Insurance Insights ~ March 2002

Is Your Smoke Detector Doing Its Job?

Smoke detectors are one of the most important safety features of your home or office. Properly installed, working smoke detectors will give you the early warning you need to safely escape from a fire. But how do you make sure your detectors are working? By periodic testing and replacing them after ten years. Yes -- 10 years.

As electronic devices, detectors are subject to random failures. Early field studies of detector reliability, notably by Canada's Ontario Housing Corporation, concluded a 3% failure rate per year. This means a very small fraction of home smoke detectors will fail almost immediately, and 3% will fail by the end of the first year. After 30 years, nearly all the detectors will have failed, most years earlier.

How soon should you replace your detector? This is a value judgment. Only 3% of detectors are likely to fail in the first year, and annual replacement would be very expensive, so that doesn't make sense. At 15 years, the chances are better than 50/50 that your detector has failed, and that seems too big a risk to take. Manufacturers' warranties for the early detectors typically ran out in 3-5 years. So, in ten years there is roughly a 30% probability of failure before replacement.

If a 30% failure probability still seems too high, remember that replacement on a schedule is only a backup for replacement based on testing. A national study found home smoke detectors, when they fail, tend to fail totally, as opposed to hard-to-detect creeping failure, such as a loss of sensitivity. Regular monthly testing will help discover detector failure as well as a dead or missing battery. You can replace your detector when it needs replacing.

The same study showed all the inoperable detectors tested in 1992 were at least 5 years old and predated a 1987 change in product standards that reduced sensitivity to reduce nuisance alarms. Changes in detector chip design, among other improvements, make it likely that electronic failure now occurs at a rate much less than 4 times per million hours of operation.

Replacing detectors after 10 years protects against the accumulated chance of failure, but monthly testing is still your first, best means of making sure detectors work. Today's detectors are even less vulnerable than the original detectors. Regular maintenance of the more sophisticated systems used in larger buildings can keep them working very reliably for many decades.

So why not upgrade your smoke detector with a new model. After all, when was your last computer upgrade? And you don’t rely on your computer to save the life of a loved one.

Information for this article obtained from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Do I Need Earthquake Coverage?

Did you know:

• that the standard homeowner policy does not cover earthquake damage?
• that earthquakes have occurred in 39 states this century and approximately 90% of Americans live in areas considered seismically active? --insure.com 01/31/00
• that the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia and Philadelphia City are in a medium-risk zone?

These statistics are not meant to frighten, but rather enlighten the consumer as to what coverage is available.

Some policies do allow you to purchase an earthquake endorsement. This coverage would cover direct physical loss caused by the earthquake including land shock waves or tremors.

Due to the nature of an earthquake, the deductible option will be different than your standard deductible. With Erie, the deductible under earthquake coverage is 2%. Know your policy endorsement exclusions, such as flood of any nature or tidal wave, whether caused by, resulting from, contributed to or aggravated by earthquake. Also excluded is earth movement due to manmade events.

The cost of the insurance is determined based upon the risk location. The amount of your coverage is generally based on the replacement cost of the dwelling, not the fair market value or your mortgage value.

In 1935 Charles F. Richter develop the Richter scale that compares the size of earthquakes.

United States Geological Survey Earthquake Magnitude Classes

What To Do If You Just Moved To Pennsylvania

People who just moved into Pennsylvania and are establishing Pennsylvania residency must get a Pennsylvania driver’s license within 60 days, even if they hold a valid driver’s license from another state. The out-of-state license will be surrendered in exchange for a Pennsylvania license. A three-part driver’s exam consisting of driving knowledge, visual acuity, and a road test may be taken at any one of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Driver’s License Centers. The examiner may waive the road test portion of the exam if you hold a valid driver’s license from another state.

You must provide proof of name and birth date, so take your valid driver’s license issued by another state to the License Center. If you do not have a valid driver’s license, take your birth certificate and social security card with you when you apply for a license.

To operate a vehicle in Pennsylvania, you must have a Pennsylvania vehicle title, registration card and registration plate. You must present a valid title from your prior state, issued in your name or properly assigned to you, to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. If the vehicle was not required to be titled by that state, the current registration certificate for the vehicle must be presented.

All motor vehicles registered in Pennsylvania must have automobile insurance. The minimum coverage for bodily injury liability is $15,000 for each person and $30,000 for each occurrence and $5,000 for property damage liability. You must have auto insurance to maintain your vehicle registration.

Your vehicle must also display a valid Pennsylvania safety inspection sticker before it can be driven with a Pennsylvania license plate. Inspections are performed at official inspection stations (usually a repair garage or service station with a repair shop).

INSURANCE INSIGHTS is an electronic newsletter published monthly (except for January and August) by G. C. Weimer Associates, Inc. Information contained herein is accurate to the best of our knowledge and belief as of 3/1/2002. If you have a topic of interest for a future issue, e-mail us at info@gcwinsure.com.