[snbrafford]

Originally Posted by Tom52

Do insurance companies offer a discount to homeowners with lightening rods installed?

I’ve had two homes in TV with rods with two different insurance companies and neither offer a discount for rods. Seems ridiculous to me as they are at least as valuable as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

I have sat right underneath a lightening rod when it was hit, corporate office Boca Raton, top floor.

You won't mistake the sound, if you are in the house, or next door.

yes, it is very random. .

first business trip to Ft Lauderdale, staying in a hotel at night, watching the news
a woman was hit/killed by lightening pushing her shopping cart out to her car at Sawgrass Mills.

very, very very low probability, totally random events are something the human brain can't really deal with very well, as one can see with all the postings. . . and thinking that it can't happen to me or you for some reason is one of the signs. .

across the street a giant oak can also hit our house and damage it to be uninhabitable. . its a risk, but also a risk I am willing to take at the moment.

good luck to what ever your decision is. .

[Lightning]

Here is the problem with using data from the Insurance Information Institute they do not disclose how many of the 25 firms writing homeowners policies in Florida that they represent. Unlikely they represent mutual companies like State Farm and Citizens.


Another problem is how many claims are not reported that are under the deductible? If you only experience indirect lightning damage to electronics of a garage door opener or irrigation controller you are talking about $100 each not including the hassle of making the replacement. In a recent case a homeowner had an indirect strike taking out three TVs, washing machine, refrigerator, and coffee maker. This homeowner has a $5,000 deducible and said he would not file a claim because of the fear of a rate hike or worse. How many cases like these are repeated across the state?

If you download the free app My Lightning Tracker you can see where lightning is striking all around you. Fortunately, in most cases the strike is week and causes no damage. The stronger strikes can cause electronic damage and a few large ones can be catastrophic to a homeowner. It is all about your tolerance for risk that only you can decide.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by thelegges

I look at this statement as try to send someone screaming into the night. it COULD be MY House. This would be my reason to not used recommend business in this thread.

Better observation

While lighting strikes are rare, sometimes a little extra protection could help you sleep as Lightning Storms approach.

I don’t do fear factor, one excepts whatever is put in front of you.

If you live for fear of what May come, one may never leave their bedroom.

While we are considering rods, even though our insurance company doesn’t give discounts. I will explore through BBB and recommendations from a few insurance adjusters, I am close to

I get passion about something, your thread would definitely scare my in-laws into adding this protection.

The focus of this thread is not to scare people but to inform and provide factual information based on science as we know it today. There is so much misinformation out there that many never think about this real risk. Unfortunately, scary pictures of Villager's homes burnt to the ground need to be shown so Villagers can see that these events do happen here in the Villages. No one is saying to go run out and get a LPS system. We are trying to bring awareness so Villagers can make their own informed decisions based on their tolerance for risk.

You don't need to take any recommendations or information from this thread. Do your own research.

See these links and you will be able to get any additional information.
Home - Lightning Protection Institute
Find a Contractor - Lightning Protection Institute
lightning information facts - Search Videos

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Lightning

Here is the problem with using data from the Insurance Information Institute they do not disclose how many of the 25 firms writing homeowners policies in Florida that they represent. Unlikely they represent mutual companies like State Farm and Citizens.


Another problem is how many claims are not reported that are under the deductible? If you only experience indirect lightning damage to electronics of a garage door opener or irrigation controller you are talking about $100 each not including the hassle of making the replacement. In a recent case a homeowner had an indirect strike taking out three TVs, washing machine, refrigerator, and coffee maker. This homeowner has a $5,000 deducible and said he would not file a claim because of the fear of a rate hike or worse. How many cases like these are repeated across the state?

If you download the free app My Lightning Tracker you can see where lightning is striking all around you. Fortunately, in most cases the strike is week and causes no damage. The stronger strikes can cause electronic damage and a few large ones can be catastrophic to a homeowner. It is all about your tolerance for risk that only you can decide.

That's not "another problem," that is the point. Some seem to want to frighten people by stating a one in 50 chance of being struck, 17 LPS-protected homes have been struck, and 10 homes have been destroyed by lightning in the last 12 months. You do you but for the cost of one cruise you won't be living on the street for a year while you argue with the insurance company to get your home rebuilt!

HOWEVER, the one in 50 number includes the strikes that result in those $500 damages that are under the deductible. There is by no means a guarantee that your house will be struck by lightning. If it is struck by lightning, it is by no means certain that it will be destroyed in a fire and appear on the front page of the local paper.

To me it is not a problem that many claims are not reported, it is my point:
- The vast majority of the lightning strikes shown in the app do not hit a building
- The majority of the strikes that it a building cause little or no damage to the structure
And to the points made in both this and other threads:
- An LPS will not protect electronic equipment from a nearby strike that causes a surge

An LPS will most likely protect a home against the strike that causes the catastrophic damage. Many (most?) will live their entire lives, even here in Florida, without experiencing such a strike. There is a good argument to be made for an LPS that does not require pushing fear.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

That's not "another problem," that is the point. Some seem to want to frighten people by stating a one in 50 chance of being struck, 17 LPS-protected homes have been struck, and 10 homes have been destroyed by lightning in the last 12 months. You do you but for the cost of one cruise you won't be living on the street for a year while you argue with the insurance company to get your home rebuilt!

HOWEVER, the one in 50 number includes the strikes that result in those $500 damages that are under the deductible. There is by no means a guarantee that your house will be struck by lightning. If it is struck by lightning, it is by no means certain that it will be destroyed in a fire and appear on the front page of the local paper.

To me it is not a problem that many claims are not reported, it is my point:
- The vast majority of the lightning strikes shown in the app do not hit a building
- The majority of the strikes that it a building cause little or no damage to the structure
And to the points made in both this and other threads:
- An LPS will not protect electronic equipment from a nearby strike that causes a surge

An LPS will most likely protect a home against the strike that causes the catastrophic damage. Many (most?) will live their entire lives, even here in Florida, without experiencing such a strike. There is a good argument to be made for an LPS that does not require pushing fear.

I've seen reality posted here and the advantages of LPS including resting a little easier when there is a miserable lightning storm overhead and stories of actual incidences. I haven't seen the fear pushing but I have seen, which seems strange to me, people who aren't interested in a LPS bashing the thought of having one installed. Huh!

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by jrref

The focus of this thread is not to scare people but to inform and provide factual information based on science as we know it today. There is so much misinformation out there that many never think about this real risk. Unfortunately, scary pictures of Villager's homes burnt to the ground need to be shown so Villagers can see that these events do happen here in the Villages. No one is saying to go run out and get a LPS system. We are trying to bring awareness so Villagers can make their own informed decisions based on their tolerance for risk.

You don't need to take any recommendations or information from this thread. Do your own research.

See these links and you will be able to get any additional information.
Home - Lightning Protection Institute
Find a Contractor - Lightning Protection Institute
lightning information facts - Search Videos

Perhaps the problem is the delivery:
- The focus is not to scare people but unfortunately scary pictures need to be shown
- No one is saying run out and buy an LPS but here are the two providers and for the cost of the next cruise.....

Maybe it is not your intention to use scare tactics and to pressure people into purchasing an LPS but for me and at least one other, that is the way your delivery comes across.

I'll try to work harder to give the benefit of the doubt.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Perhaps the problem is the delivery:
- The focus is not to scare people but unfortunately scary pictures need to be shown
- No one is saying run out and buy an LPS but here are the two providers and for the cost of the next cruise.....

Maybe it is not your intention to use scare tactics and to pressure people into purchasing an LPS but for me and at least one other, that is the way your delivery comes across.

I'll try to work harder to give the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks for the feedback. I tend to respond with the facts as best I know them which can be very direct. There is just no way to "sugar coat" this topic especially when you interview actual homeowners here in the Villagers who have been struck and lost everything. When you see these people, talk to them, hear their experience, it's a very heartbreaking experience expecially since it could have probably been avoided at a relatively low cost compared to the value of their homes and their personal belongings. Nothing man made is 100% but what we do have high confidence in these systems preventing the devastating fire that occurs in many of these events. In many cases, Villagers were just not aware and many have said if they were aware of this risk they may have installed a system.

I reached out to one of the Villagers who had a LPS system and was hit several years ago. He has a very interesting story to tell. Hopefully he will post it here soon so everyone can get a perspective from his point of view.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

There is a good argument to be made for an LPS that does not require pushing fear.

don't disagree, which was my very first post on the topic, just not this post.

However, insurance is all about an alternative reimbursement in case of loss, and fear of loss is the emotional reaction to the topic of loss of something valuable. .

in business, not so much, but disentangling the two is sometimes difficult. Attempting to use probabilities doesn't work very well either, so . . .

for me, its more about the current economic and repair conditions of getting hit and then spending 1-2 years in paperwork, rental, contractor, ARC hell prevention than actually about the damage to the house.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

don't disagree, which was my very first post on the topic, just not this post.

However, insurance is all about an alternative reimbursement in case of loss, and fear of loss is the emotional reaction to the topic of loss of something valuable. .

in business, not so much, but disentangling the two is sometimes difficult. Attempting to use probabilities doesn't work very well either, so . . .

for me, its more about the current economic and repair conditions of getting hit and then spending 1-2 years in paperwork, rental, contractor, ARC hell prevention than actually about the damage to the house.

Same here, prefer to minimize the risk at this stage of retirement.

We are in lightening alley and observed from the lightening apps numbers of strikes during many storms that seem much higher than reported?

[jrref]

My Lightning Tracker is a great app to show what actually happens when we have these wicked storms this time of year. I was very surprised at the number of cloud to ground strikes.

They have an app for the apple, android and PC. Just go to your app store, search for it and download the free version.

[jrref]

There is a Villager from Hadley who's house was struck by lightning several years ago. He's one of the 17 that was struck here in the Villages that had a Lightning Protection System installed. He's not on Talk of the Villages so he sent me the following to post on this thread so everyone can read about his experience.
>>>>>
At approximately 6:30 PM on June 10, 2014, our house sustained a direct hit by lightning. The thunderstorm had passed, the skies were clearing, we had left for a meeting when the strike occurred.

While at the meeting, a neighbor three houses down the street called me and said his house was struck by lightening and asked for a reference for an electrician, as several of his circuit breakers had tripped wouldn’t reset.

We finished our meeting and headed home. When we turned onto our street, we noticed many of the neighbors standing in their front yards. When we pulled into our driveway, the garage door didn’t work. Uh oh.

Turns out it wasn’t our neighbors house that was hit… it was ours. And the strike blew out circuit breakers up and down our side of the street.

When we entered our home and investigated, we discovered our telephone point of interface had been blown off the outside wall (damaging the neighbor’s vinyl siding), so the telephones were dead, and many lights were out.

On further investigation we discovered our SECO whole house surge protector was totally destroyed, the Eaton whole-house surge protector was tripped, and most of the circuit breakers were tripped. Several of the circuit breakers couldn’t be reset. I checked in the attic, and there was no evidence of fire or structural damage.

SECO arrive that evening and replaced the SECO whole house surge protector and our electrician replaced the bad circuit breakers and checked the house wiring. We also three satellite receivers and a modem destroyed, all of which were connected to the unprotected telephone lines, a washing machine circuit card, and the garage door button.

The following day the lightening protection system technician came and inspected our lightening protection system. The system was unharmed, except for the top air terminal which had 1/4 to 1/2 inch burned off the top. The technician replaced that air terminal, which I subsequently gave to Len Hathaway.

Hope this helps…
Dana
<<<<<<

We talk about and show Dana's experience and show the damaged lightning rod at our presentations.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by jrref

Thanks for the feedback. I tend to respond with the facts as best I know them which can be very direct. There is just no way to "sugar coat" this topic especially when you interview actual homeowners here in the Villagers who have been struck and lost everything. When you see these people, talk to them, hear their experience, it's a very heartbreaking experience expecially since it could have probably been avoided at a relatively low cost compared to the value of their homes and their personal belongings. Nothing man made is 100% but what we do have high confidence in these systems preventing the devastating fire that occurs in many of these events. In many cases, Villagers were just not aware and many have said if they were aware of this risk they may have installed a system.

I reached out to one of the Villagers who had a LPS system and was hit several years ago. He has a very interesting story to tell. Hopefully he will post it here soon so everyone can get a perspective from his point of view.

So - "the cost of a cruise" - is not fact.
"Relatively low cost compared to the value of their homes" is subjective.

You can go on a cruise for under $700 to the Bahamas, including all fees, parking, food, stateroom, and gratuities. I've seen in this thread talk of LPS starting prices at $1500 and up. $1500 is more than twice the price of a cruise. Therefore, it's not the cost of a cruise.

The value of my home, according to my insurance company, is $38,000. That's how much I'd get with a total catastrophic damage. If I decided to just replace my house because I didn't like it anymore, it'd cost me around $80k to have the old one removed and a new one anchored in and hooked up to utilities. Since mine is a manufactured home, it won't take two years to remove and replace, if it's destroyed by lightning. It'll take a few weeks, at most. The $80k replacement cost, minus the $38k insurance payment, would mean it costs me just $42k to replace my home if lightning strikes it.

$1500 for an LPS is not "relatively low cost" with this perspective in mind.

Also just as an FYI - it's not an "LPS system." The word "system" is redundant. LPS stands for Lightning Protection System. It's like the guy at the bank asking you to punch in your PIN number. The word "number" is redundant, since PIN stands for Personal Identification Number.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

So - "the cost of a cruise" - is not fact.
"Relatively low cost compared to the value of their homes" is subjective.

You can go on a cruise for under $700 to the Bahamas, including all fees, parking, food, stateroom, and gratuities. I've seen in this thread talk of LPS starting prices at $1500 and up. $1500 is more than twice the price of a cruise. Therefore, it's not the cost of a cruise.

The value of my home, according to my insurance company, is $38,000. That's how much I'd get with a total catastrophic damage. If I decided to just replace my house because I didn't like it anymore, it'd cost me around $80k to have the old one removed and a new one anchored in and hooked up to utilities. Since mine is a manufactured home, it won't take two years to remove and replace, if it's destroyed by lightning. It'll take a few weeks, at most. The $80k replacement cost, minus the $38k insurance payment, would mean it costs me just $42k to replace my home if lightning strikes it.

$1500 for an LPS is not "relatively low cost" with this perspective in mind.

Also just as an FYI - it's not an "LPS system." The word "system" is redundant. LPS stands for Lightning Protection System. It's like the guy at the bank asking you to punch in your PIN number. The word "number" is redundant, since PIN stands for Personal Identification Number.

So you are a great example of a Villager who based on your analysis, decides not to get a system installed. But, given your several posts would you have done this in-depth analysis for your specific situation if it were not for this thread?

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by jrref

Hope this helps…
Dana
<<<<<<

We talk about and show Dana's experience and show the damaged lightning rod at our presentations.

Thanks to you and Dana for sharing.

With that level of a strike, there is risk some of the home wiring insulation may be degraded, or degrade over time, especially if metal staples were used during construction.

Suggest installing a Ting device to monitor for arc's. Some insurance companies supply them at no charge.

"Ting pinpoints and identifies the unique signals generated by tiny electrical arcs, the precursors to imminent fire risks. These signals are incredibly small but are clearly visible thanks to Ting's advanced detection technology."

Ting - Electrical Fire Safety, Simplified - Smart+Proactive=Prevention