Loss Of Home in MI and Renewal Surendra Kulkarni asked 1 year ago
Loss Of Home in MI and Renewal

In the recent ice storm on 2/23/2023 a tree fell on my home and there was extensive damage to the roof structure and rest of the structure. I was assigned an adjuster and had an appraiser come in on Tuesday 3/7/2023 (after 12 days). Part of the reason was the tree was lying on the house and fallen power lines were fixed on3/4/2023. No one could enter the property. Due to the extensive damage I had a structural engineering company assess the damage and they determined the cost of of fixing the place would be over 50% and it would be better to ‘condemn’ the place. In the meanwhile I have been calling the adjuster and sending emails (everything is documented) and he picked up the phone on 3/15/2023 and he mentioned the replacement cost will be about $40k for a $500k condemned home. He also mentioned this case may be reassigned to a large loss adjuster on 3/17/2023. Being a weekend have not heard from him. Was lucky to have come upon this site today and found a number of helpful templates which I used to send emails.

However now my question, it just coincidentally happens my home insurance with this company renews on 4/1/2023, will my premium spike up and I still have no resolution?

1 Answers
Answer for Loss Of Home in MI and Renewal Jeff Major Expert answered 1 year ago
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Our advice regarding your renewal from a risk/cost perspective, is that you should remain with your existing carrier and send in your premium for next year’s policy as soon as you know what the premium will be. There is a possibility that your existing carrier may not want to renew you, but that would be in poor taste. It is possible that your premium will increase, having losses on your loss run usually leads to slightly higher premiums. We have seen premiums increase across the board in areas with more frequent natural events regardless if you have a claim so there is no absolute answer. It is likely that you will have a substantially higher premium if you have to shop a new carrier while your home is still damaged, some carriers may not write an unoccupied home as a homeowners policy, they may offer a builders risk policy. Those policies have certain requirements so be mindful to know what they are if you wind up down that path.

As an aside, regarding your damages and valuations, there are some cases that while a tear down and rebuild may be more economical, measuring the damages as a repair may be appropriate. In a lot of cases the costs end up in the same place, but a line item estimate for repairs that considers temporary bracing, architectural and engineering costs etc. may be the path of least resistance for your claim.