Rental Property Investor · Seal Beach, CA · Member since 2015 · 132 posts · 187 votes
I'm too young to have a heart attack but that's what I just went through dealing with NREIG. Long story short I'm getting a portfolio loan through LimaOneCapital and they have some pretty specific request when it comes to insurance policies. One of the requests was that I get an official invoice for any outstanding balance for each property. Well, 14 days later and 14 requests later I still don't have it and still can't close on my refinance deal. Actually, it's been 14 written request and probably the same number of phone calls trying to get it. I was on the phone with one representative and it took her 30 seconds to generate the report for a single property but when I asked for the same report for the other properties, she said I could only get it from my representative.
Besides this one case, the only other negative experience I had was in trying to file a claim. It didn't work out so well but I understand certain aspects are out of their control. Regardless, I would highly recommend paying the extra few bucks other insurance companies charge and go with an Insurance provider that gets you what you need when you need it.
Not that it helps you with your current situation but that's just one of the benefits of having an independent agent handle your policies. When you work directly with the insurance company, you as the client are the one having to do the leg work in regards to the servicing. With an independent agent who works for you and not the insurance company, those types of situations are handled a lot more smoothly behind the scenes while you worry about other investment property concerns. And NREIG is by no means always the lowest priced. There are plenty of property package carriers that are just as competitive and can be purchased through an IA.
Not that it helps you with your current situation but that's just one of the benefits of having an independent agent handle your policies. When you work directly with the insurance company, you as the client are the one having to do the leg work in regards to the servicing. With an independent agent who works for you and not the insurance company, those types of situations are handled a lot more smoothly behind the scenes while you worry about other investment property concerns. And NREIG is by no means always the lowest priced. There are plenty of property package carriers that are just as competitive and can be purchased through an IA.
Hi Josh - I work with the NREIG team. We’re sorry that you felt you received poor customer service. We looked into your interactions with our team. Anytime a change or documentation is requested from a third-party, our process is to reach out to the client and confirm before we take action. In this case, it looks like it did take more touchpoints than usual to finalize the request. This is not typical of the service we strive to provide. We’ll work to be better for you and others in the future!
The apology is a little late. The delay in closing cost me 10's of thousands of dollars and could have easily been avoided. Besides the 14 e-mails over the 14 days, I had 3 phone conversations with my account representatives supervisor and even that didn't make a difference in getting the items that I needed.
I have experienced the exact same inefficiencies at NREIG. I like the ease of use and keep 20 to 25 properties covered by them. However save every single communication you have with them. They have failed to cover two of my properties this year due to their error. I have had to prove my case with saved emails.
This is going to make me shop other alternatives since I have not checked the market in a while.
I have not had a claim with them but I am concerned there will be issues when I do.
Update: Just got feedback from them on their last error. I will be moving all my properties. Their processes and systems are just not reliable enough for me to trust them.
Where did you end up moving your properties to? I’m on the search for a good insurance company... more specifically for builders risk during my rehab...
IMHO they were difficult to work with and found a lack of transparency. You are insured though a "master" policy or certificate, and the actual carriers are ???
They were good at taking your money and timely kicking out certificates of insurance, but if you have a claim, that is a different story.
While they paid a fire claim (an ex-lover of the tenant set the dwelling on fire, because the tenant purportedly broke up with him) NREIG made it difficult, and attempted to undervalue the claim on the basis the property was not properly insured. While NREIG claimed that the property was under insured; NREIG was the one who determined the square footage and value, we had nothing to do with these details. This all came from NREIG's proposal.
They did pay, but it seemed to be unusually cumbersome. Hindsight being 20/20 we should have hired a public adjuster.
We had another claim whereby a tenant claimed that they were injured by a kitchen cabinet which came loose from the wall. (In reality, the tenant overloaded with heavy items not meant to be stored in a kitchen cabinet, damaged the property as a result of their own negligence.)
We tendered the claim NREIG. Mike, the CEO of the NREIG personally got involved with tenant and "negotiated" a settlement with the tenant on terms which included free rent, as well as a payment to be made by the landlord which we did not consent to. The concept of the "free rent" was intended to keep the value of the claim below the deductible. Again, this was done without our knowledge or consent.
There was one claim whereby we sent people to trim trees which were occupied by squatters. The squatters threatened the landscape personnel who were simply trimming trees which were objectively hazardous. (A landowner has an affirmative duty to abate all known hazards.)
One of the squatters claimed that the sounds resulting from the trimming of the trees caused her to get a heart attack. This was obviously a bogus claim, but we had a liability policy with NREIG; one of the most basis concepts in liability insurance is a duty to defend. The carrier may issue a "reservation of rights" letter and ultimately deny indemnification; but generally they have a duty to defend. NREIG summarily denied the claim, and suggest that we purchase a general liability policy from another broker; can you believe that! We communicated to NREIG that litigation was contemplated. NREIG subsequently cancelled the coverage giving us 30 days notice. Remember, this a portfolio in excess of 30 properties, of course you are going to have a claim or two.
Fortunately we were able to get replacement coverage with another carrier. However, the underwriters of the new carrier observed and formed the opinion that the previous insurer had undervalued their prior coverage; we suspect to give the illusion of lower premiums.
Perhaps others have had better experiences with NREIG, however I cannot recommend them.
Working with an independent broker who is your advocate as opposed to the company's advocate is a huge advantage, especially when it comes to claims situations. Although sometimes the premium may be slightly more expensive, it is always great to know the agent you work with is actually on your side and not tied to a specific company.
@Matt Moylan are you familiar with insuring properties through land trusts? I’m in need of insurance for a property in an owner finance deal I’m currently in.
@George L. I'm familiar with insuring properties which have a trust tied to them (land trust, irrevocable trust, revocable trust, etc.). It really depends on the company and how you need the policy insured.
In my experience I've found it difficult to write a land trust as the primary named insured for the policy, but haven't had problems adding the trust as an additional insured/interest.
I still use NREIG and recommend them. I have not had any bad experiences with them. I have been with them since 2014 and have 20-30 properties at a time. I have not had these experiences. I have never filed a claim.
I use NREIG and have been for 5+ years. They insure 30+ properties.
Never really had any issues. I dont know how they would be if I filed a claim but in terms of adding/deleting properties you just use their online system its really east and price is right.
I still use NREIG and recommend them. I have not had any bad experiences with them. I have been with them since 2014 and have 20-30 properties at a time. I have not had these experiences. I have never filed a claim.
Of course you're having a stellar experience.. You haven't had a claim. Relationships with Insurance companies are generally peachy untill having a claim.
Of course you're having a stellar experience.. You haven't had a claim. Relationships with Insurance companies are generally peachy untill having a claim.
I have a claim in right now for a fire. We shall see
I still use NREIG and recommend them. I have not had any bad experiences with them. I have been with them since 2014 and have 20-30 properties at a time. I have not had these experiences. I have never filed a claim.
Of course you're having a stellar experience.. You haven't had a claim. Relationships with Insurance companies are generally peachy untill having a claim.
True but I feel that is the case with many insurance companies. I am being sued for my first time for non-disclosure issues for a flip we did in 2018. They are suing my LLC and me personally. I tried filing a claim with 3 different different insurance policies I hold. Homeowners policy (NREIG), commercial policy (Hiscox), and personal liability policy (nationwide).
Even though I will most likely win the case with my own funds fighting it, all three insurance companies found language in the contract that disqualifies coverage for this type of event.
So I dont have faith in most insurance companies - they all seem to tighten up when claims are filed.
Adam - This would definitely not fall under homeowners, commercial, or a liability policy. I imagine they said this was basically errors and omissions, which honestly it does sound like. I am an investor, but also worked heavily in the insurance area. Best of luck, hope you prevail.
@Adam Craig Adam, im a flipper myself. may I ask what they are suing you for? for learning purpose only. PM me pls
Its hard to say - a broad range of things but essentially not disclosure issues and wanting things fixed that they didnt ask for after their first inspection. Nearly all of the items they brought up were items they chose not to fix on their initial inspection that they are now have an issue with.
Still a pending case but a couple lessons I have learned along the way...
1. Disclose, disclose, disclose - Most times we dont know every issue in these houses I am only in them for 30min before we buy if at all! so now we are just attaching the city point of sale inspection to our disclosure form so they know all the work we are doing. At least write some verbiage that says the house may have had issues to cover your butt.
2. People can sue for anything and they do. You can do everything right and they can still sue you and you will be liable for legal fees at minimum. I watched a documentary called "the patent scam" - these poor mid-large companies are dealing with cut throat attorneys that know how to work the system causing them to pay millions in legal fees or settle. Most are forced into settling or go bankrupt fighting and did nothing. Its an imperfect system, be as safe as you can.
@Adam Craig wouldn’t you guys put a as-is condition on your purchase contract?
I disclose all mine and a lot of addendums regardless how small the changes are. Even send them previous inspection report when I bought it and give them a list of what’s done. I give them Engineering report For any structure changes. I agree, people sue whatever whenever no matter how ridiculous their reasoning behind it.
I saw that Crazy documentary long time ago and it’s crazy how the authorities/court don’t even recognize these as bogus.
We typically dont have inspection reports prior to the rehab. Most houses we buy are auction these days are auction without seeing insides. Also we rarely do structural changes in the first time home buyer space we work in because budgets dont typically allow. But now on disclosure we will write something like "roof likely leaked" or something to that effect if we are replacing the roof and we are not sure if there were any active or past leaks.
@Adam Craig wouldn’t you guys put a as-is condition on your purchase contract?
I disclose all mine and a lot of addendums regardless how small the changes are. Even send them previous inspection report when I bought it and give them a list of what’s done. I give them Engineering report For any structure changes. I agree, people sue whatever whenever no matter how ridiculous their reasoning behind it.
I saw that Crazy documentary long time ago and it’s crazy how the authorities/court don’t even recognize these as bogus.
@Adam CraigOh I see what you are saying about inspection. May I ask what insurance are you using now for your rehab/Flip projects? do you have an umbrella insurance?
