[CBP]

Looking for some opinions. I recently shopped my insurances and came up with quotes that were very good for better insurance. So I switched. Now I get a letter in the mail stating that they need to come by and do a home inspection. I've never had an internal home inspection with any insurance company I've had, only outside photos.

Its not like I have preps hanging from the ceilings, but I'm really unsettled about this. Some unknown prowling around my house, yuck.

Secondly, I have a gun or two or more. Certainly valued at more than the $2500 allotted for a standard homeowners policy. In order to purchase more insurance, I need to provide a listing of my firearms, serial numbers, values etc. While I can understand that. . . . . um, feels intrusive. ( And how do they know that I didn't take a few pictures etc of some really expensive guns and put them on the list -- long gun private transactions are not tracked in this state.)

I feel like I'm about to blow my OPSEC to smithereens.

 

[SamboRoberts]

Find a better insurance company. Cheaper isn't always better.

 

[vicdotcom]

Are they doing an inspection of your possessions for replacement value? Or are they doing a 4 point inspection of roof, hv/ac, electrical and plumbing? Different states have different requirements.

Also make sure you are asking for full replacement value on your possessions and NOT cash value.

 

[CBP]

I don't know what they are looking at. I questioned the sales guy (quite young, naive) and he's like "well some companies now require that. Sorry for the inconvenience." I haven't heard from the actual inspection people yet, so I haven't had opportunity to ascertain exactly what they want to look at. This company was relatively close on the cost of the house insurance (replacement value), but really beat the pants off the old insurer on auto coverage -- adding significantly higher coverage. I'm also getting a $1M umbrella. Total package was $300 less a year than what I had. The old company quoted the higher coverage and was another $400 more per year.


I talked it over with the other half last night. He isn't thrilled about having someone in the house either. I may just can it and go back to my original insurer -- when I added a corn burner a few years back they simply wanted to know if it was upstairs, main source of heat etc. Never even bothered to look at it.

I wish kiddo sales guy had mentioned an inspection, we would have stopped right there.

 

[vicdotcom]

...
I wish kiddo sales guy had mentioned an inspection, we would have stopped right there.

Well another option is to hide all your preps in another room for the day and not let him in there. You can also say that you are a LDS church member (if they even bother to look). But at the VERY least, I would call the insurers directly (not the sales agent) to see EXACTLY what they are there to inspect. Then you can plan accordingly.

 

[AmericanPatriot121]

Ask them the purpose of the inspection. If you have a claims history on your home they might be scrutinizing it a little closer. In the 24 years I've owned my home I've never had to have a home inspection to obtain insurance so unless you have a very unusual home do not consent and seek another company

 

[9111315]

They may simply be looking for compliance with things such as no diving boards or trampolines.

and they want to make sure you are not a hoarder (with 8 inches of news papers and crap covering your floor.

Things like excessive empty cardboard boxes or such items may be considered a fire hazard.

 

[vicdotcom]

I remember I needed a 4 point inspection. After that was turned in, an agent stopped by the home to make sure I didn't have a pool or dog. Then left. A few years later I had an additional roof inspection done for additional discounts. But the insurance agent didn't do that. An independent contractor did and submitted the paperwork.

 

[jlee86]

Sounds a little off to me, but each state is different. If it comes down to the nittie grittie, depending on how many preps you have box it up and storage it at a family member's or someone you trust house. Just for the day of the inspection. But that's atleast what I would do.

 

[wyldflwr]

CBP, I'm an insurance agent. I have a question and a suggestion for you.

Question: Is the kid a broker or an agent?

Suggestion: call a more senior agent or even the company's customer service line and verify that the inspection needs to include the interior of your home. If you decide that you can't abide by that, when you shop around for other insurance be sure to ask up front if any inspection must include the interior, of course I'm sure you do that now, sorry.

With regard to firearms, if you don't want to schedule them, bolt a fireproof gun safe to the floor and keep them in there. I always ask people if they want to schedule any firearms. They usually say no, only the collectors actually schedule and that's to protect their investment vs their concern for safety or opsec. In our fireproof safe I have a video that I took, it's just on a thumb drive, of our stuff as we were moving into our house. I also have a notebook that I write down all serial numbers for our electronics in and I keep copies of receipts for major purchases in there too.

This is what works best for us to prevent exposure of our preps to the outside world.

If you have any questions about insurance let me know, I'll be happy to help if I can. Good luck to you.

 

[wyldflwr]

Ask them the purpose of the inspection. If you have a claims history on your home they might be scrutinizing it a little closer. In the 24 years I've owned my home I've never had to have a home inspection to obtain insurance so unless you have a very unusual home do not consent and seek another company

It's usually an exterior inspection to verify the condition of the property. If you've owned your home for 24 years and haven't changed insurance companies then you're not likely to have one.

Half the time people don't pay attention to their mail, and the exterior inspection is completed without the homeowner even being aware that there was someone checking out their house. If the homeowner isn't home then the inspector can't complete the inspection by going into the backyard etc, but they can see the roof and the condition of most of the house without ever even getting out of their vehicle. :thumb:

 

[CBP]

It's usually an exterior inspection to verify the condition of the property. If you've owned your home for 24 years and haven't changed insurance companies then you're not likely to have one.

Half the time people don't pay attention to their mail, and the exterior inspection is completed without the homeowner even being aware that there was someone checking out their house. If the homeowner isn't home then the inspector can't complete the inspection by going into the backyard etc, but they can see the roof and the condition of most of the house without ever even getting out of their vehicle. :thumb:

This young man is an agent working for a company that apparently writes for 8 or so different companies. I was formerly with State Farm. If and when they call to schedule something, I'll question then what they specifically they are looking at. The letter I received mentioned they require inspections on homes older than 1966, a solid burning stove (in my case a corn stove in the basement not primary), and/or claiming over $499K in coverage (haha not in my case).

If I don't get an answer I can live with, I'll switch back to State Farm. Until now, no one was able to beat their rates. I'll tweak the policy a bit and should be all set.

 

[Madgie]

In all my years as a home owner I have never been asked for an inside inspection. As posted above we were told their would be someone coming out to inspect and take photos of the outsides of our home. I can understand your concern about OPSEC. Any work person or repair people are never left alone on any of our property. Best of luck!

 

[CBP]

Well, the inspector showed up without appt. this a.m. Just happened to be home. He was taking pictures and measurements outside. He did have a couple of questions regarding the age of the various add-ons - they are obvious because of the different cement block styles used.

And then says, looking at the roof, "Do you have a wood stove?" No, no, its only a corn burner in the basement -- like pellet stove thingie, I replied.

"Oh then I don't need to look at that." Waved it off, finished his pictures and left. Never came in the house.

I guess I passed.

(which is quite a happy thing because the power went off during a 5 inch rainstorm and the sump pump quit working. Its relatively dried off in the basement, but you know what I mean. No preps damaged!)


I really do appreciate all your responses. I thought I was just being "touchy".

 

[wyldflwr]

Well, the inspector showed up without appt. this a.m. Just happened to be home. He was taking pictures and measurements outside. He did have a couple of questions regarding the age of the various add-ons - they are obvious because of the different cement block styles used.

And then says, looking at the roof, "Do you have a wood stove?" No, no, its only a corn burner in the basement -- like pellet stove thingie, I replied.

"Oh then I don't need to look at that." Waved it off, finished his pictures and left. Never came in the house.

I guess I passed.

(which is quite a happy thing because the power went off during a 5 inch rainstorm and the sump pump quit working. Its relatively dried off in the basement, but you know what I mean. No preps damaged!)


I really do appreciate all your responses. I thought I was just being "touchy".

Do you have water backup on your homeowners policy for that basement sump pump? The company that I work for will provide coverage for food refrigerators and freezers and usually the food in them, plus washers, dryers, and dehumidifiers and such, but other preps stored in the basement might not be covered in the event the sump pump overflows. If possible try to keep most things out of your basement unless you can afford the losses if that sump pump does over flow because it can't keep up with the water.

Sorry, I'll shut up, but I'm happy to hear that it turned out to be an exterior inspection.

 

[toolman]

Looking for some opinions. I recently shopped my insurances and came up with quotes that were very good for better insurance. So I switched. Now I get a letter in the mail stating that they need to come by and do a home inspection. I've never had an internal home inspection with any insurance company I've had, only outside photos.

Its not like I have preps hanging from the ceilings, but I'm really unsettled about this. Some unknown prowling around my house, yuck.

Secondly, I have a gun or two or more. Certainly valued at more than the $2500 allotted for a standard homeowners policy. In order to purchase more insurance, I need to provide a listing of my firearms, serial numbers, values etc. While I can understand that. . . . . um, feels intrusive. ( And how do they know that I didn't take a few pictures etc of some really expensive guns and put them on the list -- long gun private transactions are not tracked in this state.)

I feel like I'm about to blow my OPSEC to smithereens.

We actually discussed this issue at a certification class today. I'm an agent. A client did not insure his guns and a house burned as a total loss. Keep in a fire safe if not insured.

 

[dethmaul]

The entire house was a loss because he lied about his guns?! Dang. I'll keep that in mind!

 

[vicdotcom]

The entire house was a loss because he lied about his guns?! Dang. I'll keep that in mind!

I think you misread the post (though it was worded a little weird). But I doubt that the house was a loss because of the firearms. Just that the firearms were not covered under the policy is all and were not replaced.

 

[dethmaul]

Ah. I was about to see how that could make sense. "You lied to us and obtained fraudulent insurance as a result? DING no money!"

 

[vicdotcom]

Ah. I was about to see how that could make sense. "You lied to us and obtained fraudulent insurance as a result? DING no money!"

What you say might happen if you tried to claim items that you never really had (as in insurance fraud). For example, saying you lost a Monet painting worth million that burned up in your home.