Insurance cancelled before claim filed

[HeyBub]

"[Florida] A Cape Coral woman received a letter abruptly cancelling [sic] her homeowner's insurance because of improper maintenance. The letter referenced a tiny boarded up window that was broken for not even a week. Something similar could just as easily happen to you."

Seems a neighborhood child cracked a small bathroom window with an errant golf ball. The insurance company has "inspectors" that prowl the neighborhoods looking for disrepair and, finding same, canceled the policy before the homeowner could file a claim, thereby saving the company approximately twelve dollars.

[norminn]

And mebbe the insurance company gets 400 claims for broken windows every year in that zip code? I figure there has to be more to the story, because a $7 window isn't worth the time.

[Hipupchuck]

I'd tell them to stick their insurance up their smelly butts.

[bob haller]

insurance companies have gotten very picky

[Bob F]

It's not the window. It's the chance to cancel a policy. I know different people that have gotten cancelled for moss on the roof, a cracked window, and messy yards. Cancelation was the first notice of a problem.

[cjt]

Don't insurance policies in Florida have deductibles? This sounds bogus.

[NoSpam]

It sure does sound bogus. If the damage exceeded the deductible, the insurance company would have to pay because the property was insured at the time of the loss.

If this were not the case, auto > snipped-for-privacy@earthl>

[HeyBub]

It IS bogus.

Probably.

Nowhere in the story was paying for the broken window mentioned - that conjecture was entirely my idea. Still, I came to that notion as the only possible reason the insurance company could have for canceling the policy.

Upon reflection, I've come to the position that insanity could be involved.

[trader4]

$7 isn't the reason and obviously the insurance company doesn't care about a small claim that almost certainly is below the deductible and would never be filed. And they still would have to pay for it anyway, because the damage ocurred while it was insured.

What they do care about is what general condition the property is in. And if you read the rest of the article, they do talk about shrubs being overgrown, lawn being patchy, etc. So, the insurance company sends inspectors around periodically to take a quick look at what condition the properties they are insuring are in. It's likely that boarded up window, together with other signs, led them to believe the property was higher risk. I'd like to see a pic of the property.

d.- Hide quoted text -

[Charlie]

homeowners' insurance here. They are always fighting over rates etc. State Farm threatened to pull out of Florida because they were not allowed to raise their rates. The state actually sponsors a company called Citizens to provide insurance to those of us who otherwise can't buy it elsewhere. Now the latest from this morning's newspaper. It is hitting the fan again.

It is great living in the land of the hurricane. I don't know how the other states on the Gulf of Mexico are doing, but that's our story.

Charlie

[Kurt Ullman]

SF isn't threatening, it IS pulling out. Travellers and other insurance companies have cut back on their policies. Much of this slack has been taken up by smaller companies. It should be REALLY interesting to see what happens to these smaller companies the next time FL gets smacked around. It doesn't look like the other states are having quite the problems, largely because FL has been much more aggressive on keeping rates low so as not to offend Voters. Much the same way they slap around the snowbird owners on their property taxes. Fl seems to be having the same problems Washington has on many occassions: an inability to understand that economics won't automatically follow their whims.

[gfretwell]

"Low" is a relative term. I pay over $4000 a year and my storm coverage has a $5,000 deductible. (on $100,000 coverage) I am really thinking about only buying fire, theft and liability