Home Insurance Change...
 

My [Wolfeboro] home insurance emailed, asking that I take a photo of my place.

It turned out a little dark because of cloudy weather, but sent one off anyway; whereupon, the insurance company canceled my policy.

:(

Most likely, a phone call or a visit to the local Allstate office in Wolfeboro will get your house insured, again.

The website for Jon Clark, Allstate Insurance, 35 Center St, Wolfeboro NH does online quotes, and has 246 reviews.

without explanation?

A friend of mine was just telling me that his neighbor received a 30-day cancellation notice from Progressive because his roof needs replacement.

It's less than 15-years-old...and he has no idea how they even know about it.

What insurance company do you have?

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I find it odd that the insurance companies want an owner to take pictures. A few years ago an insurance company had me take pictures of my house -many of them. All the rooms, outside, all kinds of things. If they want pictures, come take them.

There are companies that use Google street view/Earth and drone pictures to document the condition of properties... then sell that to the insurance companies. That's how they know...

Your location says Florida and Wolfeboro. Shoulda told them you were in Florida until May :-). Just kidding. It seems odd they wouldn’t grant time to remedy the situation. I have heard from some folks that upon renewal they have been instructed to have several trees removed, or certain items in yard must be removed ( like old delapitated sheds, fences, cars and swing sets etc.) or the policy will be terminated

Progressive seems to be slightly different than many major insurance companies. I switched cars and the Gilford house to them because the rates were better and there was a savings to have cars and the house with the same company.

They sent someone to take pictures and 15 days later I received a letter cancelling the homeowners policy. I have a boathouse and the reason for the cancellation was that they don't insure any structure over water. It seems like they could have saved us both a little trouble by looking at Google Earth or the town tax bill prior to issuing the policy.

Insurance Agent?
 

Do you have a local insurance agent? Are they assisting with this problem?

When I worked in insurance, the insurance companies were required to give a specific reason(s) for cancelling insurance policies, whether it was for condition of property, nonpayment of premium, no longer meeting underwriting qualifications, etc.. They have to give a reason.

Good luck and keep us informed.

Dave

Perhaps this is how they keep their rates low?

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I understand why they would want a roof done before a policy is written. 15 years is an average life of a builders roof. And yes they use google maps. Went through this myself just last year.


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The CA fires won't help...
 

...with the massive amounts of money the ins cos will be paying out in the next few years after these CA fires, I'm sure cancellations and rate increases for the rest of us will only get worse.

As a side note, a co-worker of mine lives, (lived), in Pacific Palisades and his house was incinerated. Fortunately, he and his family are fine, but nothing remains of his neighborhood.

No explanation; however, I can offer that my premium was late. (But normal for me). :blush: The premium wasn't even pricey. It's only family members' concerns that I carried any insurance at all.

They'd sent someone over a few years ago, who asked if I had a roof leak. (No, and was re-roofed 10 years prior). Electricals (visible in photo) were upgraded three years ago. No pile of firewood, no cars, no shed, no swingsets, no fences, no lack of railings: I don't expect my small boats or dock were ever covered.

My photo showed just the street side, which is remarkable only for its "unremarkableness".

The company was MMG, out of Maine. A local agent (of friends) said homes such as mine have become under great scrutiny. I was prompted to post this thread because of Pacific Palisades.

Because of the lot's steep fall-off, no street view was possible. My "problem" could be too many trees.

:confused:

I think we will also see a large increase in Auto insurance as well.

Did you ask them? It might be simple. WE once had to remove a diving board and slide so that our insurance would not be cancelled.

Droning On...
 

Insurance companies are using drones to find reasons to cancel. (yard clutter, damaged roof shingles/tiles).
Many examples on internet--just one:

https://petapixel.com/2024/04/11/ins...-of-your-home/

Mine's up $200.

Is it the "Uninsured Driver" problem?

All my insurances went up dramatically this past year as well as claims denied.
If you dare to put a claim in, you're high risk and are cancelled.
With all these natural disasters the past few years I don't see them going down.

I'm with the guys who've noted the fires, floods, etc. Insurers are under huge pressure, and it's going to get worse. The other thing that will get worse is the ripple effects on the economy/society. If a person cannot afford to insure a house, in CA or FL for example, they cannot afford to live there and/or bank will not mortgage. These fires and floods could really crush us will falling property values

Are increasing property values part of the equation for rising insurance costs?

I'm not an expert, but since land value is not insured, only structures, I would not think so. OTOH, rising building materials and would have a big impact

I meant the cost of replacement.
I would guess that is based on value of the buildings.

Material costs are hard to determine.
The same size window can cost a few hundred to a few thousand depending on the details. For property tax valuation purposes, they don't seem to be taking that into account. But for replacement, it would matter a lot.

The high cost of replacement in materials and labor is the major reason insurance costs are skyrocketing. If an insurance company and customer determine before hand a replacement number would that lower insurance costs. Example, if total coverage cost is 900k to replace the home. What if a customer says I would accept 500k if an accident occurred. Would that not lower ones insurance payments?


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Under most policies if you only carry say, 50% of value, the settlement on a partial loss can be adjusted down to 50%, or whatever the ratio is of coverage to value.

Interesting question. This can be done when insuring a classic car. One can choose a "declared value" policy. It can be very high to cover a rare 'numbers-matched' car (an equivalent engine could be placed after accident, for example, but the intangible value of the original would be lost). A low payout limit might be chosen if an owner is fine with more risk for a lower premium.

One reason I brought this up is at my last renewal it was discovered I have serious moss growing on both my sheds and if I was going to change policy’s I would have been responsible to replace both roofs before excepting. I told them to remove both sheds from the policy and I assumed it would lower my costs. Nope. I was told they can’t be removed from the coverage. Stayed with my current provider and increased my deductible to the max which did save me a bit


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Big deductibles
 

Good plan, especially if you take big deductibles on everything, you save enough to cover the difference for an occasional loss. Unfortunately, if you have a lienholder on car, boat, house, they my restrict you to a smaller deductible.

Homeowner policies automatically grant 10% of coverage A, dwelling, to coverage B, outbuildings. You can increase B for a barn, guest house, etc but you can't delete it with most policies.

There is a spray (regular garden pump spryer) treatment for your roof to remove moss. Spray it on, wait for rain. All done.

Wet it and Forget it, spray it on with a garden hose and the moss will die. Or you can get it power washed.

Shingle dcamage?
 

There is concern that power washing or pressure application with a hose may damage shingles or force water under the shingles. Same goes for brushing with a broom or similar.

Wet & Forget
 

I use a simple garden sprayer and it works great! No need to pressure wash or even hose off. A few rain storms and mold is gone! I swear by that stuff!!

Dan

Ditto—the stuff is ridiculously effective.

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Youncan also install Zinc strips under top layer of shingles exposing the zinc metal and it kills existing moss and continues to do it every time it rains

Seriously, washing your roof with a hose will damage shingles? If you're on well water, I doubt you have that much water pressure.
OK, maybe don't pressure wash if you're afraid it will ruin your shingles.
What about torrential downpours?

What is the stuff you use to spray on?


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Depends on how you use your hose. If you aim high and let the water run down, OK, but not too mucxh water. If you're on the ground aiming up, that angle can get under the shingles. Re: torrential down pour. Key word is "Down". Wind driven rain (horizontal or low angle) can be a nasty combination. Garden sprayer makes the application with the right amount of product and water. Using lots of water can wash away the product too soon and it won't have time to settle into the moss.

I've done it many times and there is such a thing as wind driven rain. I have used "wet it and forget it" many times from the ground.
If water gets under your shingles, then it's time for a new roof.

https://landing.wetandforget.com/wf-...gaAkoNEALw_wcB

You can find it in a lot of places.

Thanks


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