Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

591–600 of 712 posts

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#591

Post by [deleted] »

bobthepanda wrote: post #409
vba616 wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>that requires capital - more than the average owner really has access too It sounds odd to my ear to matter-of-factly state that the US is deprived due to being capital-poor. I mean, I'm not disputing anything specific, but where do middle-class people have better access to consumer finance than the US? If you'd asked me what single fact represents American homeowners to people interested in economics around the wor…

Insuring all those fixed rate mortgages is very expensive. The US has never actually had to do so, the closest being the 2008 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recapitalizations which cost $238B in loans that were finally paid off in 2022. In Europe a lot of the government fiscal crises were a result of small countries having to backstop giant cross border banks that happened to be headquartered there, and there is little a…

[deleted]

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#592

Post by radlad »

ncallaway wrote: post #541
tptacek wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On 1-3 occasions over the course of an insured's entire life, they'll be confronted with the paperwork for the insurance contract for the most expensive asset they'll ever buy. They should read it.

I wasn’t actually confronted with the paperwork. When I purchased my house, the insurerer that was selected by my bank informed me (several times) that they were unable to provide the complete coverage details and contract until after the insurance contract was in place. Even then, it took me several calls and interactions to get them to send me the actual detailed insurance contract. They tried to fob me off several…

You are entitled to find your own home insurance, you do not have to use the bank's choice.

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#594

Post by BeFlatXIII »

nothercastle wrote: post #470
firesteelrain wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some insurance companies will allow trampolines -- at a cost. We had to get rid of ours because the cost and liability just wasnt worth it.

Most people don’t declare then which is really stupid imo.

Perhaps they figure the risk is worth it compared to the increased premiums.

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#595

Post by BeFlatXIII »

tptacek wrote: post #365
skissane wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn’t always fraud or lying - you apply for insurance. Insurer asks you a million questions. One is “do you have a trampoline”? You honestly answer “No”. The fine print of the application form says you have to tell them if at any time your answers change. After a while, you forget it even asked you about a trampoline. Then, you get your kid a trampoline. Per insurance fine print, you are suppose to inform the insu…

This is not a good example of "fine print", because trampolines are notorious sources of injury. It's like if you added a pool to your property and didn't tell your insurer because you "forgot the fine print". You can plead that, but if I was your neighbor, I'd be rooting for the insurer. Knowing about the dangers of things you set up on your property is on you.

Glad you’re not my neighbor.

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#596

Post by BeFlatXIII »

WalterBright wrote: post #560
skissane wrote: post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If one is able to avoid the terms of the contract by claiming one didn't read it, the whole system falls apart. Except, Courts have ruled that you can , at least sometimes , get out of the fine print of a contract by claiming you didn't read it. For example, see the notable 1962 Supreme Court of California case, Steven v. Fidelity Casualty Co [0]. In 1957, plaintiff purchased a life insurance policy covering plane…

Frankly, the court ruled wrongly. The ruling throws all kinds of things in a contract in doubt, and that's no good for either party. Why should anyone think the fine print is irrelevant? Everything in a contract is relevant, or it wouldn't be in the contract.

Why are parts of the contract allowed to be in different size typeface in the first place? There should only be headings and body text, no other sizes.

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#597

Post by BeFlatXIII »

tptacek wrote: post #403
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trampoline is a bad example. Pool is not. That could threaten your house’s structure, or cause damage to your neighbour’s in a storm. The article gave an example of an overhanging tree—it makes sense for the population to segregate into those who will manage that risk and those who won’t, with the latter being charged a higher premium.

Pools are insurance issues because people die in them, and their nexts of kin sue the homeowner.

We ought to change the law to stiff the money-seeking families of victims. So long as the pool was fenced or fully above ground (required a ladder to access)

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#599

Post by HDThoreaun »

howard941 wrote: post #154
rufus_foreman wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not the issue in Florida. The issue in Florida is that "although Florida only accounts for 9 percent of the country’s home insurance claims, it is home to 79 percent of the country’s home insurance lawsuits". That's from https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/flor... , which explains how the roofing scams work in that state. The legislature is working on it.

The legislature already worked on it. It had its way with it, totally. Despite the "work" that was done rates have skyrocketed. We're so deregulated there's no room for any additional work that doesn't break down the front door and walk out with stuff What's actually happening in Florida is the insurance companies are Janus entities. One part is an insurance company that's subject to rate regulation and the other par…

What do you expect when the market collapses and most suppliers leave? Of course everyone else will raise their prices. Now Florida needs to wait for insurers to come back and competition will happen.

Re: Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

#600

Post by revlolz »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #406
pants2 wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I was shopping for home insurance, an agent told me I was too close to a canyon, which I thought was strange because there are no canyons near me. They sent me a screenshot of the fire danger map where clearly it had the wrong location / coordinates for my address (they thought I was about a mile from where I really live). I pointed them to my address on Google Maps which has my correct location, but they s…

> Luckily, Lemonade has smarter systems and got my location right, so I was able to get insured with them. But I'm not sure what I would do without lemonade. Insurers with better information will be able to judge risk better, so they can undercut competitors on lower risk or avoid taking on higher risk. That really is what a competitive insurance market should be like right?

A terrible idea when the majority of insured have a requirement to their mortgage. This is an avenue that actually warrants government intervention in the form of regulation. In my case the carrier willfully misinterpreted a map's fire risk in order to cancel me because they want to manipulate higher prices and the government has skin in the game with their own expensive, low coverage, crap plan. Government intervention in the form of state sponsored competition has bred corruption.
Post reply on HN