Check your insurance policies (1 Viewer)

[dtc]

Please.

Make sure you haven't saved $11 per year by excluding sewer and water backup coverage. I have a client who did and is now about to drop $50k to fix cabinets, floors, trim and paint.

 

[efil4stnias]

Please.

Make sure you haven't saved $11 per year by excluding sewer and water backup coverage. I have a client who did and is now about to drop $50k to fix cabinets, floors, trim and paint.

some may not have a choice.

Several carriers exclude...period. Some offer if paid for ( buyback coverage )

but most National type carriers ( State Farm , Allstate etc ) include automatically.

 

[dtc]

some may not have a choice.

Several carriers exclude...period. Some offer if paid for ( buyback coverage )

but most National type carriers ( State Farm , Allstate etc ) include automatically.

Good info. Thanks.

My insurance claim experience is admittedly confined to wind/water and not many sewer backups, but I've done at least 4 or 5 and never seen this.

I guess my point should have been that we all need to look at our policies and make sure you have what you think and what you need.

Another area I run into is people thinking that they only need to insure their house to the sales price or the loan value. Fact is, if you buy a 3000 sq ft house for 200k it might cost 450k or more to replace it.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Please.

Make sure you haven't saved $11 per year by excluding sewer and water backup coverage. I have a client who did and is now about to drop $50k to fix cabinets, floors, trim and paint.

I have it on my renters insurance.

I had the sewer back up on us once at an older apartment, but luckily it never got on the floor. But man, it stunk out the unit so bad, we had to get a hotel room for a day.

 

[efil4stnias]

Good info. Thanks.

My insurance claim experience is admittedly confined to wind/water and not many sewer backups, but I've done at least 4 or 5 and never seen this.

I guess my point should have been that we all need to look at our policies and make sure you have what you think and what you need.

Another area I run into is people thinking that they only need to insure their house to the sales price or the loan value. Fact is, if you buy a 3000 sq ft house for 200k it might cost 450k or more to replace it.

Man if i had a dime for every time i said that to a client.

80% of the time it gets "looked at" AFTER a claim.

its not new. its been around a while. Especially if the client had a previous loss for water back up. But more than likely, his agent found a carrier that was a good bit LESS than current, and moved him to that insurer.

One way i tell clients to start asking questions is when they get a price that is 15-20% LESS than all others. Thats a red flag. Most carriers are within a small range of each other. ( there are times where there are exceptions to that rule- but not many ) So when someone offers you a price that is WELL below all other prices you have gotten, something is different- be it a higher deductible, whittled down coverage, ACV vs Replacement cost...something. Thats when you start asking "why".

Perfect example...Contractors GL. Got a price for a guy....had 5 offers. All within 10% of each other. Last offer was about 20% less than all the rest. Took me 1 min to see that this carrier had a "classification limitation endorsement" meaning- if the work he doing WASNT on DEC page...not covered. HE WAS A CONTRACTOR lol. But trust me...PLENTY of Agents out there will SELL that and never mention.


As to your example....thats referred to as "coinsurance" clause. Run into more in Commercial than Personal. Client owns a building outright. Doesnt want to pay $5000 a year at $500,000 ( its real value ) so he says i can rebuild it for $300,000. Well, here is the deal....at $300,000 you are 60% to value. If your policy has an 80% coinsurance clause...you are OUTSIDE the 80%. If you have ANY CLAIM, the carrier will penalize you for having "under-insured". So they take the claim amount, mulitply by 60%, subtract deductible...OUCH. Claim = $100,000....x 60% - 5000 deductible = $55,000 u get on a $100,000 claim...all to save about $2000 a year.

its tough sledding what i do. Getting folks to understand their policy, how it works, how it will work in the event of claim, what they should have even if its 1-5% more. Some just dont want and i get it. I have lost clients to others who would gladly reduce here and there to save them $$$. Some i get back ( usually after a loss ) others never see again ( because they had no loss to see )

no one ever needs "extra insurance".

Until there is a loss.

 

[TXSAINTFAN]

Thanks for bringing this up. I actually have no idea off hand what is covered except i know I don't have earthquake insurance in the land of earthquakes.

 

[buzd]

We reviewed our flood policy and lowered our contents coverage right before Katrina.

(We had a split level house and figured the higher part of the split wouldn't flood.)

 

[efil4stnias]

We reviewed our flood policy and lowered our contents coverage right before Katrina.

(We had a split level house and figured the higher part of the split wouldn't flood.)

My best friend of 38 years called me in July this year...what can he do to lower his flood premium.

I said, short of lowering coverage...nothing. I said dont mess with...its escrowed and you dont even really see it.

He hung up and called his agent and removed his content coverage completely. To save $320.

He lived in Walker.

So yeah, you arent the only one.

 

[GW93]

Another area I run into is people thinking that they only need to insure their house to the sales price or the loan value. Fact is, if you buy a 3000 sq ft house for 200k it might cost 450k or more to replace it.

Word. I'm probably insuring tens of thousands of dollars beyond what I could reasonably sell my house for, but my insurance company insists it's its proper value, and I have to be within 90% of that value to get replacement-cost coverage.

Now I'm just trying to figure out if it would look too suspicious if all irreplaceable heirlooms, baby pictures, etc., were removed from the house right before it "mysteriously" burns to the ground...