How long does a claim count against the home?

Question

We own a SFR that had two water damage claims, one in 2011 and one in 2012 for a total payout of $6,000. We bought the home in 2014, so these claim aren't against us, but against the home. I was just wondering how long these will count against the home? I'd love to see a little relief on our insurance.

Ivan Oberon · Answer

An insurance claim remains on the property's "Clue" report and is "ratable" for a period of 3 years.  However, those claims, from an insurance premium standpoint should only affect the owner who filed the claim and who owned the property at the time.  Some insurance carriers will look at the claims history and may request verification repairs have been adequately made prior to offering coverage and as you are apparently finding out, some will even choose to rate you for the history of the previous owner.  If that is the case, I would suggest you find a different carrier that will not rate you for someone else' loss.

Ivan

Fred Heller · Answer

I ran into that when i bought my house in Houston in 2003. Apparently there were three water-related claims by the previous owner, and I found it almost impossible to get insurance. I had to buy a high risk policy that was very expensive. I didn't know it until that time, but there is some kind of rating service, like a credit bureau, for houses. Previous claims are held against you for three years, even if you didn't own the house. Even though those claims have dropped off, I still have a $15,000 limit for water claims. That's why I always turn off the water to the house if I'm going to be out of town for a few days.

Steve Babiak · Answer

try reading this:

https://www.privacyrights.org/clue-and-you-how-ins...

Ryan Haase · Answer

All of my local agencies are definitely holding the previous owner's claims against me. One of the providers even told me that the previous owners claims would always increase the premiums of that home. We'll keep shopping and see what we can get.

Ryan Haase · Answer

Rick H.

I have updated my profile picture so that you feel more comfortable.

As for the claims, they are insurance claims, not judgements. They were submitted by the previous owner so they only apply to this one rental. We don't know the extent of the damage, just that they totaled $6,000 and inspection did not find any water damage in the house which leads us to believe that it was all fixed. I was just wondering how long they will continue to increase our insurance premiums. (3 years, 5 years, indefinitely?)

Ryan Haase · Answer

@Steve Babiak

I think that I'm going to end up talking to a local insurance company and ask them to come inspect the plumbing since it was all replaced with PEX prior to us purchasing the home.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Think about why that is from the insurer's perspective. There are two kinds of problematic things that insurers find lead to higher claims: people who repeatedly file claims (risky people), and property where claims are filed repeatedly (risky property).

A risky property can be due to crime, flood, vandalism, sinkhole location, etc - lots of perils that could lead to repeat claims. And you already know insurers don't like to pay claims ...

Ryan Haase · Answer

Thanks everyone. I thought it was 3 to 5 years, but I was told different things by different providers. We've quoted with 4 local insurance companies and they all are quite expensive and none of the national insurance companies will touch the house. If they don't go down in a year or so, we'll have to sell this property.

Rick H. · Answer

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Rick H. · Answer

Ryan - here's my thoughts in why your not getting the help you want:

1) Your question is not sufficiently framed to understand. Is this a judgment of what?

2) IMHO you photo does not create either empathy or other feeling that many would want to help. If you want free advise, you need to give people a compelling reason to want yo help. Would you consider a face photo that looks a little less austere? Maybe more like a person we'd like to know, help and exchange ideas with?

Not judging the man, only the post/photo.

How long does a claim count against the home?

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