Home Insurance Cancelled...You Too?

5-31-06 | Dasboot

[dasboot]

I was notified by my insurance agent that our policy carrier was unwilling to re-up our contract. Reason: 'cost of re-insurance too high'.

No other explanation. Last week I got a notice from my agent that the only insurance I could get was through the MA 'Fair Plan'...state program for problem properties...at DOUBLE the cost.

So I called another agent. She said, "Give me the address."

"Ohhhhh". [And not a good "Ohhhhh"].

She tells me that insurance carriers are, en masse, cancelling insurance contracts [when up for renewal] on any property that is within one mile of a major body of water!

What's going on??? Is this MA only? Nation-wide? A greenie plot to vacate the waterfronts? The fallout of Katrina?

Anyone else getting the screw? Can't find a thing on line about it. Pardon the vanity...don't know where else to find info.

I'm 85' above sea level. About a mile inland from the Atlantic. I'm hoping for a life preserver, here. Getting ready to retire on a tight budget....I can't take much more of this price-gouging. What to do?

[pointsal]

Sweetie...the RINOs are not any better....

I frankly am pretty disgusted with the whole shooting match...

[Cobra64]

Well, the acquaintance of mine moved to near Asheville NC.

Asheville's very nice. We live about 40 miles East, on Lake James.

[claudiustg]

---I am seriously thinking of cashing my chips and moving to the South. I live outside of Salinas, Ca. It is a Mecca for the gangs. Added benefit, no statewide assualt weapons ban either.---

At one time we were looking for a place along the coast north of Monterey. We stopped in at the Chamber of Commerce in Castroville. They were out but a Sheriff's Deputy across the hall told us, "You don't want to move here!"

[lonedawg]

It is, if you own a quad .50 and your own motorized reloading machine.


I do love my quad 50,I do love it so.

[dc27]

It is, if you own a quad .50 and your own motorized reloading machine.

Might need to throw in a roof mounted TOW to go with it. Added benefit to retiring in Camden is a 24/7 Pharmacy on every street corner.

[weaponeer]

I am seriously thinking of cashing my chips and moving to the South. I live outside of Salinas, Ca. It is a Mecca for the gangs. Added benefit, no statewide assualt weapons ban either.

Do it! I left Salinas in '97 and moved to Texas. For the $150K I got for my POS house in Salinas I have a real nice house on one acre on top of a hill. (I was back in Salinas last Nov. My old POS 1100 sqft house in North Salinas {on Northridge Drive} just sold for over $800K!)

And home insurance is MUCH cheaper here in Central Texas.

[dc27]

Castroville is pretty bad too. Actually, most of the area is riddled with gangs. Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove are about the only places to live.

[Lacroix]

You got Red Lined Pal. Get a lawyer and STB.

[dc27]

I live in Prunedale. I have a friend who is an agent. He said most people that are selling their homes in Prunedale are moving out of state.

[claudiustg]

I moved to Montana.

[Mister Da]

I'd stay on top of my insurance agent, til the policy expires. Go visit him. You might get a break, or more info, than in a phone call or letter. If you have been a long time customer, he owes you something. Perhaps an extension, an exemption, or a lower rate.

The insurance cos. are in dire straits right now, & are scared stiff of the coming 'cane season. IF you can stretch this cancellation out til winter, things MIGHT improve. But, a few more Katrinas & all bets are off. In any case, changing insurers during these chaotic times is to be avoided, if possible.

With the real estate boom, home values are going up every year, so insurance premiums go up right along side of them. Mine does. Maintaining insurance during retirement will become increasingly difficult.

If we were both smart, we would move inland to a place where the weather is not so severe, & the insurance rates are a little more stable.

[Ole Okie]

Yup! And soon they'll be those awful windfarms.

Yeah! Whop, whop, whop, whop, whop, whop, whop, whop.

All day long. All night long. Every day, Every Month. Every year. Nothing but whop, whop, whop, whop, whop.

People will soon be begging for quiet offshore drilling. ;^)

[dasboot]

We're talking millions and millions and MILLIONS of people who've been red-lined. Right?

[kitkat]

I wear a hearing aid. Lost it. I have coverage in my home owner's insurance. The insurance company would only pay for the aid which is only 1/3 of the cost of getting one. The other 2/3 is for fitting, etc. So, after the deductible, I got a check for $87, for a $1,400 aid. I asked my insurance man if my house burned down would they only pay for the construction material and not the work of building it again.

[stands2reason]

Makes me glad I'm a desert/prairie flower. :-)

[sionnsar]

Sell and move. Use the prophet to buy a castle in another state.

Which one?

[Mikey_1962]

OK nobody honest dares file a claim...

[dasboot]

I'd stay on top of my insurance agent, til the policy expires. Go visit him. You might get a break, or more info, than in a phone call or letter. If you have been a long time customer, he owes you something. Perhaps an extension, an exemption, or a lower rate. My agent of 30 years can't give me anything if a major carrier simply refuses to accept a contract. She worked in ernest to find a taker among a dozen or so companies she represents, and, thus, the shuffle into the 'fair plan'. And I have only made one claim as a homeowner in my life...roof/hurricaine damage in '90. About 2k. Not an issue in the assay of my viability, I'd think. The majors are simply refusing to carry any property in the one-mile zone, apparently!

[Ol' Sox]

I worked for a major reinsurer during the late '80's and early '90's, and went through Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew. At the time, I directed the executive information systems for the top execs, actuaries and underwriters, essentially placing both corporate info as well as trending intel on their desktops.

Now reinsurance is essentially a gamble and none of the companies write insurance to a profit - they actually lose money on insurance. They make money on investments. They also have to have enough money in reserve to cover ANY eventuality. So you have to look at several factors here - how much can they stand to lose, how much have they lost over the past couple of years (eating into their reserves) and what does the investment marketplace look like.

Well, over the past five years, we have seen Florida and the Gulf raked to and fro by hurricanes, with insured losses in the tens of billions, effectively depleting reserves and thereby eating into investment dollars. Eastern Massachussetts/shoreline New Hampshire was just recently flooded out - worst floods in 80 years. National Hurricane Center is predicting another bad year and possibly affecting the Northern Atlantic shoreline which is overdue for a hit. The market has not been stellar since the millenium sag.

To a reinsurer, these are stormy times, and the underwriters are cautious. The gamblers have been hit very hard over the past few years. There's plenty of business aside from that within a mile of major water. Best bet is to stay back from the shore and let Uncle Sugar take care of the folks who live there.

[Spirited]

Have any suggestions as to Counties?
Are you in zone 7b for growing zones?