect surfaces and reduce claim costs.
Wall Coverings and Smoke Mitigation
• Test cleaning or you might “set” the soot permanently!
• The famous “chem sponge”
Ultrasonic Cleaners
• Mild cleaning solution agitated with sound waves in a tank. Used to clean non-porous and/or delicate items.– Jewelry.– Ceramics.– Computer equipment.
Dry Ice Blasting
• Similar to sand, aggregate or water blasting but can be very delicate.– Furniture.– Glass.– Paper.– Structure.
National Claims Assignment Center: 1-888-4-PDR-NOW
Ozone Generators
• Used to remove odors. Normally items are stored in a sealed room with ozone generator.– Not safe for natural rubber.
National Claims Assignment Center: 1-888-4-PDR-NOW
VaporTek
• This unit uses the Vaportek patented essential oil membranes to release non-toxic, odor-neutralizing dry vapor into the air.
Thermal Foggers
• Used to cover odors in areas and on items.
Air Scrubber
• Air scrubbers are used to remove particles in the air. They are HEPA filtering devices.
ResourcesIICRC - http://www.iicrc.org/
ACGIH - http://www.acgih.org/home.htm
ASCR - http://www.ascr.org/
OSHA - http://www.osha.gov/
EPA - http://www.epa.gov/
NAHB - http://www.nahb.org/
Your Local Paul Davis Representative!
Questions?
National Claims Assignment Center: 1-888-4-PDR-NOW
Thank You For Coming!
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