[Clayart] Nobody understands kilns

[David Hendley]

Hi - this is in response to Rob, and his experience with a big tree 
falling on his
house and kiln.
I just have to report my experience from 2019. Not one, but 3 huge trees 
fell on
our house. Right through the ridge beam and into the inside of the 
house. They
knocked over a 4th tree that did even more damage.

I was very pleased with the response from our insurer, Farmers Insurance.
They were prompt, even though there was lots of other damage in the area,
and their settlement was quick and very generous. For example, there was 
a light
under that ridge beam, and they authorized $250 for an electrician to 
connect
a romex cable to a new light. What? I can do that in 5 minutes. One 
window had
broken glass and slight damage to the sash and they paid enough for a new
good-quality wood window.
All-in-all, they paid me almost $40,000. Since I built the house anyway, 
I hired
a crew to re-frame, re-deck, and re-roof the smashed roof, and sheet 
rockers to
finish the inside, but I did all the trim work and little finish jobs 
myself.
That year I made almost as much from doing that finish work on my house
as I did as a potter. I know that's not saying a lot, since we all know 
how much
potters make, but I was very pleased with Farmers.

Of course, this incident had nothing to do with my completely separate 
pottery
studio. I don't even bother insuring it since it is a rudimentary old 
house with
very little value. Ditto for my kiln. I think if I tried to insure it I 
would be quoted
a very high premium, the thinking from the insurance company being that if
this guy is so worried about it there must be a lot of liability, 
Because, you're
right, they wouldn't know the first thing about a kiln.

David Hendley
david at farmpots.com
www.farmpots.com




On 6/13/2023 6:54 AM, Thatpotteryguy wrote:
>   It isn't just inspectors and local government officials. THEM I can deal
> with - I'm on so many boards and commissions and blue-ribbon panels at the
> city and county level there's no elected official in the state,
> Congresscritter and Governor included, who won't take my call.
>
> (I STRONGLY recommend serving some time on your local Public Art Commission
> or volunteering to serve on a Zoning Board or something like that. Get
> known and get good with The Authorities - it pays off in countless ways.)
>
> On April 1, we had a 100ft-tall tree fall on the house and studio. Two and
> half months later, with a hole in the roof and massive damage to the house,
> I'm still waiting for a settlement...
>
> The studio was more or less pancaked, and the gas kiln (a 40-year-old
> California Kiln soft brick, about 17cu ft) took hit from a branch as big
> around as my thigh that broke loose and hit the top of the door. It
> completely shattered the brick in the top third of the door and damaged the
> arch badly enough it's starting to deflect in the front.
>
> For all intents and purposes, the kiln is destroyed. It's not safe to fire
> without completely replacing the entire arch and all the door brick, and
> it's unlikely that's feasible without entirely re-lining it.
>
> Despite the fact that the kiln is specifically listed in the policy, and
> listed at -replacement value-, not -actual cash value-, the insurer is
> declining to cover it because a) it's not clear to them how the damage
> occurred (because the outer jacket of the kiln doesn't show any significant
> marks - it's old and corroded and it's impossible to tell where thr branch
> struck) and b) the kiln is old enough it's entirely depreciated.
>
> I'm still fighting with them over it, but it willbe a long time before I
> get anything out of them for the kiln or most of the studio contents,
> because while the language of the policy is clear enough to me, as a
> potter, the adjuster and the adjusters supervisor and his supervisor DONT
> UNDERSTAND what any of it is. What they see is that it's expensive, much of
> it is no longer made, and some of it is virtually impossible to replace. So
> they find it very easy to say "no" to coverage.
>
> The moral of this little tale is that very few people who aren't potters or
> glass artists or blacksmiths will have the first clue about kilns or other
> studio equipment. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's not. The OTHER
> moral is don't insure your studio or your home with Farmers - they WILL
> screw you on any large claim , and you'll need to retain a public adjuster
> and an attorney to fight them. I learned too late they are famous for this.
>
> Frustrated in Maryland,
>
> Rob Van Rens
>
>
>