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Karl Susman
Karl Susman

Karl Susman is an insurance agency owner and agent who has learned the ins and outs of breeding productive relationships and creating a pool of satisfied clients. Karl evaluates a business or individual client’s needs when proposing adequate insurance plans, drawing on his experience selling personal and business lines since 1993. He holds multiple certifications, is licensed in multiple states, and holds a Masters degree in Insurance Management degree from Columbia University. He also serves as an Insurance Expert Witness for complex litigation providing an independent expert opinion, assessing and analyzing cases for Federal Court, State Court and Criminal Court.

Business Profile
Susman Insurance Agency
Business Type:
  • Insurance Shopping
State:
  • California
Contact Details
Community Activities
  • Forums
  • Ask An Expert
  • Questions(0)
  • Answers(40)
State Farm Fire Policy Non-Renewal

I live in a townhouse condominium complex where 2 neighbors each share the same building: one roof and one shared wall. My neighbor and I each were insured by State Farm. My fire coverage was not renewed by State Farm, effective Dec. 10, 2024 and…

Karl Susman answered 1 year ago • Coverage Question • California
581 views1 answers
FireWise Discount

I live in a FireWise designated community and am insured through the California FairPlan. The California FairPlan policy states that those living in a FireWise community will receive a discount. A FairPlan representative states that I am receiving a FireWise discount, even though my policy…

Karl Susman answered 2 years ago • Coverage Question • California
718 views1 answers
Double homeowners coverage

We live in an HOA in Ventura County, CA. Last year, Farmers dropped us and our HOA insurance increased astronomically (17 fold). Homeowners are now paying a $7600 assessment, but we still only have about 40% of the coverage we need. I changed our State…

Sandra L. Moriarty answered 2 years ago • Coverage Question • California
1119 views3 answers
Duplicate Flood Insurance Policies Failure To Refund

Hi, First of all, thank you in advance for your help regarding this matter. I’ve been fighting this for about 2 months now, and any advice is greatly appreciated. To sum up, in 2022, I contacted my insurance agent to cancel flood insurance for a…

Karl Susman answered 2 years ago • Cancellation / Non-Renewal • California
5939 views2 answers
Access to Verisk Fireline data

Is it possible for a homeowner to get access to the Verisk Fireline data for their address?

Karl Susman answered 2 years ago • General Question • California
736 views1 answers
Credit for building improvements

I live in a CCRC community and our commercial company in Propel Insurance. If we add new roofs and new building electronic access doors should we expect a credit or reduction in our policy cost?

Karl Susman answered 2 years ago • General Question • South Carolina
690 views1 answers
How to estimate replacement cost?

I live in a high cost area (SF Bay Area) in a 110-year-old home with many features that would not be included in the typical home used for ballpark new construction cost estimates (wood floors with inlays, built-in cabinetry, wood frame windows, etc.). If my…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question, Underinsurance • California
1051 views1 answers
Debris on property

We bought 4 lots. The owner was supposed to have his trailer that burnt up cleared off, but he has passed away. What can I do?

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • Oklahoma
704 views1 answers
Non renewal of Homeowner’s policy during California storm damage claim

My home suffered storm damage in January 2023. Fortunately much of the remediation and repair is covered by my current provider. In March they sent me a non-renewal notice citing unacceptable risk. As of the end of April, repairs have not begun and are likely…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Cancellation / Non-Renewal • California
842 views1 answers
Home claim

We had a chimney fire that had extensive smoke damage and we have relocated to a temporary home. Our insurance sent a remediation company to assess the damage and they seemed very thorough and talked a good talk. We didn’t realize we could have picked…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • California
927 views1 answers
Homeowners square footage mistake

When my insurance agent measured my property nine years ago for homeowners coverage she over-measured which caused an overpayment of 15%. When the error was discovered prior to renewal I was issued a refund. Am I entitled to a refund for the previous eight years?…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • Pennsylvania
2135 views2 answers
Dropped by my insurer

The insurance for my home in San Diego, rebuilt in 2009, was dropped by my carrier. The broker found only one company that tripled my rate. Is this typical? My broker has access to 25 companies and found only one. I’ve tried two other brokers.…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • California
1349 views1 answers
Insurance while rebuilding home

We are fire survivors living on the property in a travel trailer and are in the very early stages of rebuilding- no building permit yet or timeline on completion. We have AAA and California Fair Plan (CFP) and were informed by CFP that we will…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Cancellation / Non-Renewal • California
1336 views1 answers
Non-renewal for nonprofit with historic building

Hello, The Sonoma Community Center owns and operates from a historic building (built in 1915) in downtown Sonoma. For the second year in a row, our property insurance is being non-renewed. Last year, we were able to find one company willing to insure us, but…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Cancellation / Non-Renewal • California
1272 views1 answers
Cal Fair Plan not paying my full insured amount

We were underinsured due to having to switch from a private insurance to the California Fair Plan. We were paying extremely high premiums so had to reduce coverage to afford the premium. Our home and all belongings were completely destroyed in the Oak Fire and…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • California
1433 views1 answers
Dropped from Coverage

Can an insurance company drop coverage due to the home being unoccupied during plumbing renovations? This occurred, and then the house was destroyed days later due to the Oak Fire. Is there anything that can be done, other than filing a complaint with the Department…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • California
763 views1 answers
Rejected for homeowner’s new policy because of loss history less than three years old

A 2020 California wild fire destroyed my second home. My current insurer has elected not to renew my HO policy on my primary home due to the high fire risk location of my primary home. Upon trying to secure a new HO policy from another…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • California
1090 views1 answers
Non-admitted carrier in California vs California Fair Plan

My primary home is in California. My insurer has elected not to renew my policy because my primary home is in a high risk fire area. No other admitted carrier wants to insure my home. My insurer however has agreed to write a policy with…

Karl Susman answered 3 years ago • Coverage Question • California
4442 views1 answers
Home insurance raised premium 10 fold without notice

Hello, We are refusing to pay the remaining premium for our home insurance after the insurance company raised it 10 fold ($1800 to $9500+!). We received no communication regarding this raise so we were unaware and continued paying 2 months into the new premium via…

Demian Oksenendler answered 3 years ago • Communication Delays • California
4131 views2 answers
Rebuilding on a different lot

Hello, Can I take my mortgage with me when I rebuild on a different lot? This is important as mortgage company sitting on the money from the insurer and if they mandate I have to pay off the loan in order to rebuild on a…

United Policyholders answered 4 years ago • Rebuilding • California
1086 views2 answers
Increased coverage and premium without asking

Our insurer in California increased our coverage without warning or consultation which led to an almost 100% premium increase. Is this legal and do I have any recourse other than looking for another insurer? We are in southern California and there have been fires close…

Karl Susman answered 4 years ago • General Question • California
864 views1 answers
Can paid policy premium be increased midterm

I purchased a home in November, 2021. I spoke at great length and on at least 3 different phone calls with my insurance agent going over all the details of the property. The agent viewed the mls listing of the home, pulled county records and…

Karl Susman answered 4 years ago • Coverage Question • Colorado
2766 views1 answers
Human-caused fire

Hi there, We had extensive fire damage due to human negligence. The neighbor’s insurance is subpar, and they are claiming that we have to figure in “depreciation.” I’m upset to say the least. The fire damage includes a rather large retaining wall, etc. Any advice?

Karl Susman answered 4 years ago • Coverage Question • Alabama
916 views1 answers
Inspection woes. California Fair plan

California Fair plan just did an inspection and has required me to paint my home! The home is cedar shingles that have been in place for decades. They stated my home is at greater risk for fire unpainted. This makes no sense at all! Paint…

Karl Susman answered 4 years ago • Cleaning/repair • California
1573 views1 answers
Water mitigation company exacerbated an issue

Our Insurance company recommended a water mitigation company on their behalf. The water mitigation company exacerbated an issue. Is this relationship between the insured and water mitigation company or is this relationship between the insurer and water mitigation?

Karl Susman answered 4 years ago • Claim Denial • Alabama
967 views1 answers
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