What is the name of your state? Alabama
Hi folks!
I hope that somebody here can help me find more reasonably priced homeowners insurance.
The history is this:
I moved from my old house to my new house. The old house was not sold, but was to be renovated. I had the same insurance company insure both of them. Several months after I moved out, there was a theft at my old house - breakin. The insurance company paid the claim (about $3500), but cancelled the policy because they said the policy required that the home be owner-occupied.
Now, I'm an honest guy. I could have told them that we occupy both homes and one is our weekend home or something like that, but I told them that nobody lives there and we only were coming to mow the grass (the thieves stole the mower too!). So, they canceled. I started calling around and found that nobody (almost) would insure an unoccupied house. Finally, as I was about to have a contractor begin renovation, I bought a policy which cost almost 6 times as much as the original policy - just so I would have something on it while the workers were working on it. At that time I expected to sell the house after the renovation.
But... I kept it - and it continued to be unoccupied. I let the expensive insurance lapse - and was "self insured" (or un-insured, depending on your point of view).
Now, I've moved back into the house (separated from my wife), and trying to get it insured. I'm honest when I call them. I tell them about the theft and that the house has been unisured for some time. The "normal" companies tell me they cannot insure that house - until it has been insured by a high-risk company for 6 months to a year.
The high-risk company will charge me now 3 times the normal rate.
Is there any way around this?
The strange thing is, I suspect that if I sold it, the new owner would get the normal rates. And, meanwhile, my other house is insured at normal rates - so it's not that they think anything bad about me - but about the house.
Why would they think the house is high risk if the owner (me) has been willing to leave it uninsured for more than a year?
I don't get it.
Thanks for your help.
-Ocelot
Hi folks!
I hope that somebody here can help me find more reasonably priced homeowners insurance.
The history is this:
I moved from my old house to my new house. The old house was not sold, but was to be renovated. I had the same insurance company insure both of them. Several months after I moved out, there was a theft at my old house - breakin. The insurance company paid the claim (about $3500), but cancelled the policy because they said the policy required that the home be owner-occupied.
Now, I'm an honest guy. I could have told them that we occupy both homes and one is our weekend home or something like that, but I told them that nobody lives there and we only were coming to mow the grass (the thieves stole the mower too!). So, they canceled. I started calling around and found that nobody (almost) would insure an unoccupied house. Finally, as I was about to have a contractor begin renovation, I bought a policy which cost almost 6 times as much as the original policy - just so I would have something on it while the workers were working on it. At that time I expected to sell the house after the renovation.
But... I kept it - and it continued to be unoccupied. I let the expensive insurance lapse - and was "self insured" (or un-insured, depending on your point of view).
Now, I've moved back into the house (separated from my wife), and trying to get it insured. I'm honest when I call them. I tell them about the theft and that the house has been unisured for some time. The "normal" companies tell me they cannot insure that house - until it has been insured by a high-risk company for 6 months to a year.
The high-risk company will charge me now 3 times the normal rate.
Is there any way around this?
The strange thing is, I suspect that if I sold it, the new owner would get the normal rates. And, meanwhile, my other house is insured at normal rates - so it's not that they think anything bad about me - but about the house.
Why would they think the house is high risk if the owner (me) has been willing to leave it uninsured for more than a year?
I don't get it.
Thanks for your help.
-Ocelot