Ask Tim

​Lumber prices are, if you'll pardon the pun, going through the roof.Last Thursday, February 18, the price per 1,000 board feet of lumber on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit a record $1,004.90. By the close of trading Friday, it had retreated​ to $997.90, but this was up from $478.30 on October 29. One market watcher speaking to CNBC last week predicted another 30 to 35% increase from current prices. A boom in home renovation activity in the wake of state stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic has boosted demand for lumber and steel, experts report. At the same time, lumber mills expected mass job losses last spring…

​The excellent American History Tellers podcast has just done a three-part series on the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. If you haven't listened to the show before, this is not a dry recitation of history. The host places the listener in the scene being described and relays the story of what happened from the viewpoints of people who were there.The Chicago fire series barely mentions insurance, but it's a good reminder of why we have building and fire safety codes. In the fall of 1871, Chicago had all the key ingredients for a fire disaster:Thousands of wood frame buildingsA droughtHigh windsThe 30-hour fire that resulted devastated…

​The following is a re-publication of a post that originally ran in 2011.Question from an IIABNY member: I have a personal lines customer who called saying he has a person come to his house every other week and do five hours worth of cleaning. He wanted to confirm there is liability coverage should she be hurt. I called the insurance carrier and the underwriter forwarded the attached Workers Comp endorsement, which to me is a bit confusing. Can you advise your understanding of this endorsement? I would assume if she were hurt on the premises and the insured was negligent (i.e. he allowed her to…