In some cases, the state of disrepair your home is in can become a costly problem for an insurance carrier. Issues such as loose shingles on your roof, easily compromised or cracked doors, and debris lying around your yard increase the risk of suffering damages during an insurable incident. Any of the scenarios above can increase the likelihood that your insurer will need to pay out a claim at some point. While it would be in the insurance company’s best interest for you to improve these areas and reduce their risk of claims exposure, they can’t actually force you to take action.
The Insurer is Not the Boss
Insurance carriers are simply companies that agree to pay for the losses you suffer at the hands of insurable events. They cannot dictate how you should keep your home. The insurance company does not get to mandate whether or not your roof is replaced in any state of disrepair, nor do they get to decide when and how you should make repairs to any other part of your home. It is ultimately, the responsibility of each individual home owner to decide what, when, and how to make improvements to their home.
What an Insurance Company CAN Do
This doesn’t mean insurance companies are completely powerless in compelling you to make changes. If your carrier gets the sense that your lack of repairs is increasing their exposure to risk, they can either raise your rates or decide to not renew your premium.
Insurance companies have a big responsibility to accurately assess risk and take measures to protect themselves against it. They must do this in order to ensure that they will have the funds to pay for all the claims they receive from their other policyholders. If the way you choose to maintain your home increases the risk that you present, then the insurance company has no choice but to raise your rates to reflect that increased risk or to lose you as a customer. If they don’t take these steps, they expose other customers to the possibility that they can’t pay for their claims.
It is always in a homeowner’s best interest to maintain their home to the best of their abilities. In fact, much of the damage that occurs as a result of poor maintenance is less than a home insurance deductible and doesn’t occur as an insurable incident anyway—which means the homeowner has no one to blame, and no one to pay, but themselves.
Call us to discuss your home insurance options in Victorville at (866) 466-2109.