Some of them seem oriented that way, that’s for sure. I will tell you that I never represented any, however.
Called the police? Have them alert the local pawn shops to the type of instrument and engraving.
I…I…tried to resist the urge to defend the insurance companies, but I must bring this up. I can’t think of too many home insurers that have made *any *money in the last few years. Massive hurricanes, hail storms, earthquakes and mold coupled with astronomical building costs are sucking the companies dry. Add to this an overall increase in nickel & dime claims (by nickel & dime I mean $2-$3,000 burglaries, domestic water claims caused by aging homes as well as sloppy new construction), not to mention a tanking economy that HAMMERED invested insurance company reserves and we are seeing the homeowner’s policy being forced to function in a way which is vastly different from its original intent.
Insurance is REALLY simple–you pay a bunch of dimes every year (call it $1,000) more or less and your single largest insurable asset is guaranteed to be replaced should something catastrauphic happen to it. And what would that cost? 150 to 300 times the amount you pay annually in premiums? I had a $200,000 home insured for $650/year so I’m giving the consumer the benefit of the doubt here.
The only way to enable home insurance to continue is to stop the massive annual defecits caused by the copious small claims–the total losses we can handle because they’re rare. And there are only 2 ways, outside improving the health of the economy, of eliminating the gap between payouts and premiums collected: First is increase premiums collected, which will cause a number of claim-free clients to cancel their policies out of frustration and Second, take every action possible to identify and address potential losses before they happen by forcing the homeowner to accept the responsibility of being a homeowner (replace your own damned roof when it gets old, don’t wait for the wind to blow the fragments off and then file a claim for a new one; change you washing machine hoses every few years, put fresh batteries in your smoke detectors, get some fire extinguishers in the kitchen, lock your front door and close your garage door when you are not there to make sure the junkies down the street don’t pinch your golf clubs…).
ahem…sorry. See my point? The homeowner’s policy was originally intended to rebuild/replace your home & stuff in the event of a catastrauphic loss. One that could potentially ruin you financially. A number of factors have caused this purpose to be a trivial one and instead it is becoming increasingly used as a source of income to replace old toys, fund remodel projects and as a replacement for common sense avoidance of liability lawsuits (trampolines are a problem).
Czarcasm, make damned sure you know whether or not yours is one of those sleezy operations that will take action against you just for checking. If they are, I tell you to leave them and pay twice as much premium, if that’s what it takes, to get coverage with an ethical company who puts your interests first. They exist, I work for one such company.
There is another thread currently asking about GMAC Auto insurance (in IMHO I think). I gave a couple links in that thread that give information about complaint ratios for various companies. As far as I’m concerned there are two kinds of insurance consumers:
Price driven: These people will always be looking for a lower premium. They WILL get screwed and handled roughly at a time they least need to be.
Service driven: These people can be damned hard to please, but they will pay a king’s ransom in premium for the assurance of minimal BS when they have a problem.
I will gladly entertain the tears of the second sort, to the first I only say, “You got what you paid for.”
You forgot the third catagory: Those of us who get the amount of insurance we can afford. We’d like to get the “good” insurance, but if it’s a choice between food and premiums, well…
I have owned an insurance agency for over 23 years.
I have seen home deductibles go from 0 to over 10,000 in some cases.
The advice we give our clients is to buy insurance to protect yourself from things that can ruin your life, not your day.
So go with a high deductible, but have a 1,000,000 dollar liability umbrella and make sure the 300,000 house is insured to the correct amount in case of a total loss.
My sister told me to make sure your insurance covers the removal of your house/debris if it is destroyed. After a tornado ripped through her town, she and her her family were spared, some of their neighbors had to ‘haul their house to the curb’ (in rather small bits) for pick-up while others had thier insurance company do it. (with a dozer)
Do you want to know what my homeowners insurance currently covers? It covers the minimum needed to get the home loan we needed to get this old house. I’m not looking for a pity party-just pointing out that sometimes there is a difference between getting what you need and getting what you can under the circumstances.
I completely understand getting what you need rather than what you can. Just don’t bitch that your Yugo policy doesn’t pay out like a Cadillac policy when you have a claim.
You really do get what you pay for. If (og forbid) your house burns down and is a total loss, you’ll be grateful that you had even your basic policy.
I’m sort of puzzled by this. In the NWT, home policies for ~$195,000 Comprehensive Replacement Cost (cost of demolishing whatever was left and then rebuilding from nothing), in a town without a fire department or hydrants, would cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $850.00. The same home in a fully fire protected area in Alberta would cost $400 to insure. Where are you living that you can’t afford proper home insurance? I would think it’s time to look around. Don’t go to a direct writer or internet company, go to a local broker - or if there isn’t someone local, the nearest city. Get several quotes, and make sure it’s for comprehensive Replacement Cost. Lots of companies will insure you only for Actual Cash Value, which is replacement cost minus depreciation. That won’t do a hell of a lot of good for you if your house burns down and you’ve got a mortgage to pay off.
:: Hands Czarcasm a Pangalacticgargleblaster ::
Easy, friend. You needn’t fear a pity-party when insurance types are around–we have none. 
This is a HUGE bit of information. More than ever I want you to stray into an insuance agent’s office and have your policy reviewed. This will serve you in 3 ways:
- You WILL learn a thing or two, I promise
- You WILL probably learn that your house is OVER insured (I’ll explain that one)
- You just might find an agent (heh, like I was) who’ll be square with you & explain your coverages, what change’s he’d make if it were his own policy, and bid you good day with an open invitation to come back when you’re ready to make changes.
(ANECDOTAL DATA FOLLOWS)
OVER insured? Yeah, this happens A LOT when a bank gets involved with the conception of a new policy. Because Bankers know about credit and market value, and little about indemnity. You get a $250,000 loan and they want all that money back should you decide to torch the hovel and move to Vegas. So they demand a $250,000 insurance policy. Well guess what? When you buy a house you’re paying for the bricks and sticks AND a very valuable chunk of dirt. In many cases $50-$100,000 of that loan covers the land the house is sitting on. That land is going nowhere (and in the event it does slide away from you well, that’s not typically covered under the homeowner’s policy). 
All you need is a policy that can pay someone to rebuild the house. A good agent knows what construction costs are in the neighborhood and can make a pretty good guess–which you are always welcome to verify with a local home builder.
The Bank is NOT allowed to dictate the amount of dwelling coverage on a policy. BUT they can refuse to grant a loan if their conditions are not met, and often this includes insuring the total loan. Your loan has been granted. You can change your policy now and nobody at the bank is gonna care. Honest Injun, they won’t bat an eye.
As an agent I heard this a lot. I don’t know your situation, and I have not intention of calling you names or making character assessments, but this statement is usually untrue. People HATE paying money for insurance because there is only rarely a tangible result of doing so. That’s why the Whole Life Insurance ripoff even exists (totally different thread). The reality of the situation is USUALLY not so desperate as food vs. insurance, but a matter of priorities. Money is tight–I’d rather have something tangible in return when I spend it. It’s often said that if you can’t afford appropriate coverage for your house or car, then you can’t afford that item.
Good point. Very good point. I used to tell people ‘You can’t insure your dirt. It’s not going anywhere if the house is destroyed’ and that was simple enough for people to grasp. In Yellowknife the land went anywhere from $37,000 to $60,000 for a lot, and people wanted to insure it. Uh, no - it’s precambrian rock. It’ll last longer than your home.
NOT with my destructo-phaser I’m testing in the basement!
Unless you’ve moved quite a bit further north, and back in time, I probably wouldn’t be using those words on you, JC.
My house is currently insured for more than the balance of my mortgage. Why? When I sat down with my insurance guy, he asked me the square footage. He’d insured the house for the previous owners, too, so he was familar with it. We went over not only square footage, but the fact that it has 12’ ceilings, 4 fireplaces and it’s 150 years old, built to last. He figured up an amount per sq ft to replace it, going a little high to try to replace the added value of craftsmanship, etc. He said that if something happened, he knew I could never really replace the history and charm of the house, but he wanted to make sure I didn’t have to end up with a three bedroom ranch tract home to replace it. The insurance was more than I was expecting (in part because of the land and outbuilding - with a farm apparently there are built-in liabilities you have to watch out for) but at least I’m sure I’m covered.
My insurance company is Tennessee Farm Bureau. I’ve had a few claims and they’ve never substantially raised my rates. I’ve been with them for 11 years. In fact, when I bought my first home (also out in the country, but not so far out and not a farm) I priced the insurance from Farm Bureau and from State Farm and others. State Farm was twice the amount that Farm Bureau charged, because I was out of the city limits and didn’t have a nearby fire hydrant. My Farm Bureau agent even kept track of my volunteer fire department’s rating, dropping my cost when they raised their rating. Two years ago when bad storms came through and hail damaged most people’s roofs and siding, I had my claim resolved and my check before some folks with other companies even had an adjustor out to look at their home. I’ve been very satisfied with their service.
StG
Does your homeonwner’s policy even cover flood? Most don’t. You should check on that. There is government sponsored flood insurance that is available to anyone who needs it.
http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/index.jsp
My advice to anyone who gets their rates raised due to inquiring about a claim, is get another company. They don’t all do that.