Deductible changed w/o notification; then a storm hit

[Jonathan Harms]

I’m trying to formulate an action plan to address the below problem I am facing. What are your thoughts? (TLDR at bottom) When I was getting quotes to switch insurance companies, the company I chose gave me premiums quotes on my rentals with deductibles of $1k each. A couple weeks later, I signed the contracts. A couple weeks after that, I got the policies in the mail and noticed the deductible had been changed from $1k to $2k on three (located in same area) of my four properties. (the 4th is 5 hrs away from other 3) In between signing the contract and receiving the policies in the mail (before I knew about the change to the deductible), a hail storm occurred in the town where two of the properties are located. I met with the agent to ask about the deductible change. He explained that was one of the reasons he wanted to meet face to face. He explained to me that the paper copy quotes he gave me included the $1k deductible, but the insurance company’s policy is to have a minimum $2k deductible on properties in that location. As a result, my agent told me he “made a business decision to protect his client” and he followed the company policy to increase the deductible as opposed to keeping it at $1k which he told me would make my policy defunct, therefore...no policy. I responded that I made the decision to go with this insurance based on the quotes he gave me, and that the increased deductible felt to me, like a bait and switch. He responded with empathy and said that he has done his best and that we should get some quotes on fixing the hail damage. If those quotes come to less than $1k to fix per property, then this deductible question doesn’t matter. He also said that I will get dropped as a client if I hold the insurance company to their $1k deductible they quoted me. In this scenario, it comes down to me paying $4k worth of deductible or $2k worth of deductible to get the hail damage fixed; that is if I prevail with holding them to their quote. TL;DR I switched insurance companies and the agent changed deductible from the $1k I was quoted to $2k on three of my four rental properties, then hail damage occurred before we could discuss this un-prompted change.