MANILA, Philippines--After the floods, it is not just cleaning people have to worry about. I am sure an even greater concern is the cost of having those damaged vehicles and appliances repaired, if they are still salvageable. Some, of course, may have to be replaced altogether.
People with car and/or home insurance may want to read the fine print of those documents. From a friend?s experience, some insurance policies may hold pleasant surprises. My friend said she despaired over the damage to her car caused by floodwaters and worried about the cost of having the vehicle repaired. She reviewed her car insurance, although not expecting it to be of much help. But much to her delight, she found out she had actually been paying additional premium for the kind of contingency that ?Ondoy? created. She had actually forgotten the reason why her premium was high. Now she remembered.
When she got her car insurance, my friend wondered if she was right to agree to pay a higher premium to get additional coverage for something that did not seem likely to affect her. But after Metro Manila almost disappeared from the map because of the rains Ondoy dumped on us, she is now grateful she paid the extra amount despite her misgivings. It seems that her insurance covered almost the entire cost of her car?s repair, leaving her with only a very small additional charge to pay.
As for appliances, it seems that some people have forgotten that warranty cards come with those gadgets, which they are supposed to send back to the manufacturers. In fact, some appliance stores even offer extended warranty for a little additional cost. People should check the papers that come with their appliances and review their warranties. If they sent back the card, as they were supposed to, the manufacturer would have their records of purchase on file even if they could not find their own copies of the warranties.
Even if the warranty has lapsed or even if it does not cover damage caused by the recent floods, I would still suggest that you have an authorized technician of the manufacturer check your appliances. Since they know the unit and the model you have, they can come prepared with the suitable spare parts should anything need to be replaced. That shortens the process of getting your appliance working again. And, of course, you are guaranteed that only genuine spare parts will be used.
My neighbor, for instance, needed her LG refrigerator checked when it stopped running after the knee-high flood in our area. But she had lost her copy of the warranty card so was reluctant to call up the manufacturer.
On my advice, after she assured me they sent back the warranty card, she called up LG and they promptly sent a technician.
My Electrolux ref stopped making ice even though I did not use it for almost 48 hours to allow it to dry. The technician who serviced it came prepared with the right parts because he knew exactly the kind of model I had.
Incidentally, the Electrolux technician, Gerry Dionido, who serviced my refrigerator, suggests that appliances that were submerged in water should be looked at by experts even if they seem to be working fine. He said water might still be trapped in nooks and crannies of an appliance even if you allowed it to dry for a day or two, which is exactly what happened to my ref.
Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 897-4793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.
