This is a true story (identifying details have been changed to protect privacy):
Mrs. Smith has houses in Maryland, New York and Florida. She splits the year between the three. At some point between Maryland and New York, the hurricane insurance renewal for the Florida property came due. She never saw the bill - it either arrived when she wasn't in Florida, or got carried around and lost.
By the time she found out, the policy was about to lapse. It was late summer (hurricane season), and reinstated policies have a 90-day exclusionary window where claims can't be made. Mrs. Smith was terrified. After days on the phone with the insurance company and her bank, she got the policy renewed (not reinstated), but she was harried, exhausted, and upset at the near miss.
Had she been our client, it never would have happened. We know when bills are expected in, and if one doesn't arrive, we chase it down. It's paid on time, regardless of where the client is or whether we ever saw a hard copy. Our theory is "pay it now, sort out the backup later."
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