anyone ever have their insurance company - Page 3

bootsanne · ‎01-21-2011

We've been with the same company for 30 yrs, giving them roughly $3000 a yr for homeowners, car, personal catastrophic, and 3 rental units. They had the best rates in the area. Well 3 months ago I noticed water on basement carpet at the bottom of the stairs. Figured it was just some ground seepage from all the rain. We put fans up but the wet spot got larger. I called our agent who sent an adjuster immediately. Well adjuster determined pipe broke in the wall behind freezer and table and chairs but that it had been leaking for quite some time. They denied the claim. This was the first claim on homeowners in many years. Well we had a plumber, a carpenter who replaced paneling and insulation and a carpet company that cleaned and sanitized the area. All told we probably had around $1300 in the job. Since we had a $1000 deductible, the insurance company would have only had to pay us around $300. We called them and told them how unhappy we were with them but to no avail. Well we got a new company, State Farm, and the rates are a little higher but we also have the satsfaction of DROPPING the company we had been with for all those years. This same company also dropped 2 relatives for first time DUI's. These 2 relatives also had large policies because of the businesses they owned. The insurance company said they would keep them as customers for their businesses and homes but not for their cars and trucks but both of them took all their insurance elsewhere. I'm sure State Farm may disappoint us but not as badly as Erie let us down.

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

@kittyloo wrote:
inform you they are dropping you?
Here's the situation. I have been with this company for over 20 years. I go through the small local office, that brokers for this major company.
to begin with, i have NEVER filed a homeowner claim.
I have several properties with this company. rentals, and at the time my house as well.
I moved out of town, and wanted to change my homeowners to a rental/landlord policy. The girl gave me a quote for 3x's the homeowners policy. ??????
As a rule, rental policies are much less than homeowner policies.
So i'm thinking WHAT!!! (she said that the house in question had some moss on the roof, and needed to be power washed) I am in a coastal area of the PNW.
What she was describing is not uncommon in our area.
Next thing i know, she is sending out someone to inspect all my rentals.
Fast forward 2 weeks. I received a letter stating that they will be dropping one of my rentals.
because there is some debris in a downspout, a storage shed outbuilding has some type of exterior damage, they found a tree that has a branch touching the house, and one window had some dry rot.
They didn't identify which or where of anything. only if i address all problems, and send photos, they MIGHT continue my coverage.
since when does a property have to be in pristine condition in order for a company to insure them?
Anyone heard of a insurance company sending out inspectors just to check on the condition of your property, and if you're still worthy to be insured?
I am super irritated. 20+ years no claims. and i get this?

Why don't you keep your property in better condition?

kittyloo · ‎03-11-2010

glb613 in answer to your question as to why i don't keep my property in better condition,

Not sure if you read, It is a rental, and i live in another town. I don't "see it" on a regular basis.

If the renter doesn't notify me of any problems, i don't usually know.

I am not in the habit of "policing" my tenants.

Thanks for chiming in though. It's always nice to have someone else's perspective on the situation.

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

@Annabellethecat66, as long as you comply with the underlying limits requirement any one can buy an Umbrella policy.

It isn't expensive and easily obtainable.

It will cover the difference between your underlying limits and an award BUT only to the limit you have purchased the Umbrella policy for, it's not an unlimited amount of coverage.

Sueliz · ‎12-06-2015

@kittyloo, When I lived in Fl. we had Allstate for homeowners ins. Never filed a claim until we had a problem with pipes leaking in one of the bathrooms. They paid the claim then dropped us. This was the same year Hurricane Andrew hit but we were on the west coast and totally unaffected by it. They were looking for any reason to drop people.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I live in a duplex - the other half was just sold and the new owners came down for the closing only. It was sold furnished so there was no real moving in.Anyway , after they left the insurance co. said they needed access to do their "inspection."and the new owner had given us a key in case there would be any reason we'd need access, so he called and I let the inspectors in. They reported a plumbing issue so I also had to let plumbers in and send the plumbers receipt to the owners.

beba51 · ‎11-19-2011

I had this happen 2 years ago. I contacted the insurance commision in my state and filed a complaint againist the company. The insurance commisioner investigated and told the insurance company they had to keep me as a customer or face a 5.000.00 fine. I would recommelnd you do the same thing. They are trying to drop you because your insurance rate is to low and they want only new customers that they can charge a fortune. I would fight it. We kept our insurance at the same rate.We had our insurance for 20 years with one claim for roof damage from hail storm.

good luck.

Sueliz · ‎12-06-2015

@beba51 wrote:
I had this happen 2 years ago. I contacted the insurance commision in my state and filed a complaint againist the company. The insurance commisioner investigated and told the insurance company they had to keep me as a customer or face a 5.000.00 fine. I would recommelnd you do the same thing. They are trying to drop you because your insurance rate is to low and they want only new customers that they can charge a fortune. I would fight it. We kept our insurance at the same rate.We had our insurance for 20 years with one claim for roof damage from hail storm.
good luck.

@beba51, Good for you!

Scorpio1971 · ‎03-10-2010

I worked for a major insurance company years for almost 25 years, ago both in auto & property areas. They sent out an insurance inspector when a property was a new piece of business to the company to determine the overall condition of the property & if the value being insured was in line with the condition of the property. If not anyone could request, for example, $1M worth of dwelling coverage for a building only worth $100,000, and claim a loss to the value of the insurance.

Additionally, they would send out inspectors when there was a change in the terms, in your case going from owner occupied to non-owner occupied. Likewise had you requested an additional increase in coverage instead, they would send out an inspector to validate the increase, such as a major addition or upgrade to the building. These inspections determine whether or not they will continue to insure the risk or notify that policy will be cancelled mid-term within a certain number of days and the reason. Also, when a policy is nearing renewal, inspectors can be sent out to determine if company will renew or not, and if not they must notify you within a certain timeframe prior to expiration date of their decision to non-renew.

Another note: non-owner occupied buildings are a higher risk to insurance companies. Therefore the higher premiums, than owner occupied, for the simple reason a responsible owner on site is there to oversee tenants activities, as well as overall maintenance of the property and less chance of loss.

It is all at the discretion of the inspector, underwriter, and the company guidelines for insuring risks. We had guidelines to follow regarding location (coastline, river areas, general flooding usually disqualified and had to notify to get flood policy instead), condition, value, occupancy, fire department coverage within a certain distance, and many more.

KingstonsMom · ‎03-09-2010

@kittyloo wrote:
glb613 in answer to your question as to why i don't keep my property in better condition,
Not sure if you read, It is a rental, and i live in another town. I don't "see it" on a regular basis.
If the renter doesn't notify me of any problems, i don't usually know.
I am not in the habit of "policing" my tenants.
Thanks for chiming in though. It's always nice to have someone else's perspective on the situation.

@kittyloo

Not to mention that the issues the insurance company had are so menial and easily fixed, if they had just given you the opportunity to correct these minor (IMO) issues.

A clogged downspout.....really?

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.