As insurance companies look to find ways to remain profitable, underwriting guidelines are starting to include claims to the residence from the prior owner.
In years past, underwriters would exclude prior claims from the prior owner, as the losses would follow the client, not the building. Yet recently we are finding that carriers are having a change of heart.
Filing several claims on your home may prevent your future buyer from qualifying for the loan.
We have recently had a few cases where the buyer could not secure insurance or afford the increased premium to insure the home due to several water/wind/hail/fire claims to a property.
What can you do to avoid putting yourself in a similar situation?!
Increase your deductible- Increasing your deductible to $2500 will lower your annual premium and make it less likely to file a claim on smaller losses.
Regular maintenance- the two largest claims that insurance companies suffer are wind/hail, and water losses.
This includes insulating copper pipes and water running during freezing temperatures.
Replacing aging roofs. I know this is an uncomfortable and expensive consideration but many carriers are simply declining roofs over the age of 15, along with scheduling deprecation on older roofs, making a claim simply not feasible for clients should they have a claim. Insurance polices are not maintenance plans and carrier are taking aggressive action to avoid claims on older roofs.
Shop around- every few years, clients should consider spending the time to shop around. Having an insurance broker with several options will help alleviate that hassle and ensure you have a licensed, and experienced professional to keep you insured.
If you have a claim- work with your agent to determine if the claim is covered and what the future implications are for filing the claim.
In many cases, filing a claim is the correct action, but do not mistaken insurance companies as discovery tools. Insurance companies do not like spending time and resources to investigate a loss that doesn’t pay out. Using local trusted contractors to determine the cause of loss and scope of repair will provide clear evidence as to what to expect when filing a claim.
