homeowners insurance dropped us after fire not our fault?
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at
7:44 pm
Jen asked:
Is it legal for our homeowners insurance to drop our policy after a fire? The fires cause is listed as unknown but was NOT arson. This is the only claim made to our insurance. Anyone know any insurance companies who might sell us insurance if it is legal for our company to drop us?
Is it legal for our homeowners insurance to drop our policy after a fire? The fires cause is listed as unknown but was NOT arson. This is the only claim made to our insurance. Anyone know any insurance companies who might sell us insurance if it is legal for our company to drop us?
Tagged with: Arson • Fires • Homeowners Insurance
Filed under: Homeowners Insurance
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The legality of their action could only be determined by knowing which state you’re in, as well as the terms of your policy.
As a general rule, they are free to decline to do further business with you if they deem it in their best interest.
I regret that I am unable to give you a more encouraging response.
As far as other companies, I suggest looking at some of the websites which take your information and provide you quotes from multiple companies.
In Florida they can do it . . . however, in Florida they have a state fund . . . maybe your state has one as well. Contact your state’s insurance commissioner. One of the staffers will be happy to help. Good luck.
The golden rule of insurance companies is, “We taketh but do not givith”! All insurance companies are frauds.
These things may be state specific; contact the state insurance comission
Open the phone book and start calling them.. yes legal to drop you…they can drop you after any claim at all for any reason, and actually they have the right to renew just as you do….
Try: State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide,
They have to pay your claim, but in most states they are under no legal obligation to continue to insure you. Just as you are free to stop doing business with them, they are free to stop doing business with you.
I’m sorry for the ordeal you are going through (fire and loss of insurance), but somebody will insure you. You may pay more, just like your auto insurance will go up if you get in a car wreck. The riskier you are to insure, the higher your premiums will be. That’s just how it works. Since the cause of the fire is unknown, your are riskier to insure than if the cause was known, because there is no way to know if the problem has been solved or not.
Believe it or not, but a fire is considered a loss that you could have taken steps to avoid. Theft is another common loss for cancellation. This is not a fair assumption but it is practiced by a lot of companies.
I don’t know what company you were with, but if this is your only claim in the last 3 years, try appealing through your agent. Sometimes an agent can help with a cancellation. But if that doesn’t work, call around to the major companies and then to the lessor known ones. There should be someone that will take your business. You should expect a higher deductible and/or higher premium for a couple of years. And when you find a company and the premium is not out of sight, stay with them! The longer you are with a company, the less likely they are to cancel you with one loss. I am certain your fire loss was a big claim, but anytime there is a small loss(one that is barely over your deductible) check with your agent before turning it in. Companies consider multiple claims worst than one big claim.
One other option is to complain to your state insurance commissioner,(most people won’t complain because it takes time, but I have seen insurance companies reverse a decision because of a complaint) sometimes the insurance commissioner will reverse a company’s cancellation and sometimes a company will reverse their cancellation because they want the complaint to go away. Many states keep records of how many complaints a company receives each year and the more a company gets, the worse it looks for them.