Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 81 posts · 7 votes
I am considering a Builder's Risk policy that my agent has secured through Tapco, a company in Long Island. The policy will be underwritten by Lloyd's of London.
At the top of the quote it says this:
"The insurer with whom this insurance is to be place is not admitted to transact business in the Commonwealth and is subject to limited regulation by the department; and, in the event of insolvency of the insurer, losses will not be paid by the Pennsylvania Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association"
Does this ring any alarms? I will have this insurance for at least three months but no more than six months while I complete my renovations.
Also, can anyone recommend an agent, preferably in Philadelphia, that sells Builder's Risk policies for renovating a fixer upper that I'm living in?
@Mike Girard - was this through one of the insurance referrals I posted in another thread you initiated? If so, which insurance company?
Erie Insurance will do what you want, so I am assuming that you are getting the "surplus lines" from somebody else.
That you had mentioned Erie in another thread stuck in my mind. However, the agent that made this proposal sold Erie as well. She felt Erie wouldn't insure my property in its current state. I don't know what the big problem is with this house. It looks horrible but the renovations are the usual fare: kitchens, bathrooms, patching, painting. The roof, heating, electrical and plumbing all seem fine.
Sounds like that agent didn't try Erie. Maybe try another Erie agent, because I have had Erie insure property that was in need of nearly everything.
Was it homeowner's insurance or something else? I did find one agent who gave me a bid for an Erie policy, but it was very expensive, and after my experience with Nationwide, I'm afraid of another company signing me up and then canceling two months later. But if you're confident Erie won't do that, I'll continue to pursue it.
Erie will do builders risk - IIRC it is a commercial marine type policy and not straight homeowners. Basically, homeowners is for the place you live in, so unless you are living there or going to be living there, you should be able to get Erie to do this.
PA insurance agent here. You using an excess and surplus carrier. In this case Lloyd's of London. Basically it means exactly what it said, the PA guaranty fund will not be paying for your claims if Lloyd's goes insolvent. Not your agent, but I had personally wrote a few policies with them and don't have any concern of that happening.
Disclaimer: All comments are personal opinions and there is no client relationship. Use at your own risk.
Basically it means exactly what it said, the PA guaranty fund will not be paying for your claims if Lloyd's goes insolvent.
It seems very clear now. I just wondered if there was risk that I might be overlooking, such as other regulations the insurer was immune to. It's all irrelevant now. After someone above said Builder's Risk is for vacant properties, I contacted the agent and she had, in fact, been under the misapprehension that I was not living on the property, even though I'm quite sure I told her otherwise. Whatever the case, she withdrew her bid.
As for the Erie homeowner's policy, I am not confident I'm going to pass inspection, but at least they do the inspection before they sell you a policy. At the very least, I'll find out what I need to do to get a policy with an insurer that not everyone hates.
So the question is, how do you insure a fixer upper that needs a very large amount of renovation that you are also living in?
The best choice is to go to the insurer who is currenting insuring your home. Typically they will do accommodation for existing clients. Your agent should definitely be able to get you the necessary coverage. Your situation isn't too unique.
The best choice is to go to the insurer who is currenting insuring your home. Typically they will do accommodation for existing clients. Your agent should definitely be able to get you the necessary coverage. Your situation isn't too unique.
Undoubtedly that's true generally, but not in my case. It's Nationwide and they haven't been accommodating. They're issuing ultimatums and threats and my agent, Terrance Gannon -- here in Philadelphia -- the least professional person I've ever done business with, ignored my emails and phone calls until I finally complained to his district manager. The company seems rife with unprofessionalism and incompetence. It takes weeks to get a simple answer to a simple question. Considering that they're among the mid-tier companies, I shudder at what Allstate and State Farm must be like. I will never do business with Nationwide again.
Allstate, by the way, has tentatively offered a very reasonably priced policy, and since I'm using the agent who insured the person that sold this property to me, I have a good chance of getting in. But Allstate...I dunno. Surely the worst reputation of all the big carriers.