Watch out! You Could Soon Be Stiffed by Your Home Insurer
 |
| By Martin Weiss |
We first warned homeowners and policymakers in Florida.
Then, it got a lot worse, and we warned them again.
We also alerted the people of California and Texas.
State by state …
We demonstrated how insurance companies are jacking up premiums on homeowner policies despite huge profits on their investments.
We provided hard data proving that many companies were closing about half or more of homeowners claims with no payments whatsoever, nearly double the rate of years earlier.
Plus, we showed how they could have done a far better job for consumers if they just cut back on all the large special fees they pay to affiliate companies.
Did our warnings get widespread attention? You bet they did. Our data-packed press releases were promptly picked up by the …
Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald (see Insurance giants are ‘stiffing’ customers in Florida),
Los Angeles Times (L.A.-based Farmers tops survey of big California home insurers that decline the most claims), and
San Antonio Express-News (USAA companies rank high in denying insurance claims).
Did state regulators and elected officials hear about it? Absolutely! In fact, the major media reporters promptly reached out to the insurance commissioners’ and governors’ offices for commentary.
Did they respond with lame excuses, false data, attempts to blame the messenger and even counterattacks? Yes, that too. (See Sun Sentinel’s State’s strongarm tactics won’t silence a critic).
But have they taken the needed steps to set things straight for the sake of homeowners?
Unfortunately, not yet.
But my team and I are persistent. We don’t give up. We continue to reach out to more states …
Like what we did this morning — with two urgent press releases focused on Louisiana. On the very same day:
Florida Home Insurance Crisis Bleeding Into Louisiana, and
8 Louisiana Home Insurers Receive State Incentives but Have a History of Poor Performance
If You’re a Homeowner, Here Are the Steps I Recommend
Step 1. Check out our recent press releases of greatest interest to you. (If you want to see them all in one place, go to this page.)
Step 2. Look up your property insurance company here to learn how often they’ve closed claims with no payment. If it’s 40% or more, it’s not a good sign. But you may be able to find another provider with a significantly lower denial rate.
Step 3. Also check their Weiss Safety Rating. Go here and near the top of the page, where it says “Search,” enter the name of your insurance company. (See screenshot below.)
A Weiss Safety rating of “A” is excellent, “B” is good, “C” is fair, “D” is weak and “E” is very weak.
Ideally, we’d like to see a rating of “B+” or higher. But down to “B-” is also acceptable.
Step 4. If you can afford it, consider self-insuring. Then, you’ll have the opportunity to …
Save the money you would have spent on premiums …
Earn compound interest and …
Build up your own private fund for emergencies.
Plus, here’s one extra step: This crisis is spreading nationally, and even states that have so far escaped the brunt of the damage need to take preventative measures.
Therefore, if you’re so inclined, contact your state insurance commissioner (or department of insurance) to ask what the heck they’re doing about it.
For the contact info, go to this listing and scroll down to your state.
You can call the phone number listed.
Or you can click to their website where they typically provide a button for consumers that then takes you to a place to file complaints.
Good luck and God bless!
Martin
