Property Focus

Self-promotion is not a trait a lot of people respect, but when you think you really have something to offer, there’s no harm telling folks about it.

Is there?

Starting on page 22 guest columnist Carl Morello, vice president of loss control at Sequoia Insurance Co. in Monterey, Calif., launches a three-part series to explain insurers’ requirements for building updates and to help agents advise clients on mitigating risks inherent in older buildings.

Later articles in the series will address plumbing systems, and HVAC and roofing systems, but the first column addresses electrical systems, and it reveals just how many buildings in the West are aging and may require repairs and upgrades.

Morello notes:

“Whether providing with insurance for habitational, commercial, or industrial occupancies, an agent who is knowledgeable about older buildings and the risks they present can offer a valuable service. Helping clients manage risk and protect their assets is much easier than trying to assist them with recovery after a devastating loss, a loss that could have been prevented by understanding and addressing the risks covered in this series of articles.”

According to the column, 59 percent of the buildings in the Los Angeles area were constructed prior to 1970, and the same goes for Portland in the Pacific Northwest, where 26 percent of the buildings were constructed in the 1930s or earlier. In San Francisco 72 percent of the city’s buildings went up prior to 1970, with 22 percent of them built in the 1950s or 1960s.

A resourceful and helpful agent can, among other things, help clients and the insurer by understanding the risks associated with older buildings, educating policyholders about the hazards, helping gather pertinent information and identifying areas of concern, and counseling and assisting policyholders in making smart risk management decisions.

“The primary concern in an older building is the electrical system,” Morello writes. “Many fires begin in electrical systems, not due to deficiency in the design or quality of electrical components, but because the systems, which generally function quietly and efficiently without apparent need for maintenance, are rarely inspected and often poorly maintained.”

Topics Property