What’s in Your Homeowners Insurance Policy?

Most homeowners in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are totally clueless with regards to filing a claim with their insurance company.  Misled by insurance company propaganda and misinformation, most homeowners are afraid to put in claims out of fear their rates will increase, they will be dropped, or their claim will be low-balled or denied.

“I met with a husband and wife who were both realtors who had owned their home for almost 30 years and when I explained to them how their policy worked, they were both totally shocked,” says Chris Ashley, Divisional President of ACI Adjustment Group, ranked #1 in Customer Service and Satisfaction in Pennsylvania & New Jersey by the United Public Adjusters Association (UPA).  “They were both in the housing industry, both of them dealt with helping their clients find insurers on a regular basis, and they had been in their home for 30 years, but they never filed a claim or even read through their policy.  They were just as lost as everybody else when it comes to what that policy actually says.”

There are a few main principles of the insurance policy that homeowners should know about. 

The first principle is a word called indemnity.  Indemnity is the principle of restoring or reimbursing one to the full extent of their loss.  Indemnity is the main principle on which insurance policies are written.  Full indemnity means restoring the property to pre-loss condition and pre-loss value.

A term called “continuation” goes right along with the word indemnity.  “Here’s an example of continuation,” says ACI Adjustment’s Chris Ashley.  “We had a homeowner in the Main Line just outside of Philadelphia who had a scratch on her custom hardwood floor.  ‘This room isn’t that big,’ she said.  She didn’t understand yet that it’s not about the size of the room, it’s about the size of the floor.  That floor went into three or four other rooms and we got that customer $15,000.  That’s how continuation works.”

The next big question is ‘how do my rates work?’  The answer is simple.  Homeowner rates on most policies work according to a discount or surcharge.  A typical “Claim Free” Discount is 5-10% of the annual premium, meaning that if you don’t put a claim in, your will receive a discount on your policy at renewal.  If you do put a claim in, you won’t receive that specific discount until you are “Claim Free” again, which is often in 2 or 3 years.  If a homeowner has a premium of $1,000, their rates in this example would only go up by $50-$100 with regards to their claim.  Rates do increase based on other non-claim related criteria on a yearly basis – catastrophic storms that affect large regions of the state, inflation, home building material prices, etc.  An individual homeowner will only be affected for their claim In order for an official “rate increase” to take effect, however,

Can you be dropped just for a claim?  Not in Pennsylvania.  You can be dropped for excessive claims, which include multiple claims on reoccurring damages – such as multiple burglary claims in a high-crime area, especially if the homeowner fails to meet insurance company requests such as bolt locks on doors.

So what are you covered for?  A lot more than the house burning down and the roof blowing off.  Most homeowner policies cover for roof damage, water damage from plumbing, siding damage, accidental overflow or discharge, damaged flooring, and many other damages that are sudden and accidental.  Most homeowner policies give you a list of exclusions, and if your damages are not listed in that list of exclusions, then you’re covered.  These exclusions include flood, nuclear radiation, civil war, ground movement, etc.

How long can you wait to put in a claim?  You can wait as long as you want, but after a year you lose the right to hire an attorney.  Sooner is better when it comes to reporting a claim.  ACI Adjustment Group recommends that you give notification immediately to their Claims Department at 1-800-809-4302 after suffering a loss. 

The big question is, ‘Is my damage worth claiming?’  “Your damage is at least worth a Free Property Inspection from ACI Adjustment Group, the #1 ranked Public Adjusters for customer service,” says President Peter Guzzi.  “We perform free inspections to educate and advise homeowners every day, and most of the time the damage is significant and claimable.  Right now, we’re handing out free fire alarms and smoke detectors at our free home inspections because we want to make sure all homeowners in our area are protected and safe.  The only reason why we do what we do is to make sure homeowners are protected against predatory insurance companies who don’t want to pay full coverage – just look at what’s going on at the Jersey Shore.  The insurance companies are underpaying claims left and right!”

The bottom line is that if you have damage to your property, your best bet is to call ACI Adjustment Group to handle your claim.  ACI Adjustment Group can be reached at 1-800-809-4302 for damage related inquiries and requests for free property inspections.