Any insurance agents here? A question.

[TOM KAN PA]

I got a question. Most auto insurers will waive the deductable and pay for chip repair on a windshield rather than pay for a windshield replacement minus the deductable. Well, I have a willow tree that's dying. $950 to have it taken day, and that doesn't include the stump. Another $275 for this. I can't afford to have this done. There are a few big limbs that hang out over my neighbors fence and inground swimming pool. Do you think the insurance company who writes my homeowner's policy might pay to have the tree taken down or at least the dead limbs removed rather than eventually pay not only for cleaning up fallen limbs, but also paying for any damage done to neighbor's property?

[JerryL]

From my experiences with insurance companies, you have a tremendously hard time collecting when you have a legitimate claim. You want them to pay in anticipation of a claim? Never happened.

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

Usually there is no deductible on glass.

It would be a bad idea to even ask them. If you tell them that there is a special risk, they will tell you that you must immediately take care of it, and mitigate the risk, or be cancelled. The best you can hope for is that they will just sharply raise your premium, rather than cancel you altogether. Insurance companies share information, so if you get cancelled, you probably will not be able to get insurance anywhere else.

BB

[Dave Solly]

[e-mail] (TOM KAN PA) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I asked my agent a similar question regarding hot water heaters. I had a water heater that leaked and cost the insurance about 5,000. I asked them if it wouldn't be cheaper to pay to have their customers hot water heaters replaced every 10 years instead of paying out large claims. She said that even though that sounded like a good idea, they don't do that (nor would they even think about it).

[Peter]

You might get an answer in newsgroup misc.industry.insurance

insurance

[NorMinn]

It's a good idea to plan ahead.....you know the tree is a hazard and, depending on your local code, you could be held responsible. In my city, it is a code violation to have a hazardous tree. Take care of it before the neighbor complains and the city cites you for it. I have never heard of an insurance company that pays in advance of damage, but I don't know everything. I have heard of insurance companies that recover losses from those responsible. If a dead limb happens to fall on a person, your cost could rise significantly. There is more to responsible home ownership than paying taxes, and building codes can actually protect people. Of course, local code might give the neighbor permission to lop off the dead limbs over his property. :o)

[Patch]

Not in a million years. In fact, I wouldn't even mention it to my insurance co. They may do a "risk review" on you & decide that you are a poor risk & non-renew your homeowner's policy.

[Richard J Kinch]

IANAIA but BWAHAHAHAH.

[DaveG]

provisions for preventative.