A Fool And His Money Will Soon Be Parted

As tornado cleanup continues for thousands of residents of Oklahoma, the nation finds hope as stories of rescued individuals, recovered pets and salvaged possessions come to light.  A brief account about the surprising recovery of cash, (you remember cash?  greenbacks?  paper money?) caught my attention.   

Moore, Oklahoma resident Tom Bridges had $2,000 cash from the sale of his boat. The cash was in an envelope with a rubber band, on a windowsill of all places, before the tornado hit. The day after the tornado, he found that envelope with the money intact in his destroyed home.  No small miracle that paper money in a paper envelope was found after 210 mph winds whipped through town!

An oft quoted proverb says "A fool and his money will soon be parted."  By no means am I saying that Mr. Bridges is a fool but what if he and his money had parted... permanently? What if he hadn't found that wad of cash?  Furthermore, what if one of his neighbors had hidden away thousands of dollars worth of gold coins and the tornado deposited the coins in lands unknown?

Of course, the insurance addict in me got to thinking....  Do the folks know how insurance responds to claims involving money?  Inquiring minds want to know.

A standard home, renters or condo insurance policy places a $200 combined limit on the following valuables:

Money, bank notes, bullion, gold other than goldware, silver other than silverware, platinum other than platinumware, coins, medals, scrip, stored value cards and smart cards.

'Nuff said.  If you routinely or just by happenstance have a combined total of more than $200 worth of these items in your home, please be aware that if someone burglarizes you or your home burns down or a tornado blows through, the most you will recover from your insurance company is a whopping $200!  Please don't be confused. There is not $200 for money and $200 for gold and $200 for smart cards.  The TOTAL is $200.

As always, please talk to your agent about your particular policy and your specific needs.  As a perk on select coverage forms, some insurance companies will automatically increase this $200 limit to a $500 or $1,000 amount. Others will allow you to increase this limit to a $1,500 maximum or higher, for an additional premium charge.

No need to be foolhardy.  Now that you understand the insurance consequences of damage to your cash and coins, you can decide when to part with your money.