12/17/2023 0 Comments Geico home protector plus![]() The matter was settled out of court late last year. He sued the insurer, alleging the company had acted in bad faith by seriously underestimating the amount of insurance he needed. Quigley says his insurer had “told me not to worry, because I had ‘replacement value,’” a provision in the policy that stipulates he would receive the value of his home without subtracting for depreciation. The retired real-estate broker had a $160,000 policy, but he learned that rebuilding the 1912 structure was going to cost $500,000 because of its unusual features and remote location. In 2003, a mountain cabin he owns in this vacation community near Tucson was destroyed by wildfire, along with hundreds of other homes. That is what Ross Quigley of Mount Lemmon, Ariz., says happened to him. Over the past few years, spurred in part by lawsuits, insurers have taken steps to improve their estimates, industry officials say. Some consumer advocates have blamed insurers themselves for homeowners being underinsured, saying their agents lowball replacement costs to keep premiums competitive. It’s also a good idea to have a face-to-face meeting at least once a year with your insurance agent or broker, at renewal time. “Take the new policy and the old one, and put them side by side and if you have questions, contact the company,” said Don Griffin of the Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America. Insurers notify policyholders about coverage changes in the annual policyrenewal statement, but many homeowners don’t bother to read it, focusing only on the premium. ![]() Homeowners need to pay close attention to what’s in their policies because insurers regularly fiddle with the coverage. Insurance experts say many homeowners haven’t grasped this shift, and may be woefully underinsured as a result. ![]() Now, most standard policies provide only “extended replacement cost,” which offers up to 20 percent or so more than the face value of the policy if extraordinary events push up rebuilding costs. One of the biggest shifts by insurers in recent years has been the virtual disappearance of “guaranteed replacement cost” coverage, which promised to rebuild a home exactly the way it was, no matter the cost. Of those, the average homeowner has enough insurance to rebuild only about 80 percent of his or her house, according to the survey. According to a survey by Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, a firm that supplies building-cost data to insurers, 58 percent of houses are under-valued for insurance purposes. As a result, people who haven’t updated their insurance policies in a few years may be underestimating what it would cost to rebuild their homes, particularly in high-priced markets. At the same time, we have had a boom in prices for lumber, copper piping and other necessities as well as rising labor costs have pushed up building costs by 7 percent a year since 2001. Underinsured? Americans have been pouring money into their homes in recent years, adding everything from marble bathrooms to fancy back-yard decks: Last year alone, spending on improvements like these hit an estimated $155 billion, up 27 percent from two years earlier. As part of the new rate reduction filing, Farmers is also introducing a "claim forgiveness" policy for customers who remain "claims free" with the company for six or more years prior to filing a single claim. It will increase the dual auto / home discount for customers who carry these policies from 12% to 15% and provide substantial discounts for newer homes and newly renovated homes as well. "Farmers is to be commended for working with us to provide this New Year's gift to their policyholders and give their customers much-needed financial relief." The Farmers rate cuts will benefit their Special Form, Protector Plus, Renters and Condominium Owners customers. "I applaud Farmers Insurance for filing a rate decrease with this Department and joining with many of the state's largest insurers to significantly reduce their homeowners premiums," he said. This action and previously filed homeowner rate reductions by State Farm, Safeco, Hartford, USAA, Nationwide and Kemper insurance companies totaling $439 million, brings a significant conclusion to Garamendi's term as Insurance Commissioner and his campaign to bring down homeowner rates for California consumers "This is good news for nearly one million of Farmers California policyholders and customers," said Commissioner Garamendi. The Commissioner applauded the rate filing and proposed cut in premiums by Farmers. The decreases will likely take effect in June. The $171 million in proposed rate decreases by the state's 2nd largest homeowners insurer will impact nearly 1 million homeowners and renters. Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi Announces 18% Decrease in Farmers Insurance Homeowners RatesFarmers Insurance has requested an 18% overall reduction in homeowners insurance rates for California policyholders.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |