Investor · West Bend, WI · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 0 votes
I was just informed that the insurance for one duplex (with an outside stairway to the upper) will cost as much as two other mixed residential/commercial properties combined. Anyone experienced this? I had Rural insurance and they just changed the way they write rentals, and my agent retired so I have a different agent. She is experienced, just new to me.
Thank you. That's a relief! I have begun contacting other agents and was wondering if I would continue to hit this problem. I appreciate your fast response.
I work in the insurance industry in Wisconsin and I know a few companies are trying to get away from outside stair cases leading to the second story that are not covered. The reason is the companies could run into liability issues if the stair cases are not cleaned off during winter creating a slipping hazard.
The point of insurance is to cover risks. If you exclude all the major risks why have insurance? I had a similar experience with AllState. I was on my way to the airport to go to Europe when they called me to inform me that theyr would drop my homeinsurance because my deck had no railings. The house has been remodelled and the deck was the last part. I asked for a two week extension or to exclude the deck from the policy. You may guess the answer...
Yes I should follow up on this. It took a whole month to get quotes! Which surprised me. the first quote I got would "give" coverage for $5500/yr as opposed to the offending $3300 I was trying to avoid. (Hear sarcasm) But they would also require I "cover" the stairs within a year. The second company was $4900 with no strings attached. The third came thru at $2100 (very similar to what I was used to) also with no strings. They also had realistic numbers for values on the properties. The first two valued the properties at 2-3 times their real value. My original agent called that a "moral hazard" because it would tempt people to try to collect. The company I went with I found through another Bigger Pockets member and I am very glad I did.
Yes Marcus but from the insurance companies point of view they want to avoid unnecessary risks. If they start taking everything its gonna be like healthcare where premiums sky rocket. On decks without railings i've seen reserves in the hundreds of thousands for liability so when companies see that that type of risk they want to avoid it.
Mark that is a big thing we run into in the industry is valuing the properties when they are submitted. Often times its the opposite where they try to insure for 2-3 times their real value and get mad when we say we will insure their $40,000 home for $40,000 and not $120,000.