Horan Client Journey: How a Tailored Policy and World-Class Service Thrilled Kelvin Ringold

Having a reliable independent agent for your insurance needs can make a big difference to your peace of mind and protection. They can offer you more options, save you money, advocate for you, give you unbiased advice, get to know you, and provide you with one-stop shopping for all your insurance needs.

A reliable independent agent can also help you understand your policy and coverage options and guide you through the claims process with care and attention.

When you choose Horan as your insurance agency, you can rest assured you will receive world-class claims service and coverage for your personal and commercial needs. We partner with reputable insurers like Erie Insurance, who have a proven track record of delivering exceptional customer satisfaction and quality claims service.

In this client journey, we’ll share the story of one of our loyal clients, Kelvin Ringold, a Liverpool homeowner and entrepreneur who experienced first-hand how Horan and Erie Insurance handled his home claim professionally and efficiently. You’ll learn how Horan helped Kelvin understand his well-written policy and coverage options and how Erie Insurance covered a full siding replacement for Kelvin’s home after a severe weather event damaged his siding.

Read on to discover how Horan and Erie Insurance can give you peace of mind and protection for your home and business.

Meet Kelvin Ringold: A Liverpool Homeowner and Entrepreneur

Kelvin Ringold has both a home and commercial policy with our agency. He started with a home policy before his business endeavors started to blossom. But after becoming a seasoned photographer with a home studio—in addition to going on location shoots—he realized he needed commercial coverage.

Kelvin is also a motivational speaker and life coach.

Most notably, Kelvin served twenty years in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a Master Sergeant and Electronic Communications Equipment Installations Team Chief.

After retiring from the Air Force, Kelvin moved to Syracuse over three decades ago. As he tells it:

“I came into town the week before Thanksgiving in 1992. It started snowing when I hit Binghamton and didn’t stop until June.”

He landed a position as Administrative Assistant for Upstate University Hospital and retired after sixteen years. He settled in Liverpool the next year, 1993, and purchased a new home there in June 1996.

How Erie Insurance Covered a Full Siding Replacement for Kelvin’s Home

Kelvin switched his home policy around 2008 and remained claims-free for over a decade. But in the fall and winter of 2020, several severe weather events struck our area, affecting Liverpool.

According to the National Weather Service, there was a high-end severe weather event throughout the Northeast on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, that resulted in over 120 damaging wind reports across eastern New York and western New England.

This event was classified as a serial derecho based on the 320-mile-long damage swath and distribution of significant wind gusts (75 mph and above).

Weather events like these trigger high winds that whip through Liverpool from time to time. Kelvin remembers such winds “coming through the neighborhood and beating on the house” that year.

“On one side of the house, it ended up just ripping siding off,” he said during an interview I had with him in May 2023. It happened over a series of days, and he could hear the siding flapping. The wind didn’t strip the siding from the entire wall of the house, just a top portion. But winter had set in, bringing the usual copious amounts of snow CNY is known for, so Kelvin couldn’t get the siding fixed till near spring of 2021. In March, Kelvin called Horan and discussed his policy with Steven Ladd, our senior insurance advisor.

Steven arranged to have someone come out and assess the damage to Kelvin’s house.

“It took a couple of days because it was the busy season,” Kelvin said.

Kelvin’s home policy was with Erie Insurance. An adjuster named Brennan arrived on the scene and took a look at the damage. When Brennan returned to the insurer, he came up with a final cost, of which Kelvin paid a $500 deductible.

Erie’s home policy coverage includes $10,000 for siding or roofing restoration. This means that if there’s a loss, the insurance company will generally only pay for the part that was damaged.

However, if they can’t match the shingles or siding, they’ll pay up to $10,000 to redo the entire house or roof. To determine if there’s a match, Erie takes a sample of the shingle or siding and sends it out for analysis. If there’s no match, they will pay the claim. In Kelvin’s case, Erie couldn’t find a match for the damaged siding. The product had been discontinued. That meant a full siding replacement on the entire home at Erie’s expense. In other words, they replaced the undamaged siding as well.

“They took out the deductible,” Kelvin said, “And they sent me—to my bank account—the rest of the money.”

He expressed that the overall experience was hassle-free. “They explained what they were doing, how they were doing it, what was covered, and what wasn’t. They didn’t wait, and they didn’t haggle.”

Kelvin was impressed, and he was equally satisfied with the Horan treatment he received. One point he added was that insurance representatives approached him to discuss his risk exposure for the aging sewer lines running under his home.

Kelvin immediately called our agency, and Steven walked him through his policy. They had discussed underground sewer line coverage during the consultative quote process, which is the ideal time for us to design policies based on the unique needs of our clients.Kelvin already had underground sewer line coverage. He was happy about that report as well.

Why Choose Horan for Your Home Policy?

Kelvin’s story is just one of the many examples of how Horan and Erie Insurance provide world-class service and coverage to our clients. We’re committed to offering you the best insurance solutions for your home and commercial needs, and to helping you navigate the claims process with ease and confidence.

Whether you need a home policy, a commercial policy, or both, you can count on Horan and our qualified stable of insurance partners to protect your assets and interests with professionalism and expertise.

We believe that this level of service is essential to building long-term relationships with our clients.

Securing our services is easy. Click the Get a Quote button below to get things started. We look forward to meeting and exceeding your expectations.

If you’re already a satisfied client and would like to discuss policy enhancements, call 315-635-2095. We’re waiting to hear from you.

Or read about how Lee Livermore took back control of his insurance experience by switching to our independent agency.