What’s wrong homeowner’s insurance company? You won’t pick up your phone. My calls go unanswered. Why don’t you love me anymore? All I have is this cold letter saying you will no longer insure me.
I don’t understand? A month ago you agreed to insure my new house. The inspection came back perfect and even the FHA inspection came back perfect. I have given my all, I swear. But now you’re saying I’m dropped–without a chance to make it up. How could this be?
My Homeowner’s Insurance Company Dumped Me
Yes it’s true–my homeowner’s insurance company dumped me. Without warning they kicked me out. I think it’s because I created a fuss. You see I complained about a few of the insurance company’s policies. I also irritated a few of the insurance companies employees. I was just trying to speak my mind and stick up for myself.
They said they would take care of the problems but a few days later and without warning they dumped me in the most callow way possible. I went to login to the insurance company website and was denied access– I was no longer welcome. The next day I received a letter saying my homeowner’s had to drop me because in their opinion the roof to our new house was too old. I asked for a chance to make it better and even apologized to the head manager–but the decision is final.
I’m not sure about the legality of everything yet, but what I have learned is that there is a type of central database. So when I went to try and obtain insurance with other companies, the negative information is on file. For that reason it has been really difficult to get new insurance. They also mentioned, aside from the roof, that there was peeling paint on the side of our detached garage. I think that is a major overreaction as well.
So, what do you do in such a situation? It almost makes me want to start my own insurance company–one that will treat people fair and with respect.
Aside from that…what ideas do you have?
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Chris Thomas, owner of the online freelance writing and web-copy company, FreelancePF. Chris's interest in personal finance stems from leaving grad school with six figures in student loan debt.
Time to self insure? I don’t think there is a central database that will have a blanket ban. You might want to talk to small agents who will be willing to work with you and go from there? Most insurance companies exist hoping people will pay but not use them. So if you use it for what you are paying for – insurance, they might dump you. If not this company, there will always be other companies that will take you… And I have heard stories of the old insurance company coming back for business of people they chucked out…
Suba:
But I never made a claim on this insurance. I only had it 3 weeks. I think it was in retaliation for questioning policies—which is a long story in and of itself.
Did you try Progressive or Geico? They’ve been mostly good to me. Or try DCU, they are a CU, but they have some sort of partnership with HO insurers.
Thieves, knaves and ruffians….
Starting Monday, we’re shopping around. Our rates went up this year, and I think I’ve received a bogus reason why from the insurer. More to come on this one.
I am sure this won’t make me the most popular person here, but… if you think you were dropped for irritating some of the company’s employees and questioning them, then it is probably true – and I don’t blame them!
Don’t get me wrong. I can fight a good fight if the situation calls for it. But sometimes it is better in life to just bite your tongue and play nice. The insurance company is a business. Just as McDonalds has the right to ask an unruly patron to leave the restaurant, and you have the right to delete trolly comments, a company like an insurance agent has the right to drop argumentative clients if said client might cause harm to their bottom line (in this case, by being a distraction to their employees and their productivity).
It is a good lesson for all of us to remember to play nice with others – thank you for that (sometimes I forget… haha). Sorry you had to be the guinea pig in this case, though!
Denise:
You assume too much in this case, I am afraid. This was the argument: They sent us a check for $67.00. We didn’t know why. We called up and they said it was a discount since we have car and homeowner’s through them. They didn’t say thanks for your honest or anything. They said: “mail that check back to us.” We said: “We’ll just void it and not cash it.” They said, no, you have to send it back to us. We said why should we have to pay postage for their mistake, could they at least send postage. They said no. We mailed it back to them. Then they sent us an invoice for $67 even though we never cashed the check. All in all this took literally 3 hours to fix total. Then a week later we got a notice saying we were dropped. The new insurance company we are using, State Farm came over and said there is nothing wrong with our house and insured us. Very strange—but yeah, you’re wrong in your assumptions.
How am I wrong? They asked you to do something and you argued with them and “created a fuss” (your words, not mine). Granted, I do think the whole thing sounds stupid to make you mail a check back. Perhaps they had a valid reason for needing it? Who knows. But the fact remains that if you piss off the wrong people in life you end up paying for it. Life ain’t fair, and no one has to be nice to any of us. It sounds like you have a new insurance provider and everything worked out great in the end so I am happy for that for you.