Homeowners insurance situation

[Baboontyme 2883]

If anyone has any experience in this area and some thoughts I'd love to hear them. 

January '21 I receive an attorney's letter about our mail carrier filing suit claiming that a paver stone on our front porch flipped over causing her to fall and sustain injuries. Incident apparently occurred in February of '20. Last correspondence with the adjustor person was in April when she said they were working with the other attorneys on a settlement basically. I totally forgot about this. We are doing a renovation to our house. To close on the loan we have to prove that we are insured as under construction. I called our insurer, they could not find anyone that they are allowed to work with who would underwrite a renovation policy if the house was being lived in during the construction. I don't know the first thing about the insurance industry and this seemed odd, but whatever. She kept working and found someone who would underwrite the policy but it was outrageous - $8300 premium for 1 year. I was referred to another guy who also said that seemed odd and he was sure he had multiple people who would underwrite it, and they did, and long story short I switched my homeowners today. I know that my existing policy runs through 11/13 because we had already paid for this month. 

So all was good until it hit me about the mail carrier thing. I'm not intentionally trying to hide anything from anyone, just not sure what my move here is. 

[gsoda3 3362]

Sounds like you need to call your insurance company, not your broker, and ask them what's up.

And we've had two longish term renovations done on our home while we lived in it without problems from insurance. Both were over three months. So I agree with you, that's odd

[C-Man 27783]

Any time you renovate your home, you should always have a conversation with your agent/broker before the project begins. If it is a large project, your homeowner's policy might not provide adequate coverage if you suffer a loss during the time of renovation. What you need in that case is a builder's risk policy, aka a Course of Construction policy.

Some carriers have the ability to add an endorsement to your in-force HO policy to cover this exposure. (Yes, it will come with a hefty surcharge.) All carriers have a different idea what a "substantial" renovation. Basically, if you're demo'ing and redoing a few bathrooms, maybe the kitchen, you're probably OK without the endorsement or new policy. But if the project entails you moving out during the project, that's a pretty good sign the non-endorsed policy is probably not going to be good enough without the endorsement. Knocking down walls, interior or exterior and adding additional living space is almost certainly going to need the COC policy/endorsement. Again, call your agent/broker and have a discussion. The endorsement can be removed when the project is over.

Remember that all standard HO policies can be cancelled by the insured at any time for any reason. However, separate COC policies (not endorsed HO policies) are usually written on a 6- or 12-month basis. Most have a minimum earned premium (usually 3 months). But whatever you've already paid through 11/13 should be refunded to you, pro-rated back to the date you cancelled the policy.

I'm not sure why you included the mail carrier information -- were you asking about that too? Unfortunately, anybody that comes onto your property and is injured can sue you and potentially win a judgement. Unfortunately, shit happens. Get good insurance. And an umbrella policy.

If you have any other questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.

[Baboontyme 2883]

Sorry if I wasn't clear - the sole purpose of the TL;DR story was that I changed HO insurance while in the middle of being sued and I forgot to disclose it to the agent that I was ending the relationship with (they probably should have known) and the new insurance carrier. Does this matter at all? I was insured at the time of the incident. Am I under some responsibility to notify the new insurer? Is there a risk that they might drop me once I notify them? Is all of this null because I was covered by my previous agency at the time of the incident and I shouldn't even worry about it? 

[C-Man 27783]

58 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

Sorry if I wasn't clear - the sole purpose of the TL;DR story was that I changed HO insurance while in the middle of being sued and I forgot to disclose it to the agent that I was ending the relationship with (they probably should have known) and the new insurance carrier. Does this matter at all? I was insured at the time of the incident. Am I under some responsibility to notify the new insurer? Is there a risk that they might drop me once I notify them? Is all of this null because I was covered by my previous agency at the time of the incident and I shouldn't even worry about it? 

Gotcha. Well, that depends. You changed agents/brokers when you found the policy that will cover the renovation, right? Do you recall completing an application for the new policy? Was there a question asking if there were any unsettled/open claims on the then-current policy? If there was, and the question was answered "NO" by you or the agent, it could be an issue if there is a claim on the new policy. Carriers have latitude to deny claims and/or cancel policies when it's determined that an insured has misrepresented themselves (honest mistake or not) during the application process. Of course, this could fall on the agent and he/she could be open to an E&O situation.

You asked what your move is here. I would reach out to the new agent/broker ASAP and explain to them what is happening with the open claim for the other policy. See what they say. It might also be worth reaching out to the carrier (or agent) on the just cancelled policy to see if you can find out the status of that claim.

[Handcruser 2815]

Shouldn’t matter. Previous ins is on the hook for the policy/suit.

Much like a car - if your have State Farm and have a wreck, but during the course of the suit switch to Geico, Geico has no role in the suit.

[Baboontyme 2883]

Thanks HC and C-Man. I reached out to both agents this morning. My previous agent checked on the claim and it's still open and pending. I have not heard back from the new agent yet. 

[C-Man 27783]

Shouldn’t matter. Previous ins is on the hook for the policy/suit.

Much like a car - if your have State Farm and have a wreck, but during the course of the suit switch to Geico, Geico has no role in the suit.

This is correct. However, many carriers are reluctant to offer terms to a new client if there is an open claim. For instance, it’s very difficult to change homeowner policies while you are still working through a roof claim.

[C Attaway 0]

My home Ins policy is being non-renewed because of the polybutylene pipes found in my home during a claim. The claim is not settled yet. I paid for 1/3 of  the repairs out of pocket, walls, paint etc but need new kitchen cabinets. The scope of the work is still being negotiated between my adjuster and the insurance company. It’s been hard to get estimates etc for any kind of work since COVID, everything is delayed, everything back ordered.

im having a hard time finding a new policy because the claim is not closed. The major repairs are done. My question is can they cancel me with the claim not closed yet? Can they extend the policy for a mont or two?