Insurance Companies Are Getting Ready To Cause Home Owners Breach Of Contract On Their Mortgages

reply to post by jrod


If the company won't insure the house, they can simply go find another insurer.

reply to post by Julie Washington


In the past 17 years a number of hurricanes have done serious damage to the Gulf Shores Area. Being on a canal, on the coast, surely the risk assessment has gone up for his home. On top of that the economic boom in the area has seen home values skyrocket. His home may be worth 3x what he originally paid for it, which obviously raises the replacement cost, ie, insurance cost.

reply to post by TheRedneck


One article I read recently did an experiment where they called for a quote, two people, exact same information, except one was a college grad with a good job, the other was a high school grad with a menial job. On average, despite having the same driving record, car, insurance requirements, etc, depending on company and location, there was a difference of $600-2000 between quotes. Sometimes it was that extreme within one company.

reply to post by Zaphod58


I had seen something very similar to that on Night-Line.

Also another thing that plays a Huge role is your credit score.

I just seems like they have the field completely open and can charge based on the "Mood Of The Day".

reply to post by yamammasamonkey


After $40k in claims over the last 15 years I have been Extremely lucky that my rates have Never increased AND that my policy was Never cancelled.

I only had the $500 deductible because that is what was required by my mortgage contract and auto loan.

Insurance companies are the banks, the center of the global corporate hive.

Currently they rule the world, regulate not only corporations and banks, but also our businesses and lives. Ever see the commercial advertising allowing the insurance company to monitor your driving habits? Anyone fall for that scam?

If you add up all the money that goes to insurance companies, it is close to what the U.S. fed gov takes in, maybe more, without having to pay for the military and all the other things that the fed gov does.

Don't forget to count health insurance.

I got paid on a class action lawsuit from FIG just last year. Look for another insurance company.

reply to post by poet1b


I will keep my current insurance company. After calling around and getting quotes, they are still substantially the cheapest. Plus they have always been friendly and helpful. . . for the most part.

Ever see the commercial advertising allowing the insurance company to monitor your driving habits?

In fact just last month they approached me with the same type of device that progressive is offering.

For the first year it is free and then next year they charge $10 a month for it. They promise a reduction in your premium by up to 40%.

I responded that I have no intentions of paying anyone to track me. After all if I wanted tracked like a target, I would escape from prison. . . .. . . . that bit of humor was Not received very well.

In light of the stupidity of the Insurance company
i have a joke.
What do you call a 100 Insurance Agents hanging in a tree.
Answer a good start.

I want do two shows a night I really want.

Originally posted by Julie Washington
What State do you live in and what is the name of the insurance company?

I've not received any notice from my insurance company.

Insurance rates are usually regulated by the Insurance Commission in your State.

I would contact the attorney general to find out if this is legit.

Also, call another competing insurance company and ask them to give you a quote, without disclosing what you have heard from your current carrier and see if the quote you a $500.00 deductible policy.

Something smells fishy here.

dido on this .. just because an insurance company states what they're going to do, doesn't mean it's what they can do within the law..

I know I'm late coming into this thread but.. Julie W, you took the words out of my mouth .. only to add that, if there are not stricter law concerning insurance companies raising rates, and the whole 9 yards, it's going to even more uglier than we've seen back in 2009..

I went to go see a friend couple of weeks ago in a Good Sam RV park, it was really really nice.. story is, 90% of the people there have sold their homes and bought an RV and now pay.. get this.. $400.00/month and this includes water, cable, electric, has a pool, clubhouse, pool table, weight room.. all included.. vs....

1,200.00/month ..NOT including the above..

reply to post by ShadellacZumbrum


Okay - Here's the skinny. ShadellacZumbrum is right!

I just got off the phone with my agent of 20+ years (and personal friend). We talked for over an hour.

There are sweeping changes coming down right now in the homeowner's insurance arena. Most of this is from the economic downturn over the last 5 years along with so many natural disasters.

But it is important to note: Insurance premiums are different State to State. States are "scored" by claims filed and monies paid out.

It is "true" that all insurance companies are phasing out the $500 deductible as the "standard" policy.

A $500.00 will still be available, but at a much higher premium and at a financially unattractive price

Many States and companies are going to a "standard" $1,000 deductible.

But starting in October they will starting to phase in a "percentage" deductible. A percentage based on the insured value of your home. The "standard" will be 1%. However they will offer a 1/2% for a higher premium. So if your home is worth $300K your deductible will be $3,000.

I asked her how that would affect my premiums personally and she said she doesn't have the rates yet, but should know in October.

She said that it is important for consumers to learn that a homeowner's insurance policy is for catastrophic damage or loss. Not because the toilet flooded and ruined the floors. Years ago that would be a typical type claim and that is what people thought they should do. Those days are gone.

Homeowner's insurance is for a catastrophic loss, not new carpets.

Hope that helps.

reply to post by Julie Washington


Julie,

Thanks for taking the time to back that up.

I posted earlier about the call I made to my agent today and the subsequent calls to other companies for quotes.

One thing I wanted to add was that anyone with an existing policy with a $500 deductible will be grandfathered in, but they will only write new policies for $1000 deductible.

Either way . .. .. . Isn't this a HUGE Suprise?

It sure caused me a little shock.

Yesterday when I put this thread together I wasn't thinking about any price increase only that that the deductible would cause a breach in contract with my mortgage. It wasn't until you said .. . .

That is indeed raising rates.

They are raising the rate $432.82 to keep your $500 deductible.

That is when it dawned on me.

It really is a vicious world out there.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate my agent, I hate the game she brings to the table.

The problem with insurance is that some will have a policy and Never have to file a claim. Wouldn't it be nice if the insurance companies rewarded customers for not filing claims of a 20-year period of time?

I mean a Real Reward .. Like a Vacation to Hawaii or something like that.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by TheRedneck

 

One article I read recently did an experiment where they called for a quote, two people, exact same information, except one was a college grad with a good job, the other was a high school grad with a menial job. On average, despite having the same driving record, car, insurance requirements, etc, depending on company and location, there was a difference of $600-2000 between quotes. Sometimes it was that extreme within one company.

That is not surprising considering that most insurance companies rate for years of driving experience and age factors.. so a college grad would normally have more driving experience and would be older than a high school grad not to mention that just about every state uses a credit based insurance score as a rating factor as well. You and a neighbor could be the same age drive the same car and have the same driving record and still get different rates based on your credit score, past insurance history and prior liability limits. There are so many factors in the rating process that peoples rates are almost never going to be identical.

Originally posted by BadNinja68

reply to post by Julie Washington

 

Insurance rates are usually regulated by the Insurance Commission in your State.

This is not correct. Rates ae determined by proprietary(secret) algorithimsowned by insuranve companies. The state. Has no clue how they are determined and they have no control..over their cost.

This is blatantly not true. The insurance companies may develop the rates they want but the state commission usually has to approve them. There may be a few states where they don't but most have to approved by the Insurance Commission.

Originally posted by Deetermined
reply to post by Zaphod58

 

In the meanwhile, what do you know about the title of the car? Is it in his name or yours?

I can tell you that these days, the name on the title does not matter. My stepson had one extended warranty that used our address because we bought him a computer to take to Iraq. Esurance (Allstate) required that we furnish his military papers to prove he did not live in the house. He had never lived with us. They also listed our son who is deceased as a resident. I asked where they were getting their information and they said "public records" Apparently public records don't include death certificates. At that point I told them to shove it.

BTW, I've been in the insurance field for almost 40 years.

Just one more note, I'm not sure how you guys have kept such low deductibles. I haven't since less than 1% in about 25 years here. And the above member is right about the insurance being for catastrophe losses. I've never considered that the insurance should be for each and every claim.

Another thing that you need to watch for are the "extras" that are being advertised. Allstate advertises the "good driving" check. You can get that but you will pay much higher premiums up front. Another one is the disappearing deductible that goes down each year you don't have an accident - it does and your premium goes up as the deductible goes down. They aren't giving anything away for free. AARP only offers that option in my state. When I first switched to them I saved about $2,500 over what I was paying for house and cars but, over time they got right back up to where I was before. So I changed again. Don't be afraid to shop. After all, I do and I'm in the business.

reply to post by ShadellacZumbrum


Oh jeez use your head its the same difference. Look up why insurance companies give you a higher rate for bad credit. They do that because poor people have no other option but to turn in a claim while the more effluent will pay out of pocket to keep there insurance costs down because they insure so much more.

My fellow Americans are like corporate lap dogs and it makes me ashamed.

I live in Wisconsin and I have American Family... Have yet to hear about this. If i remember correctly, mine is $500...and that was raised not long ago to lower my premiums.. i think it was $100 or something for a long time. Rates have really shot up here the last few years...i've never had a claim. Just had hail pound our house, but the damage was pretty minimal so i didn't even bother calling my agent...

Insurance is going to get to the point where its all catastrophic coverage...if you don't have several thousand you are out of luck... same with auto, medical, etc... High premiums and huge deductibles...

reply to post by seeker1963

A major part of this is from the building Codes. They allow building basically tinderboxes in fire prone areas. I remember back in the late 60's how Malibu, CA only had cheap little shacks. No one could afford Fire Insurance, so only houses without mortgages were built.

When you consider that all these houses in California, Arizona, and Colorado have burned unnecessarily, its outrageous that the rest of the country has to pay higher rates.

I remember years ago a huge fire in suburban Oakland. An entire hillside of homes burned, except for one. This one was built by an engineer who understood the problem. He had a tile roof, thickly plastered eaves and soffits, spark arresting attic vents and fire proof siding. In addition he kept plantings away from the house. In the middle of a slope that looked like Hiroshima, was this pristine house, not even blackened by smoke.

reply to post by LoneGunMan

it makes me ashamed

Why, . .. Are you an Insurance Agent?

So your saying that all of those people that lost their 1/2 million dollar homes in the tornados a couple of months were so poor that they couldn't afford to pull that out of their pockets and pay for it?

How about the people that lost their million dollar homes in the wild fires?

reply to post by dingleberrydan


When I was talking with my agent today she said that over the last 10 years or so that the deductible has slowly risen to what it is now. I asked her "Can you give me an idea when it is going to get to $5000?". She said we have a few years before that happens.