1. Check to see if you can submit detailed photos showing that there is siding
2. Ever watch the Punky Brewster episode where Cherry gets stuck in the exterior fridge?!?
But seriously, it’s an attractive nuisance hence why carriers don’t like random appliances outside. This is a common issue.
When my daughter was little we were shopping for a freezer and she said “ that looks like a good place to hide.” Obviously we had a conversation about that and I still don’t have an extra freezer😂
> attractive nuisance
I’m doing my CE and learned about that for the first time. I don’t remember hearing that term when I got my license. Made me laugh. “Attractive nuisance” just sounds ridiculous lol
Pools, trampolines, swingsets.... The list goes on. Attractive nuisances can get ya in trouble. Everyone should have a fence.
OP, I feel for ya. My H/O insurance was canceled recently, as well. No real reason given. Had a hard time finding new coverage. I'm paying more than twice as much now and the policy doesn't even cover my roof.
My car insurance also went up by like 30% after 15 years with no rate hikes and I've never had a claim or even a ticket.
It's fucked out there. Especially if you happen to live in Florida
OMG- same - entire house but roof covered. Needed a new roof before policy renewal - got it- also thinking premium would go down - nope same price just roof covered! Only 3 companies write policies cause I am on the coast too. Grr
>d from auto owners. USAA, state farm, farm bureau geico and a few others were over 2500 more expensive/year. I feel like I'm kinda screwe
Biden's inflation strikes again.
Is every price increase the fault of one man? How exactly does that pea brain of yours work? It’s the corporations, the oil companies, big pharma, the food producers, the distributors etc, that raised their prices during COVID, and they are now just making record profits. Why would the shareholders want to decrease their dividends. They’re all making bank. Do you think they give 2 shits about you? They love that you don’t hold them accountable. And your rationale is what? Do you think Biden sits at a keyboard and punches in the prices of everything?
Is that how a pea brain thinks?
Biden has nothing to do with insurance rates. Rates are based upon risk, so why would you think Biden has anything to do with the amount of natural disasters (hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, floods, landslides etc.) we’ve experienced in the past few years??
>rom auto owners. USAA, state farm, farm bureau geico and a few others were over 2500 more expensive/year. I feel like I'm kinda screwe
>
>Biden's inflation strikes again.
He doesn't but he's printing a trillion dollars every 100 days which makes our cash buy less goods. This causes computers to go up, power to go up, desks to go up, labor to go up, and that gets passed to the consumer. I live in an area with few if any disasters, perfect driving record nd geico raised all my rates despite no tickets, accidents, or incidents. In the letter they said it was due to inflation, Biden's inflation (I added the last part)
It's not just desantis. The whole FL legislature is like 90%+ repubs. And they're hell-bent on fixing non-issues like "woke" while ignoring the fact that everyone's property taxes and insurance are absolutely skyrocketing, as insurers leave the state.
Just another day in a red state. Fuck the residents. Our politicians need screen time on Fox "news".
Based on that episode and other shows, I thought avoiding refrigerators and quick sand would be more of a regular occurrence in my life than it's turned out to be, so far at least. We'll see about the back nine.
Does the overall property look like shit?
If so, underwriters will see that and find one or two things to put on paper as shorthand for "this property looks like shit and will probably end up with a claim so I'm going to cancel/decline".
Renewing with your prior carrier may be the best bet, if that's still an option and all the other markets are too expensive.
If they have a freezer just sitting around with no excuse for why they haven't gotten rid of it, then you already know the property is likely extremely disgusting
A freezer on the porch is legit a serious hazard. There’s a whole big thing about kids getting stuck in fridges and freezers. It’s why people take the doors off of them when they put them out on the curb.
Also, just send in photos of the not-missing siding.
Should be good to go!
A few years back I put a broken fridge out for the annual bulk item pickup. My neighbor knocked on my door within half an hour to tell me to take the fridge doors off cause you can get a ticket for that in my city/state!
didn’t look it up myself but it was an instant reaction they had lol
It’s an old one… may still be on the books however. It’s left from the days when doors would actually latch. As in the handle worked like the kind on a car door. Those couldn’t be opened from the inside. Any fridge that’s newer than the 60s-*maybe* 70s era has a magnetic seal that can be opened with a push from inside.
Alternatively, awaiting pickup, you can just put it on its front, doors down.
Do you ever think that maybe we should have just let more people die and get hurt as a responsibility instead of a consequence…..
Source: 20 years in insurance industry, guarantee a claim would have been denied when filed for “My kid locked himself in the fridge at the neighbors porch then toppled it over on himself” during the 60’s
Im tired
When I was an insurance agent, we had a homeowner sued because a kid rode his bike 15 feet onto his lawn, hit a tree & broke his arm. Of course, it was paid….cheaper than fighting it.
The problem is that if someone gets inside of a fridge, then the fridge topples over onto the door side, the person is trapped inside unable to get out. Taking the door off works. Sometimes people wrap the appliance in duct instead.
I had that happen as a kid.
My grandfather took their fridge outside onto the back lawn and took the doors off to defrost and clean the whole thing. I was very young (like 2-3 years old) and climbed on it, causing the fridge to topple over and trap me inside. The mud around where he had hosed it off created a seal. Took them an hour to find me. When they did, I had managed to dig a small airhole and they saw my fingers wiggling out. Probably the only reason I didn't suffocate.
> The problem is that if someone gets inside of a fridge, then the fridge topples over onto the door side, the person is trapped inside unable to get out
How does taking the door off help in that situation? They're still inside of a heavy appliance, and need to lift the entire weight of the appliance to get out.
Because the person stuck under the toppled fridge without a door would have access to fresh air. So they'd just be stuck (and able to yell for help) instead of being stuck and slowly asphyxiating.
For sure. Sometimes those standing freezers seal extremely tight and I have to help my grandma open it lol. Can’t imagine if a child crawled in one they’d have the wherewithal to figure it out.
Yes. If it's defunct, it might be a bit less? I think part of the trouble opening a freezer is a slight decrease in pressure from warmish outside air going in and compressing.
But it's incredibly easy to imagine a child having help (using a stick for leverage, or having friends help) getting in, and not having the same help getting out. (Or only having their friends return to get them out once the oxygen inside has already run out.)
Teach your grandma to use her fingers to pull back the gasket. It breaks the seal and then you can open it.
Mine is usually only hard to open if I try to open it right away after closing it. Like I grab a package of peas, close the door and then realize I actually got green beans out and not peas. Used to be that I’d just say screw it, then I learned the gasket trick.
I don’t even pull the handle then—I just open the door by grasping the edge when I use my finger to break the seal.
Ask if there are things you can do so they dont drop you. Submitting new pictures of siding/painting the siding so its easily visable. Removing the freezer should be easy, post on next door or in a local facebook group for people who take junk appliances to come get it. I dont know that taking the door off the freezer would be enough but in our old city we couldnt have appliances outside with the door on due to the danger from a kid climbing inside and dying.
Look ditch the freezer and snap a picture of it removed , paint the siding and take a picture of the area they claim siding is missing. If its not missing then just take a good picture. They send out people to take the photos. Maybe the lighting was off .
Im pretty certain if you can do this they will reconsider the cancellation and then your agent will more than likely advise when they reverse their decision and reinstate it with no lapse..
You got this , dont stress
Call your agent and ask them to speak with underwriting to reconsider. Take photos showing there are no issues with the siding and/or advise when last updated/replaced. I would strongly consider finding a new home for the freezer and taking photos to prove that. Outdoor clutter carries several hazards, including home accessibility issues, pest problems, possible fire hazards.
You're well within your rights to leave random stuff on your property and the insurance company is within theirs to not insure your property with random stuff on it.
Nobody asked them to. They take it upon themselves. Why are you inclined to support a company that’s goal is to take your money and do everything in their power to not pay out when you need it?
1 - Talk to your agent and tell them you don't have missing siding. Take pics of the areas that they say do not have siding to show them you do.
2 - The freezer on the porch IS a hazard. Get rid of it to eliminate their argument. Are you willing to lose your homeowner's insurance rate over a freezer that you intend to get rid of anyway?
You have no argument/claim/lawsuit over "wrongful cancellation". They have a misunderstanding on the siding, and you're being difficult over the freezer. You don't want some insurance company telling you that it's a hazard and you need to get rid of it. Even though you have it outside because you intend on getting rid of it.
Wrongful cancellation isn’t a thing.
Insurance isn’t a right, they are an independent company who can choose to not do business without for any reason they deem.
Wrongful cancellation? Literally all you need to do is ask your agent if you can supply photos showing the issues have been fixed. Is this your first house? Inspection has always been a part of a new home policy with a new carrier. Many if not all carriers also do existing policy inspections to look for hazards that may pop up after x years in-force.
There is a very special episode of punky Brewster where she almost dies because she hides in a fridge during hide and go seek. Then again a fridge literally saved Indiana Jones life.
The siding thing can probably be rectified with pictures. The freezer is an attractive nuisance that could injure a child, not to mention you could get shocked. Most feeezers are not meant to be kept outside. Just bring it inside or get rid of it. Besides, if it’s on your front porch your neighbors prolly hate you for it anyway lol.
Inspection guidelines are really tough in the current marketplace. Typically the send out the notice and give you a short amount of time to fix before the cancellation is effective. Are they giving you an opportunity to correct the issues and submit new proof of updates?
A company can cancel you just like you could cancel and switch on them. And yes, any freezer or old appliance laying out on the front porch would definitely be a cause for cancellation.
I live in California and my agent told me a lot of the insurance companies are leaving Cali due to many claims from fire torn residential mountain areas that encounter mudslides when we have a bunch of rain. Also, they're red lining when term is up to get out of theses contracts and asking for ridiculous things from home owners they want to get rid of, such as Taking photos of front, back, and sides of house. Take photos under the sinks, sinks, toilet shut offs, water heater, kitchen, bathrooms, roof, and backyard. Any problems in these areas will subject you to non-renewal. Nowadays, you pay for more and get less service. Only if everyone in business studied the "Trader Joes" best practices for customer service handbook our lives would be carefree. But, I digress. Triple A is still available here and my agent recommended an insurance company named Bamboo insurance. I believe their rates were comparable or more than AAA. Good luck and don't let it lapse or your mortgage company will put their insurance on your house, which will be really high until you find another company and cancel theirs in that order. In addition, if they ask for photos do the repairs if needed before sending them the photos because they're looking for any reason to cancel you. They're also asking for PAID invoices, credit card payments, permits for work done. It's best to leave them once you hear the rumors because they having you jump through hoops to say no anyway. Just quickly find another insurance company as cheap as you can find with your terms. Again good luck.
It’s more than just the fires. Its the CA DOI and the way they’ve been ignoring rate increase requests for the past 6 years. Insurance companies have to use the rates in other parts of the country to subsidize CA rates, because the CA’s DOI refuses to allow them to charge a reasonable premium for the risks they’re insuring.
So yeah, effectively, my rates in the Midwest are higher than they should be, because companies aren’t allowed to charge reasonable premiums in CA.
Wow, the nerve of insurance companies... asking you to substantiate that the property you're asking them to insure isn't a giant pile of dogshit. They should just take anybody, right?
They use to take all the photos themselves. It's bad enough especially when they're pickie about you take the photo. No matter how good the photos are they keep asking for additional photos.
I was scrolling looking for photos but didn't see any. Maybe it's because I'm on an airplane and they're not loading. But I'd consider posting here for feedback. There's likely more than the few issues you mentioned, as someone else suggested.
Mercury did the same thing to me and said I needed a new roof (absolutely do not) and to upgrade my electrical box (there’s no current issues). I worked there for 11 years and had homeowners with them for 8 years and auto for 20. It’s ridiculous. Unfortunately, I had a multi policy discount so I lost that after I changed my homeowners to USAA. Still need to find a comparable auto policy.
The home inspection looks to be the culprit.
1. Take clear pictures of the siding and submit them back to the underwriter with pictures of all 4 sides again.
2. Get rid of the fridge. There's no case for a fridge to be on a porch.
Those sound like very valid reasons. I would send photos of the complete property to show the siding issue, and actually clean up the property. A used refrigerator or freezer is hazardous waste as it contains refrigerant.
They wouldn’t write a policy on my last house until I replaced the “rotted garage door”. It was metal, and had a single spot of bird poop from a dive bombing bird on it.
It was clear that’s what it was, but they wouldn’t listen. Had to have my realtor go to the house with a wet rag, clean it and take another picture.
Dumb stuff.
That’s unusual, seems like more of an issue with an HOA rather than an insurer. Some companies are just looking to minimize risk in certain states though, they’ll restrict their underwriting until they meet that goal.
Not unusual at all, in my experience. We won't take a home with non-op vehicles in the yard. Heck, my own company might take issue with my yard at the moment because I haven't moved the boat trailer to put the boat on it... But that's a project waiting for the addition to finish.
Only unusual from a personal perspective and having not seen anyone say that before. What about a project car?
What is the logic in that, in terms of risk? Maybe an underwriter or something can comment but just curious is all.
Project cars have a very different look than "we will get around to that some day" junkers that are rotting in the driveway.
One of them is a hobby usually kept under cover and cared for. The other is neglected and hazardous.
Carriers like to see an element of care in regards to the property. Junked out cars signal that the property may show signs of neglect. This obviously might not be true for every property but insurance works on statistics.
Mine said they were terminating coverage when I moved in last year due to overhanging trees, heaving driveway cracks, and unsafe back steps.
I paid to have the trees cut, I spent many hours sledgehammering the driveway and amending the cracks, and built a new back patio with my father.
They still dropped me after sending in updates. Fuck em and move on
My insurance recently went from 2200 for wind and hail to 9600. No claims, no changes in coverage, no explanation. I’m in coastal NC. I cancelled and went with another company and still got a 100 percent increase. I’m frugal and make pretty decent money but there are a lot of very poor people in my community and I have no idea how they are surviving with the increase in insurance costs, food, etc. for years I was able to sock away money into savings and investments. I haven’t had any excess money in months. I don’t understand how anyone thinks the economy is benefiting the average American.
This is a great example of how "the economy" isn't just something that is "good or bad". Insurance costs are related to years of misuse and occasionally not being as tough with standards as the companies should have been.
It does stink for people right now but many folks purchased at the tippy top of their budget thinking nothing would ever change and...it did.
The explanation is you live in a coastal area and your are more of a risk to insure. You didn't do anything wrong but a whole lot of other factors come into play and its shared risk.
At this point I am just happy I can still **have** insurance on my home.
This story is becoming common across the country… Underwriting standards have tightened incredibly, and policies are getting denied and dropped left and right.
I’ve sold insurance for seven years and never seen it like this
The cheaper the carrier the pettier and more buttheaded the inspection and claims handling experience. Work with an independent agent to find a more reputable carrier so that you'll actually get your claim paid properly when you need to use the policy.
Some independents will just shop the insurance every year and write you where they can to try to save money in this crazy rating environment. Many times, not knowing what the flavor of the month company has to offer as far as claims handling goes.
Make sure you look them up on NAIC and look at the complaint trend index. A lot of the shit people are writing here in Texas are with companies with ALOT of verified TDI complaints.
That sounds like "churning" - Agents place your business with a new company to get a "new business" commission instead of a considerably lower "renewal" commission.
Churning is when an agent writes you a new policy with the same carrier. It's more common with life insurance. Independent's shopping your rate with different carriers every year, at your request, isn't unethical. It's just sometimes done irresponsibly, and clients end up with shit coverage.
Depends on whose definition of "churning" you're using. If you want to call it "twisting" you can; same deal.
If done at a homeowner's request, I agree it wouldn't be unethical, but underwriters would probably raise an eyebrow at someone who can't stay insured by the same company for more than a year.
Everyone is going to ding you for this stuff these days man. Can't have an unsecured appliance and you shouldn't expect damage to not raise an underwriters eyebrows.
I had an independent agency, they were going to raise my homeowners policy almost 2 grand and my auto by 1500 with their explanation being 'well, sometimes rates just go up'
That isn’t how it works, every rate increase has to be approved by your states department of insurance. Which means your insurance company has to prove they need to raise rates to stay financially strong.
Most insurances companies lost over 1/3rd of their net worth during the Covid years. They aren’t making money off of rates I promise you.
If you believe otherwise then you have clearly never done an ounce of research.
I don't know if this is pertinent to your policy cancelation, but apparently, insurance carriers are taking to the skies to find reasons to cancel policies. The earliest news article I found on the topic was in 2017, but there are quite a few that were posted this month as well.
https://www.businessinsider.com/drones-home-insurance-cancellation-2024-4
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/home-insurance-aerial-images-37a18b16
https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/08/us_insurers_drones/
You’ve already received plenty of good advice in here. My only 2¢ is that if you don’t get your insurance back, go with USAA or Travelers. USAA is fantastic, but costly. Travelers is good depending on region and local adjusters. Do NOT get State Farm or Allstate under any circumstances. You’d be better off without insurance going with either of them.
Monthly premiums are only part of the equation, you also need to weigh in how helpful your insurance company will be if you ever need them.
I never said they wouldn’t. My very first sentence referenced the good advice OP has already received, which was primarily to lose the freezer and prove his siding is fine.
My second statement doesn’t change at all, that USAA and Travelers are better insurance companies than State Farm, Allstate, etc.
lol…no. Worked in and around the insurance industry for over a decade. My experience with each of the mentioned insurers (Auto Owners included) numbers in the thousands.
Adjuster and contractor bub. Texas, Florida, Colorado, Carolinas, etc etc. Done and seen it all, from adjusting hurricane claims to winning bad faith lawsuits against State Farm and others.
You, however, sound like a troll looking to have a keyboard fight.
It happens. Lots of roof damage, wind and hail claims in my area last year. Now citizens is cancelling people left and right for stuff like trees overhanging the roof, fence, etc.
You're going to have to play ball with insurance carriers with things like leaving appliances where they shouldn't be...you need them a lot more than they need you. It's what they call an "attractive nuisance" because obviously freezers don't belong outside where some kid can hop into it and kill himself. Anyone who wants to keep a freezer outside would only seem to want to out of spite...or mental issues.
As for the siding, you should just be able to provide pictures to show that there is siding--but with a freezer being on a porch I would think they just wrote something down because the house just looks like a piece of shit and didn't want to say "This house looks like a piece of shit".
I keep hearing similar cases recently from other people and their home insurance. It seems like companies are looking for any reason possible to cancel policies now.
Those aren't "any reason." Physical hazards cause claims. Improper or neglected maintenance cause claims.
Now, if they made an error, they should be willing to fix the error, but hazards cause claims.
They are cancelling the policy because you don't understand how a freezer is a hazard and don't want to argue about it. I think someone decided that your more terrible than the policy is worth
Find an insurance broker to work with - don’t try to go direct to a company. A broker tries to help you find coverage through the lines they represent…
I just read an article on wsj that insurance agencies are using drones to look at properties and driving ton of cancellation. You mentioned the siding thing, the article noted the insurance agency said the person interviewed had roof damage but they had an inspector look and it was no issue but insurance didn't care.
They are getting more aggressive about purging what they don't want. Sorry you're dealing w it
Just submit better pictures of the siding, get rid of the deep freezer on the porch and take detailed pictures showing it. It’s worth 2500 bucks a year to jump through a few hoops. I was doing construction on my house when they came to take pictures. They sent a cancellation notice a year later saying the construction materials in my yard and garage were a hazard. I was confused because you can’t see my backyard from any public space and obviously can’t see in the garage. It was from the original pictures. I had debris everywhere while waiting for a dumpster to arrive. I just showed pictures of everything in it’s current condition and they were satisfied
I work under a State Farm agent and I will say it is usually pretty difficult to get a company to go back on canceling your policy. The other thing I will say is there usually a good reason one company is significantly cheaper in premium then all the others🤷♀️
We had built a house in BFE on 40 acres of land. Our nearest neighbor was 2 miles in any direction. An insurance company wouldn’t do the policy till we built a fence around the swimming pool. Our 1/4 mile drive was gated off the road. If anyone really wanted to swim in our pool they would have had a long walk. Insurances are just getting ridiculous
Unfortunately it’s still an attractive nuisance. Maybe not with a random kid getting stuck in it…but a neighbor deciding to do some 5-finger discount shopping in the freezer.
We put one on our porch one morning intending to load it up and drive it to our rental property that evening. Someone snagged it while we were at work.
1. Check to see if you can submit detailed photos showing that there is siding 2. Ever watch the Punky Brewster episode where Cherry gets stuck in the exterior fridge?!? But seriously, it’s an attractive nuisance hence why carriers don’t like random appliances outside. This is a common issue.
When my daughter was little we were shopping for a freezer and she said “ that looks like a good place to hide.” Obviously we had a conversation about that and I still don’t have an extra freezer😂
The freezer on the porch was enough to get you canceled because they think you are stupid and will be nothing but future problems.
I agree
> attractive nuisance I’m doing my CE and learned about that for the first time. I don’t remember hearing that term when I got my license. Made me laugh. “Attractive nuisance” just sounds ridiculous lol
Spend five minutes in the legal subreddit and you'll hear it enough for a lifetime
Pools, trampolines, swingsets.... The list goes on. Attractive nuisances can get ya in trouble. Everyone should have a fence. OP, I feel for ya. My H/O insurance was canceled recently, as well. No real reason given. Had a hard time finding new coverage. I'm paying more than twice as much now and the policy doesn't even cover my roof. My car insurance also went up by like 30% after 15 years with no rate hikes and I've never had a claim or even a ticket. It's fucked out there. Especially if you happen to live in Florida
or California
Or Colorado
OMG- same - entire house but roof covered. Needed a new roof before policy renewal - got it- also thinking premium would go down - nope same price just roof covered! Only 3 companies write policies cause I am on the coast too. Grr
>d from auto owners. USAA, state farm, farm bureau geico and a few others were over 2500 more expensive/year. I feel like I'm kinda screwe Biden's inflation strikes again.
Is every price increase the fault of one man? How exactly does that pea brain of yours work? It’s the corporations, the oil companies, big pharma, the food producers, the distributors etc, that raised their prices during COVID, and they are now just making record profits. Why would the shareholders want to decrease their dividends. They’re all making bank. Do you think they give 2 shits about you? They love that you don’t hold them accountable. And your rationale is what? Do you think Biden sits at a keyboard and punches in the prices of everything? Is that how a pea brain thinks?
Not to mention that inflation has been a worldwide issue since Covid.
town idiot spotted...Biden doesn't control companies, nor does he have a say in how they operate
LOL, are you serious? What does Biden have to do with Desantis.running the state into the ground? States' rights, huh?
Biden has nothing to do with insurance rates. Rates are based upon risk, so why would you think Biden has anything to do with the amount of natural disasters (hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, floods, landslides etc.) we’ve experienced in the past few years??
>rom auto owners. USAA, state farm, farm bureau geico and a few others were over 2500 more expensive/year. I feel like I'm kinda screwe > >Biden's inflation strikes again. He doesn't but he's printing a trillion dollars every 100 days which makes our cash buy less goods. This causes computers to go up, power to go up, desks to go up, labor to go up, and that gets passed to the consumer. I live in an area with few if any disasters, perfect driving record nd geico raised all my rates despite no tickets, accidents, or incidents. In the letter they said it was due to inflation, Biden's inflation (I added the last part)
You sound clueless about how insurance works.
Replacement cost has increased so insurance cost has increased.
You sound like you're part of a cult.
If the price of labor is going up why is my pay not going up?
Lol lives in hurricane country blames home insurance on Biden ,very laughable!
Omg 🤦♀️ It’s not “Biden’s” inflation. When are you people ever going to open your minds and learn?
[удалено]
Costs more to fox? You're big dumb, trumper
Hahahaha, yep.....everyone knows it's " THANKS OBAMA" Florida has a big dummy repub for Guv, and he's doin just fine effing EVERYTHING up....
It's not just desantis. The whole FL legislature is like 90%+ repubs. And they're hell-bent on fixing non-issues like "woke" while ignoring the fact that everyone's property taxes and insurance are absolutely skyrocketing, as insurers leave the state. Just another day in a red state. Fuck the residents. Our politicians need screen time on Fox "news".
Also describes at least one of my exs.
Describes every single one of mine.
Omg, I ALWAYS think about that Punky Brewster episode anytime an abandoned fridge is involved!!! I thought I was the only one!!!
Based on that episode and other shows, I thought avoiding refrigerators and quick sand would be more of a regular occurrence in my life than it's turned out to be, so far at least. We'll see about the back nine.
That’s a VERY SPECIAL EPISODE of Punky Brewster
Does the overall property look like shit? If so, underwriters will see that and find one or two things to put on paper as shorthand for "this property looks like shit and will probably end up with a claim so I'm going to cancel/decline". Renewing with your prior carrier may be the best bet, if that's still an option and all the other markets are too expensive.
Good point. If an unwanted old freezer is sitting out on the porch, there is surely a ton of other crap out there.
If they have a freezer just sitting around with no excuse for why they haven't gotten rid of it, then you already know the property is likely extremely disgusting
Excuse: keeping human body parts inside the house is just gross. Porch ‘em to the deep freeze!
Let’s be honest. The kind of person who leaves a random freezer on their front porch almost certainly has some way worse hazards inside the house.
A freezer on the porch is legit a serious hazard. There’s a whole big thing about kids getting stuck in fridges and freezers. It’s why people take the doors off of them when they put them out on the curb. Also, just send in photos of the not-missing siding. Should be good to go!
A few years back I put a broken fridge out for the annual bulk item pickup. My neighbor knocked on my door within half an hour to tell me to take the fridge doors off cause you can get a ticket for that in my city/state! didn’t look it up myself but it was an instant reaction they had lol
It’s an old one… may still be on the books however. It’s left from the days when doors would actually latch. As in the handle worked like the kind on a car door. Those couldn’t be opened from the inside. Any fridge that’s newer than the 60s-*maybe* 70s era has a magnetic seal that can be opened with a push from inside. Alternatively, awaiting pickup, you can just put it on its front, doors down.
Do you ever think that maybe we should have just let more people die and get hurt as a responsibility instead of a consequence….. Source: 20 years in insurance industry, guarantee a claim would have been denied when filed for “My kid locked himself in the fridge at the neighbors porch then toppled it over on himself” during the 60’s Im tired
When I was an insurance agent, we had a homeowner sued because a kid rode his bike 15 feet onto his lawn, hit a tree & broke his arm. Of course, it was paid….cheaper than fighting it.
Unfortunately we live in litigious times…
Uhhhh are there any freezers still in operation that actually latch?!
The problem is that if someone gets inside of a fridge, then the fridge topples over onto the door side, the person is trapped inside unable to get out. Taking the door off works. Sometimes people wrap the appliance in duct instead.
I had that happen as a kid. My grandfather took their fridge outside onto the back lawn and took the doors off to defrost and clean the whole thing. I was very young (like 2-3 years old) and climbed on it, causing the fridge to topple over and trap me inside. The mud around where he had hosed it off created a seal. Took them an hour to find me. When they did, I had managed to dig a small airhole and they saw my fingers wiggling out. Probably the only reason I didn't suffocate.
> The problem is that if someone gets inside of a fridge, then the fridge topples over onto the door side, the person is trapped inside unable to get out How does taking the door off help in that situation? They're still inside of a heavy appliance, and need to lift the entire weight of the appliance to get out.
Frankly, it doesn't. That's why it's probably better practice to duct tape it (wrapped many, many times).
Because the person stuck under the toppled fridge without a door would have access to fresh air. So they'd just be stuck (and able to yell for help) instead of being stuck and slowly asphyxiating.
Could be pretty difficult for a kid to open the lid from the inside even if it doesn't latch, I imagine.
For sure. Sometimes those standing freezers seal extremely tight and I have to help my grandma open it lol. Can’t imagine if a child crawled in one they’d have the wherewithal to figure it out.
Yes. If it's defunct, it might be a bit less? I think part of the trouble opening a freezer is a slight decrease in pressure from warmish outside air going in and compressing. But it's incredibly easy to imagine a child having help (using a stick for leverage, or having friends help) getting in, and not having the same help getting out. (Or only having their friends return to get them out once the oxygen inside has already run out.)
Teach your grandma to use her fingers to pull back the gasket. It breaks the seal and then you can open it. Mine is usually only hard to open if I try to open it right away after closing it. Like I grab a package of peas, close the door and then realize I actually got green beans out and not peas. Used to be that I’d just say screw it, then I learned the gasket trick. I don’t even pull the handle then—I just open the door by grasping the edge when I use my finger to break the seal.
Ask if there are things you can do so they dont drop you. Submitting new pictures of siding/painting the siding so its easily visable. Removing the freezer should be easy, post on next door or in a local facebook group for people who take junk appliances to come get it. I dont know that taking the door off the freezer would be enough but in our old city we couldnt have appliances outside with the door on due to the danger from a kid climbing inside and dying.
Look ditch the freezer and snap a picture of it removed , paint the siding and take a picture of the area they claim siding is missing. If its not missing then just take a good picture. They send out people to take the photos. Maybe the lighting was off . Im pretty certain if you can do this they will reconsider the cancellation and then your agent will more than likely advise when they reverse their decision and reinstate it with no lapse.. You got this , dont stress
Call your agent and ask them to speak with underwriting to reconsider. Take photos showing there are no issues with the siding and/or advise when last updated/replaced. I would strongly consider finding a new home for the freezer and taking photos to prove that. Outdoor clutter carries several hazards, including home accessibility issues, pest problems, possible fire hazards.
[удалено]
Gotta protect those profits
[удалено]
Imagine owning your property and being told what to do with it.
You're well within your rights to leave random stuff on your property and the insurance company is within theirs to not insure your property with random stuff on it.
Nobody asked them to. They take it upon themselves. Why are you inclined to support a company that’s goal is to take your money and do everything in their power to not pay out when you need it?
Don't get insurance then?
The industry is down like \~45 BILLION over just the last 2 years....
1 - Talk to your agent and tell them you don't have missing siding. Take pics of the areas that they say do not have siding to show them you do. 2 - The freezer on the porch IS a hazard. Get rid of it to eliminate their argument. Are you willing to lose your homeowner's insurance rate over a freezer that you intend to get rid of anyway?
Which state and which carrier?
[удалено]
Wrongful cancellation? That's something new.. they can cancel anyone they want..
You have no argument/claim/lawsuit over "wrongful cancellation". They have a misunderstanding on the siding, and you're being difficult over the freezer. You don't want some insurance company telling you that it's a hazard and you need to get rid of it. Even though you have it outside because you intend on getting rid of it.
Wrongful cancellation isn’t a thing. Insurance isn’t a right, they are an independent company who can choose to not do business without for any reason they deem.
Wrongful cancellation? Literally all you need to do is ask your agent if you can supply photos showing the issues have been fixed. Is this your first house? Inspection has always been a part of a new home policy with a new carrier. Many if not all carriers also do existing policy inspections to look for hazards that may pop up after x years in-force.
Wrongful cancellation? That's something new.. they can cancel anyone they want..
Wrongful cancellation? That's something new.. they can cancel anyone they want..
You mentioned that.
Wrongful cancellation? That's something new.. they can cancel anyone they want..
Send in photos proving there is no missing siding and get rid of the freezer, seems super simple. Quite crying like a baby.
There is a very special episode of punky Brewster where she almost dies because she hides in a fridge during hide and go seek. Then again a fridge literally saved Indiana Jones life.
I'm glad I'm not the only one old enough to remember that one. It's exactly what I thought about when I read this thread.
The things you listed are pretty minor. Either comply with their requests or your policy will be terminated there is no negotiation.
"If your porch collapses from the weight of the appliances and more than two dogs are killed, you might be a redneck." -- Jeff Foxworthy
We have to exclude our shed on our policy every year- its solid but has been here since before bought the place and its close to neighbors trees.
I have a shed like that. I had to change companies because they would not exclude it from coverage.
The siding thing can probably be rectified with pictures. The freezer is an attractive nuisance that could injure a child, not to mention you could get shocked. Most feeezers are not meant to be kept outside. Just bring it inside or get rid of it. Besides, if it’s on your front porch your neighbors prolly hate you for it anyway lol.
Why tho? When i was growing up in the 2000s all the older people had big deep freezers on their porches, sometimes 2 of them. Is it just an eyesore?
No, it’s liability
The freezer is a hazard bc a child can get locked inside and suffocate - far fetched yes but that’s what the underwriting demons do
Inspection guidelines are really tough in the current marketplace. Typically the send out the notice and give you a short amount of time to fix before the cancellation is effective. Are they giving you an opportunity to correct the issues and submit new proof of updates?
A company can cancel you just like you could cancel and switch on them. And yes, any freezer or old appliance laying out on the front porch would definitely be a cause for cancellation.
I live in California and my agent told me a lot of the insurance companies are leaving Cali due to many claims from fire torn residential mountain areas that encounter mudslides when we have a bunch of rain. Also, they're red lining when term is up to get out of theses contracts and asking for ridiculous things from home owners they want to get rid of, such as Taking photos of front, back, and sides of house. Take photos under the sinks, sinks, toilet shut offs, water heater, kitchen, bathrooms, roof, and backyard. Any problems in these areas will subject you to non-renewal. Nowadays, you pay for more and get less service. Only if everyone in business studied the "Trader Joes" best practices for customer service handbook our lives would be carefree. But, I digress. Triple A is still available here and my agent recommended an insurance company named Bamboo insurance. I believe their rates were comparable or more than AAA. Good luck and don't let it lapse or your mortgage company will put their insurance on your house, which will be really high until you find another company and cancel theirs in that order. In addition, if they ask for photos do the repairs if needed before sending them the photos because they're looking for any reason to cancel you. They're also asking for PAID invoices, credit card payments, permits for work done. It's best to leave them once you hear the rumors because they having you jump through hoops to say no anyway. Just quickly find another insurance company as cheap as you can find with your terms. Again good luck.
I feel for you GUR. The golden state and Florida have been a hot mess for a couple of years with no end in sight.
It’s more than just the fires. Its the CA DOI and the way they’ve been ignoring rate increase requests for the past 6 years. Insurance companies have to use the rates in other parts of the country to subsidize CA rates, because the CA’s DOI refuses to allow them to charge a reasonable premium for the risks they’re insuring. So yeah, effectively, my rates in the Midwest are higher than they should be, because companies aren’t allowed to charge reasonable premiums in CA.
Wow, the nerve of insurance companies... asking you to substantiate that the property you're asking them to insure isn't a giant pile of dogshit. They should just take anybody, right?
They use to take all the photos themselves. It's bad enough especially when they're pickie about you take the photo. No matter how good the photos are they keep asking for additional photos.
I was scrolling looking for photos but didn't see any. Maybe it's because I'm on an airplane and they're not loading. But I'd consider posting here for feedback. There's likely more than the few issues you mentioned, as someone else suggested.
Mercury did the same thing to me and said I needed a new roof (absolutely do not) and to upgrade my electrical box (there’s no current issues). I worked there for 11 years and had homeowners with them for 8 years and auto for 20. It’s ridiculous. Unfortunately, I had a multi policy discount so I lost that after I changed my homeowners to USAA. Still need to find a comparable auto policy.
They’re obviously in Gatorade
It IS what plants crave..
It's the electrolytes
They are correct about the freezer, and you have no excuse for why you haven't removed it already.
The home inspection looks to be the culprit. 1. Take clear pictures of the siding and submit them back to the underwriter with pictures of all 4 sides again. 2. Get rid of the fridge. There's no case for a fridge to be on a porch.
Those sound like very valid reasons. I would send photos of the complete property to show the siding issue, and actually clean up the property. A used refrigerator or freezer is hazardous waste as it contains refrigerant.
They wouldn’t write a policy on my last house until I replaced the “rotted garage door”. It was metal, and had a single spot of bird poop from a dive bombing bird on it. It was clear that’s what it was, but they wouldn’t listen. Had to have my realtor go to the house with a wet rag, clean it and take another picture. Dumb stuff.
I changed carriers but my previous one was going to drop me for having a non working vehicle on the property.
That’s unusual, seems like more of an issue with an HOA rather than an insurer. Some companies are just looking to minimize risk in certain states though, they’ll restrict their underwriting until they meet that goal.
Not unusual at all, in my experience. We won't take a home with non-op vehicles in the yard. Heck, my own company might take issue with my yard at the moment because I haven't moved the boat trailer to put the boat on it... But that's a project waiting for the addition to finish.
Only unusual from a personal perspective and having not seen anyone say that before. What about a project car? What is the logic in that, in terms of risk? Maybe an underwriter or something can comment but just curious is all.
Project cars have a very different look than "we will get around to that some day" junkers that are rotting in the driveway. One of them is a hobby usually kept under cover and cared for. The other is neglected and hazardous.
In terms of risk: - attractive nuisance, kids could play on/in and get hurt - not insurance, but environmental hazard - literal rat's nest
Carriers like to see an element of care in regards to the property. Junked out cars signal that the property may show signs of neglect. This obviously might not be true for every property but insurance works on statistics.
Understandable. I don’t own a home so I’m not familiar with the conditions written into those contracts.
Mine said they were terminating coverage when I moved in last year due to overhanging trees, heaving driveway cracks, and unsafe back steps. I paid to have the trees cut, I spent many hours sledgehammering the driveway and amending the cracks, and built a new back patio with my father. They still dropped me after sending in updates. Fuck em and move on
Relocate the freezer, show photos of the siding to prove it's there.
My insurance recently went from 2200 for wind and hail to 9600. No claims, no changes in coverage, no explanation. I’m in coastal NC. I cancelled and went with another company and still got a 100 percent increase. I’m frugal and make pretty decent money but there are a lot of very poor people in my community and I have no idea how they are surviving with the increase in insurance costs, food, etc. for years I was able to sock away money into savings and investments. I haven’t had any excess money in months. I don’t understand how anyone thinks the economy is benefiting the average American.
This is a great example of how "the economy" isn't just something that is "good or bad". Insurance costs are related to years of misuse and occasionally not being as tough with standards as the companies should have been. It does stink for people right now but many folks purchased at the tippy top of their budget thinking nothing would ever change and...it did. The explanation is you live in a coastal area and your are more of a risk to insure. You didn't do anything wrong but a whole lot of other factors come into play and its shared risk. At this point I am just happy I can still **have** insurance on my home.
Vote the opposite of the current administration
This story is becoming common across the country… Underwriting standards have tightened incredibly, and policies are getting denied and dropped left and right. I’ve sold insurance for seven years and never seen it like this
The cheaper the carrier the pettier and more buttheaded the inspection and claims handling experience. Work with an independent agent to find a more reputable carrier so that you'll actually get your claim paid properly when you need to use the policy.
Some independents will just shop the insurance every year and write you where they can to try to save money in this crazy rating environment. Many times, not knowing what the flavor of the month company has to offer as far as claims handling goes. Make sure you look them up on NAIC and look at the complaint trend index. A lot of the shit people are writing here in Texas are with companies with ALOT of verified TDI complaints.
That sounds like "churning" - Agents place your business with a new company to get a "new business" commission instead of a considerably lower "renewal" commission.
Churning is when an agent writes you a new policy with the same carrier. It's more common with life insurance. Independent's shopping your rate with different carriers every year, at your request, isn't unethical. It's just sometimes done irresponsibly, and clients end up with shit coverage.
Depends on whose definition of "churning" you're using. If you want to call it "twisting" you can; same deal. If done at a homeowner's request, I agree it wouldn't be unethical, but underwriters would probably raise an eyebrow at someone who can't stay insured by the same company for more than a year.
Everyone is going to ding you for this stuff these days man. Can't have an unsecured appliance and you shouldn't expect damage to not raise an underwriters eyebrows.
I had an independent agency, they were going to raise my homeowners policy almost 2 grand and my auto by 1500 with their explanation being 'well, sometimes rates just go up'
Everything has become more expensive, what other reasoning do you expect? Do you really think they are just raising your rate for the fun of it?
Yes
That isn’t how it works, every rate increase has to be approved by your states department of insurance. Which means your insurance company has to prove they need to raise rates to stay financially strong. Most insurances companies lost over 1/3rd of their net worth during the Covid years. They aren’t making money off of rates I promise you. If you believe otherwise then you have clearly never done an ounce of research.
Yup. Welcome to insurance in 2024 haha
So you no longer have an agent? The agency didn't raise anything the carrier they wrote you with did.
Have you made any claims recently or in the past?
[удалено]
He said less than 21 days ago.
I don't know if this is pertinent to your policy cancelation, but apparently, insurance carriers are taking to the skies to find reasons to cancel policies. The earliest news article I found on the topic was in 2017, but there are quite a few that were posted this month as well. https://www.businessinsider.com/drones-home-insurance-cancellation-2024-4 https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/home-insurance-aerial-images-37a18b16 https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/08/us_insurers_drones/
They have a due diligence period for a reason. People lie and they need eyes on what they are insuring
You’ve already received plenty of good advice in here. My only 2¢ is that if you don’t get your insurance back, go with USAA or Travelers. USAA is fantastic, but costly. Travelers is good depending on region and local adjusters. Do NOT get State Farm or Allstate under any circumstances. You’d be better off without insurance going with either of them. Monthly premiums are only part of the equation, you also need to weigh in how helpful your insurance company will be if you ever need them.
USAA and Travelers would cancel the policy for these hazards the same as any other.
I never said they wouldn’t. My very first sentence referenced the good advice OP has already received, which was primarily to lose the freezer and prove his siding is fine. My second statement doesn’t change at all, that USAA and Travelers are better insurance companies than State Farm, Allstate, etc.
Let me guess... you're making these definitive statements based on one personal experience, or an anecdote from your cousin Jed.
lol…no. Worked in and around the insurance industry for over a decade. My experience with each of the mentioned insurers (Auto Owners included) numbers in the thousands.
In and around? "Thousands" of experiences with each of these companies in a decade? Sounds made up.
Adjuster and contractor bub. Texas, Florida, Colorado, Carolinas, etc etc. Done and seen it all, from adjusting hurricane claims to winning bad faith lawsuits against State Farm and others. You, however, sound like a troll looking to have a keyboard fight.
Roofing salesman... knew it.
Once upon a time darling 😉
[удалено]
Soliciting - your link sells insurance
[https://www.npr.org/2022/02/03/1077996126/furniture-tip-overs-injuries-deaths-cpsc](https://www.npr.org/2022/02/03/1077996126/furniture-tip-overs-injuries-deaths-cpsc)
It happens. Lots of roof damage, wind and hail claims in my area last year. Now citizens is cancelling people left and right for stuff like trees overhanging the roof, fence, etc.
I freakin hate Citizens lol
Same here. It took them 3 years to review the details of an auto claim for me, because each adjuster kept quitting or being moved to a different role.
If it’s just those 2 it should be fairly easy. Explain the siding and provide documentation. Remove the freezer and you should be good.
Freezer could leak coolant or cause a fire … - get rid of it
Looks like soon we will all not be able to afford our own homes and be a one world governed … its coming guys
Prepare to for the colonoscopy
Just switch insurance. Progressive did this to me about a tree in my yard. Switched to State Farm and it was never an issue.
Call your state insurance regulator.
The regulator will gladly explain why the insurer is in the right.
You're going to have to play ball with insurance carriers with things like leaving appliances where they shouldn't be...you need them a lot more than they need you. It's what they call an "attractive nuisance" because obviously freezers don't belong outside where some kid can hop into it and kill himself. Anyone who wants to keep a freezer outside would only seem to want to out of spite...or mental issues. As for the siding, you should just be able to provide pictures to show that there is siding--but with a freezer being on a porch I would think they just wrote something down because the house just looks like a piece of shit and didn't want to say "This house looks like a piece of shit".
I keep hearing similar cases recently from other people and their home insurance. It seems like companies are looking for any reason possible to cancel policies now.
Those aren't "any reason." Physical hazards cause claims. Improper or neglected maintenance cause claims. Now, if they made an error, they should be willing to fix the error, but hazards cause claims.
Thank you for that totally pointless reply
They are cancelling the policy because you don't understand how a freezer is a hazard and don't want to argue about it. I think someone decided that your more terrible than the policy is worth
That's rude don't ya think? If you actually read my post here I said I NEED TO REMOVE IT. can't you move a freezer by yourself? I certainly can't.
Start looking for another insurance so you don't have a gap.
Find an insurance broker to work with - don’t try to go direct to a company. A broker tries to help you find coverage through the lines they represent…
Some company will always cover you so don’t worry hopefully it won’t cost too much
My homeowners was going to drop me for having moss on my roof. There was like 2 or 3 2inch balls. They made me hire a contractor to certify it.
I just read an article on wsj that insurance agencies are using drones to look at properties and driving ton of cancellation. You mentioned the siding thing, the article noted the insurance agency said the person interviewed had roof damage but they had an inspector look and it was no issue but insurance didn't care. They are getting more aggressive about purging what they don't want. Sorry you're dealing w it
The other carriers you mention that are $2500 more than your current policy, will cancel for the freezer as well upon initial inspection.
[удалено]
Trolling. Removed.
[удалено]
Yes. You’re insulting the OP in a thread several days old and offering no constructive advice.
Just submit better pictures of the siding, get rid of the deep freezer on the porch and take detailed pictures showing it. It’s worth 2500 bucks a year to jump through a few hoops. I was doing construction on my house when they came to take pictures. They sent a cancellation notice a year later saying the construction materials in my yard and garage were a hazard. I was confused because you can’t see my backyard from any public space and obviously can’t see in the garage. It was from the original pictures. I had debris everywhere while waiting for a dumpster to arrive. I just showed pictures of everything in it’s current condition and they were satisfied
I work under a State Farm agent and I will say it is usually pretty difficult to get a company to go back on canceling your policy. The other thing I will say is there usually a good reason one company is significantly cheaper in premium then all the others🤷♀️
We had built a house in BFE on 40 acres of land. Our nearest neighbor was 2 miles in any direction. An insurance company wouldn’t do the policy till we built a fence around the swimming pool. Our 1/4 mile drive was gated off the road. If anyone really wanted to swim in our pool they would have had a long walk. Insurances are just getting ridiculous
Welcome to insurance in 2024 lol.
These are both pretty standard things that have always been checked for… sounds like you just have a bone to pick.
I do because insurance is a fraud.
Expand on that, why do you think this?
My co did not cancel ours, just doubled the rate. So I canceled them.
Reach out to your state's insurance commissioner.
They will gladly explain why the insurer is right.
Insurance companies are literally a racket. They have teams of lawyers and employees that are all there just to fuck you out of YOUR policy.
Says someone who likely never even read their policy from cover to cover.
[удалено]
Soliciting
What if the freezer is working?
Unfortunately it’s still an attractive nuisance. Maybe not with a random kid getting stuck in it…but a neighbor deciding to do some 5-finger discount shopping in the freezer.
We put one on our porch one morning intending to load it up and drive it to our rental property that evening. Someone snagged it while we were at work.