Among Friends

[DrBabs]

My aunt, who lives in a rural area just outside a small town about an hour north of NYC recently replaced her pellet stove. She's lived in that house for 60+ years. She was surprised to get a phone call from her insurance comapny stating that she had to have the new stove inspected (is the merchant now required to report sales to the state? how else would someone know she replaced her pellet stove?). An inspector was sent out -- she had no idea who he was -- who promptly found $500 worth of "needed work" on the  new stove's flue pipe, then noticed her fireplace and found another $1000 worth of "needed work" there requiring a new liner. This is a 92 year old woman on very limited income. She couldn't afford the fireplace work so she decided she won't use it, and she scraped up enough money to address the pellet stove inspection since she uses that on a regular basis. Must be a new state regulation -- this had never happened before. Very big brother-ish.

[ID2]

I really don't understand the paranoia of having the inside of your house inspected for insurance purposes! Why is it such a big deal? I have never had any problems showing the inside of my home to anyone. "Invading my privacy?" Um no.

[Nataliesgramma]

It is basically just a walk thru and it is pretty common around here...

[patbz]

We've been with USAA the 40 yrs (and 3 homes during that time) and only had one walk around outside 10 yrs ago.  The inspector made several small observations, which we implemented, as we live in a forested area that had a historically huge forest fire 20 years ago this month ( city came very close to evacuation). I appreciate everything my insurance company does, as they have always been very fair with us.

[Zoe]

@BunSnoopDo you have any kind of real estate loan on the property? If so, maybe the lender had some sway in requesting that inspection...? They would technically be part owners if they held a note of any kind -- first mortgage or home equity -- on the property. When we received a pretty large homeowners insurance payout about ten years ago for some damage/repairs, it was made out to both us and the bank -- and had to be endorsed by both of us to be cashed (major pain in the neck).

[Flatbush]

@BunSnoop 

Yes, we have AAA for car and house insurance. A lady came to the house and took pictures of all the rooms and the outside. When I asked her about this new situation, she said it was because they wanted an accurate appraisal for their records. I will see if the cost of the policy went up with the next bill.

[depglass]

We have never had an inside inspection.  Occasionally they show up on the outside.  

[Lucky Charm]

I don't think it has anything to do with holding a mortgage. We haven't had mortgages for well over a decade and they still want to inspect. I think they just want to be on target for insurance purposes