Stephanie Jaynes
Marketing Director Stephanie Jaynes simplifies complex insurance and legal concepts to help home inspectors protect their livelihood and avoid unnecessary risk. Her articles have appeared in publications like the ASHI Reporter, CREIA Inspector Magazine, and the InspectorPro Blog. She’s been a guest on NACHI TV, Spectora Spotlight, The ASHI Online Learning Center, The Successful Home Inspector Podcast, Today’s Home Inspector, and the Home Inspection Authority Podcast. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Arts from Mills College with a major in creative writing and a minor in journalism. She has also earned her Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation from The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys trying new recipes and taking walks with her husband and sons.
While boots-on-the-roof inspections provide the best examination of roofing materials and integrity, they aren’t always possible. Not all roofs are safe to walk on. Some are too wet, icy, mossy, steep, or high. In other cases, the risk comes from external conditions, such as high winds, storms, or heat. Certain roofing materials, like metal or…
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Water is the archnemesis of homes and home inspectors. Able to spread pervasively and rapidly, water can cause a lot of damage quickly to virtually every inch of a property. So, whether your client has a leaky pipe or a flooded crawlspace, it’s in both of your best interests to identify water damage during your…
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Last year, with the help of Master Electrician Bruce Janczak, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel inspected 15 single- and two-family rental properties. All but one of the properties had fire hazards and code violations, including improperly installed or unsafe electrical service panels, no grounding or bonding of the electrical service, and improperly grounded or wired receptacles.…
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When it comes to home inspection equipment, few items are as essential as ladders. Needed for most roof inspections, ladders are an important tool. But when ladders come in so many materials, lengths, duties, and varieties, it can be tough to determine which is best for your business. What’s more, choosing a ladder is about…
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As one of the largest home inspector insurance providers in the nation, we face claims against home inspectors often. After over a decade, we’ve come to find significant patterns in how and why clients file claims against home inspectors. Back in 2018, we discovered that the same types of allegations continue to be common. Because…
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The following is a real septic claim from our home inspector insurance claim archives. To protect the insured’s identity, all identifiable characteristics—including names, associations, and locations—have been omitted or removed. After a client commissions you for a septic inspection, you face what can be a significant hurdle: finding the system in the first place. Buried…
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Dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness, and death. These are some of the side effects of prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). From gas space heaters to leaking chimneys, seeping furnaces to gas stoves, many home systems and components can release CO and adversely affect air quality indoors. Since most CO exposures and poisonings happen during cold weather,…
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“Does carrying home inspector insurance make me a target?” As errors and omissions (E&O) and general liability (GL) insurance providers, we get this question from prospective clients all the time. Inspectors are wary of anything and everything that may put them at a greater risk of receiving a claim. And we don’t blame you. Based…
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Many home inspectors are wary of what’s lurking beyond the confines of their visual examination. Buried in the ground, septic systems can be one of the last things sellers and buyers consider during real estate transactions. But they don’t have to be. Also known as individual onsite or small community cluster systems, septic systems treat…
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In February 2021, severe winter storms triggered a massive electricity generation failure in Texas, resulting in millions of homes and businesses losing power—some for several days. The magnitude of the power outages led to nationwide scrutiny. Why wasn’t the state more prepared for bad weather? Should we expect more crises like this in the future?…
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Home inspectors—may your homeowners and buyers be warned: Having a damaged sewer line can really stink. Unnoticed sewage exposure from broken or blocked lines can expose home dwellers to health hazards, like bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections. Compromised sewage lines can also wreak havoc on homes, causing flooding, sinkholes, mold, and foundation cracks and shifts.…
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Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), or synthetic stucco, is a multi-layered exterior finish that gives homes curb appeal and additional insulation. Popularized in the United States in the 1980s, EIFS once did 30 percent of its business in the residential market. According to Walls & Ceilings Magazine, the EIFS market segment for residential construction…
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