Meet Local Pro Matthew Vanderford, a Public Adjuster, whose roots began in Valparaiso. Both of Matthew’s grandparents retired from military careers locally and his parents met at Lincoln Park in Valparaiso. But when his father joined the military, Matthew’s family finally landed in New Jersey.

As a teenager (age 15), Mathew would travel back to our area to work in the summer for the Valparaiso parks department. He says he mowed Highway 85 and all city-maintained grounds with a push mower which, he believes, made him immune to the heat and left a desire to return to the beauty of the Emerald Coast.

While waiting for a medical clearance to join the Marines, Matthew met his now wife, Candice, while working at a car wash in Pennsylvania, but after some time, the waiver wasn’t granted, and a different life path emerged.

Fast forward 16 years, being tired of the cold and snow and wanting to move back to his early beginnings, the family picked up and moved to Destin from the Greater Philadelphia area. Matthew says he’s had many “careers” that brought him to where he is now (sales, marketing, labor, construction, restoration and insurance), but for the past 10 years, he’s been involved in the restoration and insurance industry, starting off from cleaning and repairing properties affected by broken pipes, flooding, fires, tornados and hurricanes and everything in between. Over the years he became aware of how people were being treated unfairly by their insurance companies and wanted to help. So, he became a licensed insurance continuing education instructor and now holds licenses as a Public Insurance Adjuster in multiple states including California, the Carolinas, Florida, Mississippi and Pennsylvania helping to negotiate and settle insurance claims.

“My philosophy,” says Matthew, “is finding balance and creating harmony. It’s kind of odd, but in an industry like insurance, when tempers can flare and emotions can run high, anger, fighting and name calling never work.” And he should know by experience; he’s worked on cases in the field after several natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy, Hurricanes Irene, Hermine, Matthew, Harvey, Irma, Nate and Michael, and the Thomas and Carr Fires in California. He continues to publicly speak to groups on hurricane and disaster planning.

Outside of an attorney, Public Insurance Adjusters are the only property loss professionals who, on behalf of policyholders, can effectively negotiate and settle 1st and 3rd party insurance claims from floods, fires, hurricanes and all other perils covered in an insurance policy agreement; even losses to business income can be evaluated and settled, too.

For questions, you can contact Matthew at 267-237-6241 or via email at claims@insuranceclaims911.com.

By David Saviola, Arborbrook Financial

There is a significant public discussion right now on topics like minimum wage, redistribution of wealth, improving work conditions, pay for employees, etc. “The Great Resignation,” as many have dubbed the situation, has many speculating what the root causes are and how to fix them.

Study after study has shown that the majority of us have a belief that having just a bit more money will solve any problems—20% percent more to be specific. Recent studies released from Penn’s Wharton School even claim that having more income is directly related to happiness, albeit a modest increase.

So, clearly, giving everyone a raise will solve all our problems and we can just move on to whatever is next, right? Just typing that phrase out as a suggestion made me chuckle inside; that’s how silly of an idea it is. You probably had a similar reaction reading it. Well then, what is the answer?

The answer is wisdom. I’m almost embarrassed to say that it took me over a dozen years of advising people to realize that any value in what we ever did came down to that one word. Information and knowledge are easy to obtain today, and everyone has nearly instant access via a smartphone or tablet. However, the ability to receive wise counsel when it comes to handling our money has the perception of being limited to those that have surplus to invest or need to purchase a financial product of some sort. This lack of access to wise counsel has left millions of us vulnerable to believe lies like more money will always solve our problems.

King Solomon, the wisest and richest man to date, knew this a long time ago and encouraged us repeatedly about the importance of wise counsel and advice in our lives. Most pointedly, he said “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” (Proverbs 16).

If you are a business owner reading this, chances are you have your own set of advisors and I implore you to consider the fruit that would be produced by your employees having access to that same level of wise counsel. If you are an employee on any sort of team, think about bringing this idea up at your workplace. In both situations, we would be honored to help as we have with so many others.

By Joe Capers, Insurance Zone

In prior articles we detailed the major coverages and restrictions of your homeowners, condo unit owners or renter’s policies. While these are designed to protect your structure and what’s inside, there is normally limited coverage for your valuable possessions such as jewelry, fine art, wine, antiques and other collectibles that might be damaged, stolen or disappear. The best way to make sure these collections are adequately protected is to insure them on a Personal Articles Floater (PAF) policy separate from your primary homeowners.

Personal articles insurance covers personal property that is not covered by a traditional homeowner’s policy. Home, condo and renter’s insurance will typically cover personal items like electronics, clothing and furniture up to the limit of Personal Property or Contents (sometimes it is a percentage of your dwelling limit) on your policy. But for ‘special’ items such as valuable jewelry, furs, art and silverware, there are sub limits that limit the coverage to predetermined amounts, normally between $1,000 and $2,500. These ‘special limits of liability’ provisions for certain items of personal property limit and state the maximum payout for these items. It is not to be confused with the personal property limit on your insurance policy declaration page or the insured value of the dwelling, which are always much higher.

The list of items that can be covered under a Personal Articles Insurance is extensive. Some of the more common high-value items are Keepsakes – jewelry, furs, fine art, fine china, silverware, collectibles and money; Equipment – cameras, computers and software, musical instruments, golf, bicycles, silverware, sports equipment and guns; Health-related – Hearing aids, medical devices, prosthetic devices, personal mobility devices, and wheelchairs. The standard homeowner’s policy limits the coverage for these items to anywhere between $1,000 to $2,500.

We normally recommend purchasing a standalone policy, even though you might miss out on the savings or convenience of bundling with one insurer. There are several reasons you might want a standalone policy for your valuables and gifts, rather than using your homeowner’s insurance. This is particularly true if the item is for someone who does not live with you, and it cannot be added to your policy, or you don’t have homeowner’s, condo unit owner’s or renter’s insurance, or the item is used for work or business which would be excluded from a homeowner’s policy. Another advantage of a standalone policy is, if you have a loss, your homeowner’s coverage is not negatively impacted.

Although the benefits of standalone or scheduled policy may vary from insurer to insurer, you should check with your agent for the details. Below are many of the most common provisions that should be verified if important to you as the owner:

Worldwide coverage – protects your covered valuables at home and across the globe and covers most causes of loss, with no deductible

Individual coverage – flexible coverage options to meet your unique needs, whether you own one item or many pieces

Protecting your delicate items – breakage of fragile possessions is automatically covered

Newly required items – may be covered up to 90 days up to a certain limit

Payout market value – can pay up to market value and an additional amount

Premium discount – if you keep in a bank vault, you can benefit from a reduced insurance premium

Appraisal requirement – Appraisals will be required for individual pieces valued over a certain amount. Below this threshold, usually all that is required is a description, estimated value and possibly a photo

Agreed value feature – makes sure you receive 100% of the agreed value as a cash settlement

Choices – you can decide whether to repair or replace the item, at the merchant of your choice, or keep the cash

You invested a lot in your valuable private collections. Make sure you have the right coverage to protect each piece. Talk to your agent today to find out the best option for you. Watch a detailed video at myinsurancevideos.com.

Insurance Zone, founded by Joe and Lea Capers, is a full service commercial and personal lines insurance agency. Visit their Video Library on www.ins-zone.com and watch an informative video “How to Protect your most Treasured Possessions” or call (850) 424.6979 and talk with one of our experienced Team Members.