Homeowner insurance claims

[mattl]

Got a question, hope someone can help answer. Some of you may have read my Copper Rot thread, and all my plumbing issues. Well it turns out I did have a small fire and most if not all the audio/video equipment is damaged. That along with a portion of the ceiling. This is a 35 year old Armstrong suspended ceiling, odds are slim that a matching tile could be found. The ceiling is divided into 3 12'x24' (2'x4' tiles)sections, with the middle section lower for heat runs. I could live with one section being a different but similar tile. I have no idea what a section of ceiling would cost to replace, plus I have no idea how to value my equipment. It was older, but still worked like new.I'd also like to toss in the $250 I paid to repair the Dining Room ceiling from the bathroom leak. Got a $500 deductible.

Anyone have any insight into if the hassle is worth it?

 

[maytagbear]

If you can

absorb the loss, don't file a claim.

A very close cousin filed a claim on his homeowner's policy last year, and they raised his premium drastically. He looked for comparable coverage from several other companies, and they all quoted him higher premiums. His coverage is from Allstate.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[iheartmaytag]

I am in agreement with Maytagbear

If you can afford to asorb the cost, do so without notifying yoru insurance company.

I had a water pipe break just after I bought my house. The insurance (American Family Insurance) doubled my premiums because of this claim.

I filed a complaint with the insurance commissioner, and was told it was my fault for filing a claim under $10,000. I had a $1,000 deductible, and the insurance paid $1,012 for the claim. Because the claim was over $1,000 they put me in high risk for the next three years.

Because of this they also pulled a credit report on me, and because I showed a recent increase in debts (like yea, you knew I bought a house you insured it.) They just decided that after 30 years with them I am a greater risk because of my credit and raised my car insurance $170 ever six months. .

I am also told that just talking to your agent about a loss but not filing a claim can trigger an increase. BASTARDS!!!

 

[j2400]

I've also heard that talking with your agent can cause problems, although that seems to be variable.

One reality worth pointing out is that in a fight with the insurance company, the agent who serves only one company (State Farm or Allstate or whatever company) will probably side with the company, regardless of the merit of the customer's side of the story. These agents are little more than salesmen for the insurance companies.

Independent agents also, of course, make a living off of sales. But some are more customer oriented, and are willing to help fight the company.

As for claims going up, that probably depends on the circumstances, and varies state to state. It may also depend on the person handling the claim.

Keep in mind--insurance companies want to pay as little as possible, and soak you with rate increases as much as possible. Their ideal would be a claim that could be processed in such a way that they owe you nothing, but they can jack your rates up sky high.

 

[whirlcool]

When we lost a fence due to Hurricane Rita in 2005, I contacted our insurance agent about it. (Amica) She said that I could file the claim, but to be prepared to be canceled or non renewed next year. The excuse was that if people file small claims, they are considered a nucance. She explained that Home Owners Insurance is for tornadoes, hurricanes, and fire, etc. In other words a major loss. Fortuanately, I took her advice and didn't have any adverse effects from the insurance company.

A few years ago Allstate Insurance in Texas wanted to start a "Share The Risk" program. It would work like this, since people want to live in hazardous areas such as the Texas Gulf Coast they'd have to pay for it. The risk would be shared as follows: You pay the same premiums you do now, but in the event your home is destroyed, Allstate would only pay you for 1/2 the value of your home. In other words, you'd "share" rebuilding costs.
Fortunately, the insurance board of Texas did not allow Allstate to implement this program. Allstate responded by stating they would not write any new policies in the gulf coast region of Texas.

 

[turboace]

Ceiling tile

Did you put the ceiling in or have it put in? If not and somebody else did, start popping up tiles and peering into the space. Very often it is impossible to calculate the exact right amount of tiles and if the guy who did it was thinking smart, he would have put a couple extra tiles somewhere in the ceiling for you incase one got damaged. Good luck!

 

[rp2813]

We've had AAA homeowners and over the years, we've had three fences and one garage door replaced and they also covered the cost of removing a downed pine tree, all due to storm damage and we didn't have any trouble with rates skyrocketing. Maybe if it's a natural "disaster" they don't mess with you. With all fences they never even sent anyone out to take a look. They were far too busy with similar claims and took the fence guy's word for everything. Since he's one they recommended, we have used him ever since and never had any problems. We've actually made money on every claim we've filed.

Just my $.02

 

[charbee]

We lived on our property for years before we bought it, the previous owner being friends of ours. After a particularly nasty hailstorm, there was some roof damage, but not much. The past owner filed a claim, and they barely paid anything at all. Cost more to repair the damage than the mere coupla hundred they paid out.

After we bought the place, the agent told us that they don't go by owner, but by the property as far as rates/etc., and since there was a claim filed in the last three years on the property, our rates were going to be 10% higher than the previous owner's.

Needless to say, we view the whole "homeowner's insurance" thing as just a "necessary evil"...actually, it's more like a sham...not to be used or invoked unless there's absolutely no other way to pay for the repairs needed.

 

[launderess]

You might wish to read up past issues of Consumer's Reports and other such things regarding insurance, including property.

Basically these days if you can eat the loss, better off doing so than filing one or worse, a series of small claims. Yes, the company may payout, but you'll pay one way or the other sooner or later.

Insurance of all types in America seems to be moving towards taking one's money and offering little coverage in return and or making one jump through hoops to get anything, or finally paying out to get you off their backs,then canceling your policy.

Problem with insurance companies is they are not federally regulated, but by states. This leads to a hodgepodge of regulations varying by how tough any particular state is.

If you know and trust your agent well, ask his/her advice before filing a claim. He or she ought to know your chances of approval and or any consequences.

L.

 

[petek]

You could probably save money for future small damages by upping your deductible thereby lowering your annual premium. Our deductible is $2000

 

[DADoES]

Hospitalization insurance is just as bad as homeowners, if not worse.

 

[mattl]

My policy is up for renewal in a few weeks, A woman from Allstate has really been after me to switch, and I've been putting her off waiting for the renewal info from my current company, Michigan Millers. Renewal came, for $469,000 dwelling and the same for personal property, and a few misc. items the rate is $1087.00/yr. Allstate quoted me $1037.00 for $236,000 dwelling and the same for property, so for $50 more I'm getting almost double the coverage. The Allstate quote would be over $1500 for the same coverage. Guess I'll stick with what I've got.

Not sure what I'm going to do, looks like the consensus is to not file. My brother, a fireman, said I'd need to have the fire dept. come out and make a report even if it's after the fact if I wanted to make a claim for a fire. He said they often have to do that.

 

[j2400]

"Guess I'll stick with what I've got."

I think the "bigger" national names like Allstate are often more expensive. I knew someone who had Allstate for her cars. Her son totaled a car, and, of course, Allstate paid the claim, and then raised the rates at the next renewal period. She felt the rate increase was too much, and started shopping around. An independent insurance broker was able to provide the same coverage, including surcharges due to the accident, for about price that Allstate had provided before the accident. She switched.

"The excuse [for companies canceling or increasing rates when a small claim is filed] was that if people file small claims, they are considered a nucance. She explained that Home Owners Insurance is for tornadoes, hurricanes, and fire, etc. In other words a major loss."

I won't dispute this. Yet, isn't it interesting that those same companies are thrilled to sell people policies with super low deductibles? The sort of deductible that will result in "nuisance" claims?

 

[sudsmaster]

Ralph,

I used CSAA for my home insurance for ten years (and have had my cars insured with them for the past 30 years). The homeowners rates kept on going up significantly every year, with no explanation. I have never filed a homeowner's insurance claim. At one point they listed the dwelling at twice the square footage it actually is - and I couldn't get them to change it to reflect reality. After getting one quote on the phone and then a much higher quote in the mail, I finally had enough. I shopped around (the state of California has a website where it rates insurance companies by complaints), and settled on one of two companies with better complaint ratings and much lower rates. I dropped CSAA for homeowner's insurance. Result: my annual insurance bill was cut in half for the same level of coverage.

CSAA is still competitive for car insurance, so I'm staying with them for that, but their home insurance business, in my humble opinion, leaves a lot to be desired.

I'd also have to agree with the others... in general, don't file a homeowner's claim unless it's a major loss, or, if it's a liability thing, and you're getting sued. I've heard too many tales of rates skyrocketing because of minor claims, or policies being canceled outright because you said the wrong thing to the adjuster over the phone.

California Department of Insurance

www.insurance.ca.gov

 

[58limited]

I'm with USAA and have had no troubles with my recent hurricane claim. We'll see if the premiums go up next year (actually they are - the news reported that the Texas Ins. Board approved a 12% rate increase for all companies).

Based on what friends and numerous clients have told me, after three hurricanes, DO NOT go with Allstate - they are the worst.

 

[petek]

Back in the 80's we had a big claim for roof damage, siding on the front of the house, fence and patio furniture due to a major baseball sized hailstorm. Allstate gave us no hassle, reroofed the house, re-sided the whole house, not just the front (couldn't color match anymore) our rates didn't go up. Our neighbors had some other insurer, don't know who, but he had a hell of a time and they wouldn't pay to re-side his house at all, even the front which looked like it had been attacked by baseballs.

 

[rp2813]

Hey Rich, I agree that the rates keep going up. My mom's place also had AAA homeowners, she had no claims but her rates would go up just like mine. I never bothered to fill out those square footage requests they'd send. If they want the info, they can come out and get it themselves or go to the County. Only if their estimate was higher on square footage and/or improvements would I be inclined to contact them for corrective action.

I'll shop around once the estate is settled. For now it's better to leave things as they are. I agree that AAA is about as affordable as you'll find for car insurance and they cover all of our vehicles.

 

[dalangdon]

I was burglarized a few years back. They took my TV, stereo and computer along with all of my booze. I barely got enough to replace the computer because they will only pay to replace the current value of your stuff, and everything was a few years old - except for the booze.

That's just a small part of the reason I've gone with big console stereos since then. Most thieves are too stupid to even know what they are looking at, console-wise, and they couldn't fence it anyway ;-)

Recently, our insurance company raised our rate, canceled our earthquake insurance, and told us that they were not responsible if our house slid down the hill. Which was not that big of a deal, since I think the only real reason our house would slide down the hill would be as a result of a big earthquake. But when I went to look for earthquake insurance, they said they wouldn't cover "earth movement", so go figure.

So short of this place burning to the ground (and I'm knocking on wood as I type this) I know that our insurance is basically worthless. I don't mind it being for catastophes, if it only actually covered most catastrophes likely to befall us.

 

[cadman]

Matt, check the back of the tiles for any kind of stamp or number. Barring that, start looking at online images. Odds are good you can find a match, but not all patterns are typically on hand at the box stores and if you don't walk in with the style name from your internet searching, the associates will be clueless. I just bought a pack of (8) 2x4 tiles special order for 29 bucks. In-stock stuff is usually a couple bucks a tile. Biggest problem might be possible fading or yellowing of the other tiles if they're quite old juxtaposed against the new.

Good luck!