by shann8782 » Wed May 11, 2011 02:10 pm
My husband and I bought our home in 07 both have had policies with the same carrier prior to our home. We rolled all of our insurance needs into 1. In 2009 we had water back up into our hallway and some closets we contacted our insurance company they sent out a contractor who we did not feel confident in getting to the bottom of the issue. The flooring was replaced this claim total was 5,600.00. Recently March 2011 we found that water was seeping up through the floor and backing up into various areas. We had several people out to our house and none could give an explanation. We felt we had no choice but to contact our insurance company it wasn’t something we wanted to do but it was becoming unbearable. The insurance company sent out a different contractor who immediately pin pointed the issue. We did file a claim after being encouraged to do so. The house is still being worked on and we are staying elsewhere. We got a notice in the mail that they are not going to renew our policy. In the notice the current open claim is back dated a year I’m having trouble with this is there anything at all we can do? Please any info would be helpful.
Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 02:28 pm Post Subject:
We rolled all of our insurance needs into 1
This is a misnomer. You simply have all your property & casualty insurances from the same company. You do not have one policy that covers all auto and homeowner's risks.
In the notice the current open claim is back dated a year I’m having trouble with this
Is the trouble you are having the fact that your claim has been backdated or that your coverage is not going to be renewed? Backdating the claim is not necessarily a bad thing, since the insurance company is honoring the claim -- but they are doing it under your prior year's policy.
Where things become dicey is if they are using the fact that you had two similar claims in two successive years as the reason for nonrenewal if they would otherwise renew if the claims were separated by one or more years.
Property & casualty insurances are not typically issued as "guaranteed renewable" coverage, meaning the insurance company would have no unilateral right of cancellation or nonrenewal (except for nonpayment of premium). Because of that, they generally have carte blanche to cancel/nonrenew anyone of their choosing for any reason, as long as they are not discriminating against that person.
The single biggest "problem" with being nonrenewed is that you will have to say "YES" to the question on every new application for homeowner's insurance: "Have you ever had your homeowner's insurance cancelled or nonrenewed for any reason other than nonpayment of premium?" And this is one of those YES answers that could cause you to pay a significantly higher premium for your next policy.
To answer "NO" to that question is a material misrepresentation that could be used to void a future policy in the event of a claim. Then you'll really be up the creek without a paddle. Unlike life insurance, property & casualty insurance does not normally become "incontestable" after one or two years. A material misrepresentation made five years ago could give the insurance company an escape from paying a claim.
Best advice I can give at this point: start looking for new coverage ASAP. It will be best to work with a local broker or agent who probably knows which insurance company will be most favorable in your situation.
Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 02:42 pm Post Subject:
In back dating the claim it makes it seem as though we had to claims within an 8 month period I’m just worried this triggered the non renewal. What i meant by rolling it all into 1 is we moved our individual policy's together from separate agents to 1 agent having policies on both vehicles and our home.
Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 02:50 pm Post Subject:
What i meant by rolling it all into 1 is we moved our individual policy's together from separate agents to 1 agent having policies on both vehicles and our home.
Doesn't change anything, just a convenience for you.
In back dating the claim it makes it seem as though we had to claims within an 8 month period I’m just worried this triggered the non renewal.
Yes, this is the "dicey" situation I mentioned. If you can prove that the first contractor, if supplied by the insurer, was negligent in his performance and could have prevented this additional loss, then the insurance company is on very shaky ground when it comes to nonrenewing your coverage. The burden of proof is on you.
What does the new contractor say is the reason for the problem? Is it something that the first contractor should have reasonably suspected as the source of the problem and looked for and repaired? If not, you are probably "up the creek . . ."
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