BEWARE of new insurance requirements when buying a home re: plumbing issues

[debron911]

If you are buying a pre-owned home here please take note that, if any plumbing issues/leaks are found in the inspection report, they may result in their underwriter's threatening to cancel your policy AFTER you close the sale. After living in our first Villages home for seven years we purchased a larger pre-owned home in October. It was inspected, a small water leak from the outside spigot, which did damage some wood around it, was discovered and repaired. A month AFTER closing on the home Tower Hill Insurance sent a cancellation notice. They also are cancelling our previous home's policy because it is "unoccupied" pending a sale. The underwriters have demanded a NEW inspection of our new home not even a "re-inspection" to verify repairs were made will suffice. We sent an invoice from the company that performed all the repairs but that was not satisfactory.

Our insurance agent sent the following: "Any time there has been ANY water related issues this will happen now. This year the companies have all been tightening their underwriting and this is no longer unusual."

Don't know if insurance agents or realtors/sales agents are giving any advice but if your inspection has plumbing issues probably safest course of action is to rectify and have the original inspector verify in writing of the repair. Apparently insurance company underwriters can go in after a closing and a policy is initiated, and make demands or threaten to cancel the policy. Would be interested in any currently working insurance agents think about this.

[retiredguy123]

Please clarify what you mean by cancelling a policy and "threatening" to cancel a policy. The policy has a specified term and expiration date, which I thought was always adhered to unless the homeowner violated the policy agreement. But, any insurance company has the right to refuse to renew a policy after it expires.

[Neils]

Call a different ins company

[blueash]

How did the insurance company get access to a privately obtained inspection? I wouldn't think a home inspector hired by the seller or the buyer would be sending their report to anyone but the people who hired the inspector.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

exactly!!!

[dewilson58]

How did the insurance company get access to a privately obtained inspection? I wouldn't think a home inspector hired by the seller or the buyer would be sending their report to anyone but the people who hired the inspector.
Exactly


Something does not pass the smell test.

[rjm1cc]

Years ago I changed home insurance co's. I was under the impression that the new company did a property inspection before issuing the policy. Had no proof. A couple of months latter they said I had to make repairs to the sidewalk or they would cancel the policy. Fortunately it was a minor problem and I could correct the problem.

[debron911]

Please clarify what you mean by cancelling a policy and "threatening" to cancel a policy. The policy has a specified term and expiration date, which I thought was always adhered to unless the homeowner violated the policy agreement. But, any insurance company has the right to refuse to renew a policy after it expires.

The cancellation notice is dated for 2/16/21. Underwriting would not consider the repair invoice evidence that the repairs were made. Our agent emailed that a full new inspection was requested before consideration to reverse cancellation of policy. Our policy was paid in December 2020 in full for one year.

[skippy05]

Get a Progressive ASI Home Insurance Policy with Andy Anderson's Agency and stop wasting money with these clowns and save a LOT of money at the same time. I recently dumped Farmers as my Home Insurance Policy because they would not allow me to renew my Truck Policy with them. They fabricated a story about some lady living at my address and driving my truck while not being on the policy. None of which was true but likely came from their faulty computers artificial intelligence data mining software. In any case it was good luck in the end. Had that of not happened, I've of never known Progressive was a better deal anyways.

[TandHSTAR@AOL.com]

I had a water problem, not from a leak via a broken pipe but from my refrigerator that flooded my kitchen and dining area. Ok called my insurance company, they sent someone to clean up the mess, etc. Several month later I went shopping for a new policy. The company I contacted said they could not insure me for at least a year because I had a "flood claim". I explained that it was from a problem with the water line that fed the refrigerator ice maker. Their answer was their underwriter only see a flood is a flood does not matter what caused it.

[Catalina36]

Stop right there. Tower Hill Insurance????? Who is that? Insurance broker? Why didn't you purchase your homeowners policy from a Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, etc. etc. I personally have Allstate insurance and have had no issues. You spoke about the other house being empty while you moved into your new home and the insurance company wants to drop your insurance because your house is unoccupied??? What about snow birders who own homes in TV. Their homes are not occupied all year around?? Could be unoccupied for 6 months or more?? Like someone else stated stop dealing with those small insurance brokers just to save a couple of bucks and buy your homeowners Insurance from large well known company.

[merrymini]

Lots of homeowners insurance companies will not cover an unoccupied house. I had homes at the Jersey shore for years and the agents told to to never admit they were unoccupied during the winter or they would cancel my policy. So I lied on the paperwork. Unoccupied house insurance is very costly. Never call your insurer to tell them you have left your home. The downside is that if there is a claim occurrence, they may not pay to cover it if they discover it is empty.

[retiredguy123]

Stop right there. Tower Hill Insurance????? Who is that? Insurance broker? Why didn't you purchase your homeowners policy from a Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, etc. etc. I personally have Allstate insurance and have had no issues. You spoke about the other house being empty while you moved into your new home and the insurance company wants to drop your insurance because your house is unoccupied??? What about snow birders who own homes in TV. Their homes are not occupied all year around?? Could be unoccupied for 6 months or more?? Like someone else stated stop dealing with those small insurance brokers just to save a couple of bucks and buy your homeowners Insurance from large well known company.
Tower Hill is an insurance company that sells insurance in 16 states. Not a broker.

[arbajeda]

You're being bullied. Complain to the state insurance commissioner. And get another agency.

[Thetwisted2]

I gave a copy to my insurance company and they lowered my premiums based on the inspection report

[Dlbonivich]

Many companies require a 4 point inspection on homes plumbing, electrical, roofing and hvac. Is policy can be issued but the insurance company has 90 underwriting time frame. They can cancel you. Roof has been major one recently. If roof is 10 years old they will issue policy and then it will not go through underwriting. Welcome to Florida insurance

[Larchap49]

If you are buying a pre-owned home here please take note that, if any plumbing issues/leaks are found in the inspection report, they may result in their underwriter's threatening to cancel your policy AFTER you close the sale. After living in our first Villages home for seven years we purchased a larger pre-owned home in October. It was inspected, a small water leak from the outside spigot, which did damage some wood around it, was discovered and repaired. A month AFTER closing on the home Tower Hill Insurance sent a cancellation notice. They also are cancelling our previous home's policy because it is "unoccupied" pending a sale. The underwriters have demanded a NEW inspection of our new home not even a "re-inspection" to verify repairs were made will suffice. We sent an invoice from the company that performed all the repairs but that was not satisfactory.

Our insurance agent sent the following: "Any time there has been ANY water related issues this will happen now. This year the companies have all been tightening their underwriting and this is no longer unusual."

Don't know if insurance agents or realtors/sales agents are giving any advice but if your inspection has plumbing issues probably safest course of action is to rectify and have the original inspector verify in writing of the repair. Apparently insurance company underwriters can go in after a closing and a policy is initiated, and make demands or threaten to cancel the policy. Would be interested in any currently working insurance agents think about this.

As a footnote almost every home built in the US from 1976 to 2000 was plumbed with Polypropylene plastic piping (it is grey flexible piping) if your home has it and you have chlorine or it's replacement in your water it will degrade your plumbing. It is a ticking time bomb. No Insurance company will insure that home until all plumbing is replaced regardless of the water source. It is now part of the preinspection prior to a home sale. My home in Palm Harbor FL. Built in 1991 had to have all plumbing replaced at a cost of $8000. before we could sell and move to TV.

[Larchap49]

Stop right there. Tower Hill Insurance????? Who is that? Insurance broker? Why didn't you purchase your homeowners policy from a Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, etc. etc. I personally have Allstate insurance and have had no issues. You spoke about the other house being empty while you moved into your new home and the insurance company wants to drop your insurance because your house is unoccupied??? What about snow birders who own homes in TV. Their homes are not occupied all year around?? Could be unoccupied for 6 months or more?? Like someone else stated stop dealing with those small insurance brokers just to save a couple of bucks and buy your homeowners Insurance from large well known company.

Tower Hill is a reputable company, has been doing business in FL. for many years, is AAA rated and saved me a lot of money when the AARP backed Hartford premiums got out of control. This is the 2nd home they have insured for me. Also they are one of the few companies that did not abandon FL homeowners back in 2005 after the hurricanes. You might want to compare their rates to your Allstates and Progressives I know they blow The Hartford out of the water.

[Larchap49]

How did the insurance company get access to a privately obtained inspection? I wouldn't think a home inspector hired by the seller or the buyer would be sending their report to anyone but the people who hired the inspector.

Inspection is required by the bank if property being mortgaged and is available to the bank and prospective insurance carrier to protect their interests, if not being mortgaged carriers will require their own inspection.

[Topspinmo]

How did the insurance company get access to a privately obtained inspection? I wouldn't think a home inspector hired by the seller or the buyer would be sending their report to anyone but the people who hired the inspector.

We have computers today, all information shared for price.

[Topspinmo]

I never get insurance from these fly by night companies. I always go with major brand unless they try to stick it to me. We get what we sow, so, do to all the roofing scams and lobbyist Insurance company allow to write in pages of fine print to get out of paying.

[DAVES]

The cancellation notice is dated for 2/16/21. Underwriting would not consider the repair invoice evidence that the repairs were made. Our agent emailed that a full new inspection was requested before consideration to reverse cancellation of policy. Our policy was paid in December 2020 in full for one year.

With insurance you are dealing with a monster. The people you talk to cannot change the rules. At best they can go higher up.

We as we were planning to sell our, not Florida home, had our insurance company refuse to issue any policies in our area due to people having damage in hurricane Katrina. That if I recall was the hurricane where it was decided it was not a hurricane so that people did not suffer the higher deductible for hurricane damage. They drew a line on a map. We were about a mile from the water. We did not put in any claim. We never did in 40 years. So months before selling we had to find another insurance company.

Insurance, they are all the same. Great at taking your premium paying out. they of course make that difficult.

We had a neighbor who investigated insurance claims. It was a laugh to hear what people do. Reminder he only knows the ones who got caught.

[DAVES]

As a footnote almost every home built in the US from 1976 to 2000 was plumbed with Polypropylene plastic piping (it is grey flexible piping) if your home has it and you have chlorine or it's replacement in your water it will degrade your plumbing. It is a ticking time bomb. No Insurance company will insure that home until all plumbing is replaced regardless of the water source. It is now part of the preinspection prior to a home sale. My home in Palm Harbor FL. Built in 1991 had to have all plumbing replaced at a cost of $8000. before we could sell and move to TV.

OUCH. I'm not a plumber but as I understand it few Florida homes have abasement or crawl space. When they re-plumb rather than running the pipe under the slab they run it through the attic. A whole new set of problems. Cold water heated in your attic.
Any leak above your head-ceiling.

[Mainelymom5]

My husband and I are moving down in late February and are getting all of ducks in a row. We're looking now for insurance companies, so today's forum was informative for us more than you will know. TOTV forums have helped us in making decisions along the way, and to be more informative as we anxiously wait "our turn". Thank You!

[meme5x]

Oh my, I’ve got Tower Hill.. paid up for year..guess I’ll look elsewhere.. can I get insurance from company in my home state for a place here in The Villages’s or get someone here?

[DangeloInspections]

I'll first say that our company has no knowledge of this poster's situation. We were not involved here in any way, shape or form. I would just like to perhaps shed some light on some of what was posted here so far, as there is some correct and some incorrect information posted here so far.

There are many different types of Professional Home Inspections. Our company mostly does One year Warranty inspections. We stay so busy doing warranty inspections that we typically do not have time for the other types, like Wind Mitigation inspections and 4 point inspections.

A 4 point inspection is a specific inspection requested by insurance companies that focus on Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC and Roofing. Originally they were required for any home more than 30 years old. In the past few years some Insurance companies have required them for even newer homes. For awhile, State Farm was demanding them for even brand NEW homes, (which IMHO was ridiculous).

This situation sounds like it was a 4 point inspection.....not a normal Pre-sale inspection. A Pre-sale Inspection report should ALWAYS be given ONLY to the perspective buyer who hired the Inspector.....Not the Realtor(s), sellers, Insurance companies, mortgage companies, etc., without the express permission of the buyer.

A good Home Inspector has an ethical obligation to their Client. I hope this helps.

Respectfully, Frank D'Angelo ACI

[nn0wheremann]

If you are buying a pre-owned home here please take note that, if any plumbing issues/leaks are found in the inspection report, they may result in their underwriter's threatening to cancel your policy AFTER you close the sale. After living in our first Villages home for seven years we purchased a larger pre-owned home in October. It was inspected, a small water leak from the outside spigot, which did damage some wood around it, was discovered and repaired. A month AFTER closing on the home Tower Hill Insurance sent a cancellation notice. They also are cancelling our previous home's policy because it is "unoccupied" pending a sale. The underwriters have demanded a NEW inspection of our new home not even a "re-inspection" to verify repairs were made will suffice. We sent an invoice from the company that performed all the repairs but that was not satisfactory.

Our insurance agent sent the following: "Any time there has been ANY water related issues this will happen now. This year the companies have all been tightening their underwriting and this is no longer unusual."

Don't know if insurance agents or realtors/sales agents are giving any advice but if your inspection has plumbing issues probably safest course of action is to rectify and have the original inspector verify in writing of the repair. Apparently insurance company underwriters can go in after a closing and a policy is initiated, and make demands or threaten to cancel the policy. Would be interested in any currently working insurance agents think about this.
You can beat the “unoccupied “ designation if you visit and stay overnight at least once every 60 days. Also the house has to be “habitable” which means you need to leave a bed ( a camp cot will do) linens, towels, a means of preparing food, a table and chair. I went to Goodwill and got a card table and a couple of folding chairs. The kitchen appliances stayed with the house, and of course water and power were on.

Insurance companies are not your friends.

[Smodakman]

The insurance companies now have a shared database that details claims on my property address, even previous owners. They now track by address like they do for car insurance by VIN and your license number. I believe this is new since I last bought a home here in 2016. The “local” agency made me aware of a previous “water claim” from 2014. They asked me to give them the inspection report. I did, but very quickly realized they had unethically requested it. If they ask you to share your inspection report, say No. tell them they are welcome to inspect the property themselves. And what do you know, they denied coverage based on a broken light switch from the inspection report and unrelated to the water damage they were interested in. They basically just con a free inspection. I did report the activity to state regulators. I know it won’t accomplish anything, but it will make them have to take the time to reply to the complaint. And, I went to another agency where they also had the database, knew there was a new roof, and had approval within five minutes to write the policy.