Any hurt in filing a homeowners insurance claim?

[mizzou]

I had a contractor who also does estimates for our insurance company out to check on our roof to estimate costs, he said there was SIGNIFICANT wind damage and we would easily be approved by the insurance company to cover the costs, so all we would pay would be our deductable. Due to the other natural causes in the region, it's not going to register as a claim and increase our rates.


BUT I also had him look at some older storm damage we had no clue we could have probably been approved for on a claim, a few years ago neighbors tree slammed into our power line and ripped the line from our house, taking a soffit and 2 slats of siding with it.

We ended up just putting the stuff back together and not filing a claim on it, nothing inside the house was damaged and the repair looked "ok", but you can definitly tell the siding is bent

We took pictures etc., and the contractor basically told me we could probably get by with filing 2 claims, one for the roof, and the other for the soffit/possible siding damage. Only problem is that the soffit/siding damage will register as a claim.

For the whole thing, I will only have to pay for 1 deductible though because the contractor might help us out on paying the 2nd deductible.


What's my problem? Well, my neighbor has another tree that could easily smash into our roof. It's not on my side of the property line, it's tall and skinny, but it is obviously going to smash into our house should it fail.

If that smashes into my house, I don't want to get dropped! Anyone have experience with this stuff? I'm going to talk more to my contractor and insurance agent before its all official.

 

[bctbct]

I would hesitate to file a claim on the old damage unless you are prepared to look for a new company and pay higher rates. How much is that damage?

 

[mizzou]

I would hesitate to file a claim on the old damage unless you are prepared to look for a new company and pay higher rates. How much is that damage?

Cost? Not sure, I guess when you repair siding you have to repair the entire home, so it could be significant. Roof probably isn't that big of a deal, I'm probably not saving all that much by having ins. company take care of it but if it isn't on my claim record then I don't care.....


It's a small ranch house, 927 sq.ft. I suppose soffit/gutter repair would be 1-2k and new siding 5k, thats just a guess though.

 

[bctbct]

Anything is possible but I seriously doubt they will reside the house based on the damage you describe.

Again, just guessing but I would anticipate them paying max of $500 for soffit and siding...they may try to attribute maint. issues if your house isnt in top condition.

 

[mizzou]

sent some more messages to my contractor to see if they can give me more details on what these insurance companies might do in this situation.

the estimate of how my claim will be affected would probably best be described after finding out what an adjuster would do, then what the insurance agent would do after that to my claim.

I am also going to find out what would happen to me should a 2nd claim be filed that same year.

What's the point of having insurance if youd ont use it, but also what sthe point of having it if they drop you loll

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

insurance is for when you can't afford to pay for it. If it's just a few hundred bucks and you can swing it, you will save more long term by not filing.

and bctbct is right, they aren't going to re-side your home to repair a small area.

 

[apac]

[spammer's post and link deleted]

That isn't at all what the OP was asking. Like any insurance company they will raise your rates, or drop you altogether, if they think you are abusing the coverage. That's why you only file a claim when it is absolutely necessary, as someone else mentioned.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

That isn't at all what the OP was asking. Like any insurance company they will raise your rates, or drop you altogether, if they think you are abusing the coverage. That's why you only file a claim when it is absolutely necessary, as someone else mentioned.

You can't tell when you're talking to a robot?

 

[SphinxnihpS]

For the whole thing, I will only have to pay for 1 deductible though because the contractor might help us out on paying the 2nd deductible.

This is insurance fraud. Just so you know.

insurance is for when you can't afford to pay for it. If it's just a few hundred bucks and you can swing it, you will save more long term by not filing.

and bctbct is right, they aren't going to re-side your home to repair a small area.

 

[GCS]

All I can tell you is from experience if you file 2 claims you will be dropped for sure and then be forced into a very high premium plan.

Happened to me with State Farm. 2 claims in a 3 year period -- 1 from a hurricane that passed through the area and then about 2 years later a water pipe burst in the house creating massive damage to the first floor. The hurricane claim was not supposed to count against me anyway since it was deemed as a natural disaster and the federal government had even stated we were in a disaster area but the SOBs used it anyway.

Filed claims on each, insurance covered very little of the repairs unless I used "their recommended crew" who would do it for what they said it would cost. 2 weeks after the claim was processed I received a cancellation notice.

Only insurance I could get after that for a 1 year period from the last claim cost me $2200 per year. Pretty steep considering I was paying about $500ish.

After 1 year I was able to get back down to something costing me about $750 per year.


Basically insurance SUCKS!

Greg


Also I can tell you from experience that the insurance company will look at damages based on the source. For example if you have damage that occurred from 2 separate leaking pipes at the same time they will treat it as 2 separate claims. And this will most assuredly get your coverage canceled as well.

And as others have said unless your cost of getting this fixed is thousands of dollars you are better off paying for it out of your pocket and skip insurance. Sadly insurance only seems to be worth a damn if your whole house burns to the ground (and then its still a nightmare dealing with them to get a new/fixed house).

 

[apac]

You can't tell when you're talking to a robot?

lol, it was late. must have overlooked it.

 

[EagleKeeper]

On the issue with the neighbor's tree.

Talk to them and get it taken down BEFORE it causes problems.

 

[Genx87]

Did this contractor show up our of nowhere? My buddy had this happen to him. The contractor somehow managed to get the insurance company to pay for a new roof and some siding. But in the end by this guy showing up it cost him 3000 bucks lol.

He was bragging about a new roof that cost him 3K.

I have gone through some terrible storms in the past 5 years. 2 roofs and 2 residings. I havent been dropped and my rates havent increased either.

 

[child of wonder]

All I can tell you is from experience if you file 2 claims you will be dropped for sure and then be forced into a very high premium plan.

Happened to me with State Farm. 2 claims in a 3 year period -- 1 from a hurricane that passed through the area and then about 2 years later a water pipe burst in the house creating massive damage to the first floor. The hurricane claim was not supposed to count against me anyway since it was deemed as a natural disaster and the federal government had even stated we were in a disaster area but the SOBs used it anyway.

Filed claims on each, insurance covered very little of the repairs unless I used "their recommended crew" who would do it for what they said it would cost. 2 weeks after the claim was processed I received a cancellation notice.

Only insurance I could get after that for a 1 year period from the last claim cost me $2200 per year. Pretty steep considering I was paying about $500ish.

After 1 year I was able to get back down to something costing me about $750 per year.


Basically insurance SUCKS!

Greg


Also I can tell you from experience that the insurance company will look at damages based on the source. For example if you have damage that occurred from 2 separate leaking pipes at the same time they will treat it as 2 separate claims. And this will most assuredly get your coverage canceled as well.

And as others have said unless your cost of getting this fixed is thousands of dollars you are better off paying for it out of your pocket and skip insurance. Sadly insurance only seems to be worth a damn if your whole house burns to the ground (and then its still a nightmare dealing with them to get a new/fixed house).

Christ....

What's the point of insurance then?

"What? You used our product for what it was intended for?!?!?!?!? You are DROPPED!!!!"

 

[CountZero]

Christ....

What's the point of insurance then?

"What? You used our product for what it was intended for?!?!?!?!? You are DROPPED!!!!"

The primary purpose of insurance is to make insurance companies and their share holders money. The secondary purpose is to cover you if something happens that is beyond your ability to pay for. If that second purpose works against the first you are dropped.