Two personal anecdotes: First we had a local insurance company drop and refuse to pay out on a family friend's claim when the water tower had a problem and flooded their house (was less than 100 yards away). It took years in court for them to fork over the money. Judge told them they should've just paid when it happened. Second was my own home. Insurance was supposed to come out every year or so and do an assessment and increase the payout based on how much work had been done to fix the property. When the house burned down they only paid the original rider and we were told 'yeah they screwed up but you won't get anything more' from a lawyer. Insurance these days is the biggest scam.
That reminds me of the Louis Rossmann business continuity insurance debacle. He had insurance for power outages, but not flooding. So when the power station flooded and he had a power outage for several days, the insurance wouldn't pay out because he didn't have flooding insurance. XD
My rural property was hit by a microburst. Insurance paid part of my roof but refused to pay even 1cent on the out buildings, 2 of which were completely destroyed. Reason, it would hurt me long term. WTH!. I was so mad I didn't renew. Own outright so it is just a waste of money.
All this reminds me of Insurecare in the Incredibles. There's plenty of truth to the parody company. Insurance companies protect their bottom line by looking for even the slightest excuse to not pay. I'm sure what's happening in California has something to do with their insane laws and the state of crime. If I owned an insurance company that operated in California I would be looking for any way out of all the contracts that I can find so that I would not longer be serving people in the state.
My father’s home was flooded in superstorm Sandy on 2012. The insurance company(a major one that advertises all the time)he paid premiums to for decades refused to pay a single cent on his claim. They came up with every ridiculous excuse not to pay the claim. My father would have had to hire a lawyer but he didn’t want to because of health issues. He sold the house at a loss and got out of New York. You can’t trust any insurance company these days.
Hurricane and flood insurance are specialized policies. In all likelihood the person in the house didn't know that his policy would not cover him in this kind of disaster. And why do people keep calling a category 1 hurricane a superstorm. That is a mischaracterization of this storm. The devastation was so great because there was such a low Inland rise which created a storm surge with only a couple of feet rise in the sea level. It is not the insurance companies fault that people do not insure their property against specific catastrophes.
@mikeslater6246 superstorm sandy dropped multiple feet of storm in north Carolina and west Virginia. Hurricanes don't do that. It was a hurricane that was also a noreaster.
We had a local agent who was collecting money but not letting the parent agency know. When people had a claim he just paid it out of pocket, until a million dollar house burnt. He couldn’t cover it and Allstate wouldn’t as they never received premiums. Court ruled that Allstate was on the hook because the guy who committed the fraud was their agent. Period, full stop. They could sue the agent but they had to pay the claim.
They bought and paid for the legislation that makes it legal to cancel a policy and limit the claims to 3 per lifetime of the house regardless of the owner being new. They wrote the legislation.
The legislation is the reason they can't do business in California at all. They can't raise rates even though wood and people cost more. They can only raise rates a little every year and it's doesn't match inflation. They would stay if they could make money.
If they could buy the legislation they'd have gotten rid of the restrictions on raising premiums. California laws and policies have made the entire state a bankruptcy waiting to happen for every insurance company operating there and the restrictions on raising premiums are why they've stopped writing new policies. What they're doing to cancel existing policies is incredibly shitty, but they'd rather keep existing policies and the cash flows they represent than simply cancel them, but the risks associated with continuing to operate in California are just too great.
I live in Texas and have been with State Farm for over 30+ years with no claims and excellent credit. The premiums on auto and home policies have risen more than 50% this year alone. Insurance companies are spreading their risk across all of the states even though I reside in a very low risk/low crime area.
I used to work for one of the three biggest insurance companies (top 3) in the country & California, Florida & Texas are the three most expensive states to insure your home & auto and it’s always been that way because these are also the states that lead everyone else in natural disasters. They don’t spread cost throughout the country, they spread it throughout the state.
Almost the same here, 40 years with SF in TX and one home claim (neighbor's garage burned and caused $8k damage to ours) and premiums have gone up about $200 a month this year for home and 5 cars. Luckily our auto dropped about $250 a month due to their Drive Safe and Save program for the past couple of years, but it's almost back to the rates it was before. I don't really want to change as we know our agents personally and they've treated us very well over the years. Every claim we came out whole or even better. And we had great rates on all my kids, like $65-85 a month full coverage on each. Couldn't beat that anyplace else.
@@dpk9993Same here. It's because of the price on new vehicles and the tons of accident claims in the big cities...and we have a lot of them. My agent said Harris County rates were insane. I just dropped full coverage on my car because it's older and they'll total it and give me very little for it, even with a minor collision. I've always kept very high deductibles on house and auto too. It's crazy. They manufacture things to raise rates. I live in the Hill Country and am now in a "fire risk" area.
I went through this insurance nonsense a little over a year ago. The CZU complex fire forced us to evacuate and got to about a half mile near my house before being stopped. No insurance company was legally allowed to drop anyone for one year after the fires, but sure enough, the next renewal after one year had passed, Nationwide dropped us and it was tough getting insurance but we did but it was decently more expensive. But, a few months after they dropped us, they sent a letter basically saying they felt bad that they dropped us and wanted to retroactively give us our insurance back, and they did. My thought was, uh-oh, they got in trouble for dropping everybody, didn’t they. We have since moved out of California, for multiple reasons but including things like this.
Now you have moved somewhere else, I hope you are aware that what happened to California is type of leadership that your former state has been voting in for years. I know there's a lot of people who flee California, and want to vote for the same type of people and policies that destroyed the beautiful and amazing State of California.
I’m confused by this. So, if you started your own insurance company, you believe that the government should force you to insure people you didn’t want to insure?
No. It's not a scam. It used to be that people took responsibility for their expenses and dealt with hardship as it happened. Insurance is something the wealthy and wealthy societies use to prepare for hardship. Insurance companies can run scams on their customers, no doubt. But their business model must be sustainable, because if they pay out every claim made, they will go bankrupt quickly and every customer who paid their premiums will lose money and coverage. Reform needs to be legislative, and needs to protect everyone, not just one side of the equation. California's legislation just sees the corporations as cash cows.
Something similar happened to me when I first bought my home. I tried to get insurance through State Farm and they said they took a bunch of photos that showed trash and stuff in the yard that wasn't there when I toured or bought the house. They somehow took their photos while the house was being cleaned out by the previous owner and canceled my insurance policy without even notifying me. I called to ask a question about my policy 6 months later and the rep told me I didn't even have homeowners insurance. When I asked why, I was informed that it was because of grainy photos they had of furniture, appliances, and other stuff strewn around my yard that wasn't even there.
Yeah, State Farm is on my s-- list too. I was dropped for following the agent’s instruction. I will say that they paid out, but refused to renew my policy.
@@P_RO_ Such provisions, when put into a contract by a party on a "take it or leave it" basis with a party which has little to no negotiating power, and is not balanced by similar provisions to the party with less negotiating power falls under the legal classification of "unconscionable contract" ... i.e. a sort of "agreement" which contains terms which nobody who has actual negotiating power would EVER agree to. Same goes for [party offering the contract] can "change the terms of this agreement at any time by giving [X days] notice." When challenged in court, these provisions are almost always held by judges to be unconscionable, and therefore inadmissable in a contract. This sort of thing holds true even between two companies, for example, if a major automotive company with worldwide name recognition gives a small supplier a contract to sign on a "you either agree to these lopsided terms or we won't do business with you." and refuses to allow any negotiations for the terms of the contract.
Another reason they don't want to insure a house with a drained pool is the pool can 'float' or 'pop' out of the ground if empty. the water helps weight it down and hold it in place. If you drain it and something happened to the ground below (water table rise in winter/spring is common) it'll float up anywhere from a few inches to a foot. Seen it a few times when I worked for a city where the pool was drained for an 'acid wash'. I can bet they didn't want to have anything to do with that property!
The water not only weighs it down, is an equalizing force against the earth, preventing the ground from causing cracks and cave-ins. That being said, I don't see any reason why the insurance co. couldn't drop pool coverage, which I know is specifically mentioned in my policy.
@@riverraisin1 True, but Mr. Lehto's video doesn't mention that. Someone with a similar situation might also put a claim in from someone injuring themselves of even falling into the empty pool, just so many issues with it. If not planning to use it in the future just get rid of it and be done with it.
The youtube channel California insider just had a video on this not too long ago. Basically what they found out is all these major insurance companies are backing out of the state of California because of the inability to raise the prices to what they need to be because of government regulations. With all the wildfires and payouts they needed to increase prices but state regulations do not allow the increase that they need.
Rates with SF keep going up -- had about $50k in damage from a storm and they sent me a check for $175 (one hundred seventy five bucks) and didn't even bother covering most of the damage to the property. Now I have to fight these people -- the inspector that came out disingenuously inflated the value of personal property by acting like he was doing us favors. What a complete racket. Been two weeks and haven't even received the aforementioned check.
Several insurers have gone bankrupt because they operate in California. According to the industry, they can't make money there because of things Sacramento has done. They want out. This now is them trying to get out. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for outside insurers coming in to fill the gaps.
Yeah, the insurance carriers have a lot of bad things being shoved down their throats. The political and legal climate gets worse every day. The state needs new political direction or it will get worse.
This is all I can figure. Why would they waste their time making up BS excuses if they don't have to? Typically it's better for insurers to have MORE customers, not less. Laws in CA for insurers must be goofy AF.
In 1980's fire 95% of men stayed home with a hose in my neighborhood with many escape routes. A garden hose will not put out a house fire, but it can put out spot fires and it also can wet the property so spot fires don't even start. in 2020's fire 85% of men left for a shelter. That made a huge difference. 1980's no homes lost... 2020's 3 homes lost.. and in 1980's everybody had wood shinge roofs, now nobody has a wood shingle roof.
The insurance companies are realizing how much financial crap they are in. They don't have enough liquid cash to cover all their liabilities. This happened here in New Zealand after a massive earthquake that wiped out a good part of a major city. There were so many claims at once that it almost bankrupted the insurance companies. The companies got really fussy after that.
Steve, glad you're shedding light on this but there's no way another insurance company is going to step in and pick up the leftovers. California is not an easy state to do business in and the insurance market has poor margins unless you plan on screwing people over. We had to let our mortgage service provider buy a basic homeowners insurance policy for us, which they force us to pay for, but for which we get no benefits should a casualty happen. That's the outrageous situation many of us face now, and my state reps refuse to even acknowledge the letters I sent them about it.
I'm sorry if we're legally required to HAVE insurance... and are FORCED to have insurance... than they are FORCED TO PROVIDE IT without extorting us on prices... If they can say no. so can we! Freaking ridiculous how we've been forced for the longest time to have these things by the government and no one regulates the thing we are forced to have.
@@electrostatic1A lot of insurance companies been pulling outta cali recently so this isn't a new issue. A lot of it is due to risk damage to houses, price to rebuild the house and that insurance companies can't set rates to cover said house in way they can be in the black if say house gets burned down due to failure of state to do proper forest management. cali has law that they can only raise rate certain % a year anything higher requires gov approval which is a hassle. At the end its cali gov created problem that building home costs so much insurance companies are walking away from there.
File suit. It worked for us over ridiculous claims against a medical claim. The in house lawyer was on the phone with him the next day. Edited to say the agent denied his claim because “Sloan Kettering in not a recognized cancer trmt center in the US”. At that point arguing was over and he filed suit. It wasn’t even that much money but the insult of the reason of their denial.
This happened to me in North Carolina. I received a notification that my home had been inspected and was informed that I had to perform a number of repairs, or my homeowners insurance policy would be "non-renewed". The notice was sent in November and I was given until March 3rd to have the repairs done. This included a new roof and exterior paint. I ended up going with a different insurer.
@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusketAnd what proof is there that there was an “inspection” at all and that the roof or other features even need repairs? What information and criteria was used? When was this done? By who exactly? Is there a review process by the state insurance commission? Was this reasonable? Arbitrary? A clerical error? Why assume the insurance company is on the up and up? Maybe they are, but maybe they’re not.
I'm thinking about hiring an artist to paint something I can put over the property that looks like a perfect yard, house and roof that looks like a perfect house and yard underneath.
I worry that "fly by night" insurance companies will step in to temporarily cover people, but when problems arise they will just declare bankruptcy and leave you high and dry, only to resurface under a different name later.
That's a very real possibility, that's why you should stick to a reputable company. The homeowners with the car in the driveway Steve mentioned, said they got insurance thru the military. I am guessing that they got it thru USAA insurance which insures current military, and vets.
I remember when the workmans comp insurance was opened to many other companies one time here in California. The rates dropped drastically. But within a couple of years many of them ended up leaving at they set their rates too low.
My house was dropped because “window trim is in need of maintenance,” a few years ago. I could not get anyone to come out here to show me the problem; the trim is vinyl. I was unable to get homeowners insurance from another company. Recently, my neighbor had the same problem and was told the main concern is that we are in a rural area. I’ve just been putting what would have been my premiums in a ‘just in case’ account.
As an electrician, i have been called out by homeowners after their insurance companies threatened to drop them. Why? Because they still had the original knob and tube wiring in their homes. Not that it was unsafe, not that it wasnt up to code, just basically have an electrician inspect it, and replace any and all existing knob and tube ( which might also probably entail a service upgrade). Nice surprise bill of anywhere between 5,000$ to 30,000$. Truly unbelievable.
I've read that they won't cover wiring over 20-30 years. I'm not sure if it was my policy or a blanket thing. My house has og aluminum and it's been difficult finding someone to rewire the house.
I'm not defending insurance companies, but if I understand correctly, it's that water in the pool will keeps the walls at bay by the weight and pressure. By draining the pool, you can cause more damage and have the walls to cave in.
Yeah this is the only one that made some degree of sense to me, though it seems like the insurance company just let it be for quite some time before cancelling over it. Never want to drain your pool without filling it. As for the other stuff just seems like they're reaching.
The roof situation happed to me in Utah. I was accused of my roof being in disrepair from 10yr old google earth photos. Ironically I completely replaced my roof only a year or two earlier. I changed insurance companies for the principle of the matter.
My insurance was canceled after Paradise Ca. burned to the ground and Merced Mutual Ins. Co. was over exposed there and went bankrupt. The State refunded my recently paid premium and Geico, my car insurance company, stepped up and arranged home insurance with Travelers Insurance at the same rate I was paying. The good news is my premium went down $200 a year when it came due this year. I live in town, not in a wooded area, where the only fire hazard we have to put up with is the smoke.
Our Insurance company sent someone one to our house, and that person never knocked on the door to see if anyone was home, then started wandering around the yard. When my Wife saw them it scared so badly she called the police. When I confronted the agent about what had happened he said I had a bad roof and canceled my home owners but left my auto and jacked the rated way up on a payed for 2009 Chevy HHR. Life's funny, because three weeks later my agents office was taken out by a tornado.
I too am a resident of California and received one of these letters. I spent over $10k and 4 months trying to resolve their complaints and requests. Each time I addressed their observations they asked for more. I ultimately was able to find another insurer. My costs nearly doubled. I did take on the added cost of changing my car insurance as well. I had used this company for my car insurance for over 30 years. After the stress they put me through of trying to rake 1 1/2 acres clear of all combustible materials and maintain that during the rainy season I will happily pay more just to not ever give that company another penny.
I work in the insurance industry and I can assure you that California is not light on regulations. I've heard many times (albeit informally) that the only two states in which we'll never do business are New York and California because their regulations are so onerous that we'd lose a fortune just trying to comply. And that's even after we've already put up with the nightmare that is Florida. In fact it wouldn't be surprising if regulations are part of the reason that California has become so toxic that existing insurers are just trying to get out any way they can before the state bankrupts them.
@@VinceHuffman I have no doubt CA is full of regulations. I am fairly confident that these regulations stem from prior industry abuses. It seems industries are happy when the rules protect them and are totally opposed when they protect the consumer. The pendulum swings and perhaps CA needs more variety in the insurance companies doing business in one of the biggest markets in the world.
@@davidhoward4715 not sure how that would make me a man. Its unfortunate that unfettered capitalism results in abuse. In today's world insurance is a necessity and makes all the more reason regulation is necessary.
Yeah insurance companies make commercials that tell you about the risks that come with living, but then they pick and choose customers which are most unlikely to ever encounter issues so they can just keep collecting every month
The "unprofitable" things to insure are houses built on floodplains, or on beaches where hurricanes regularly hit. And this could be about California wild fires. I think we need to admit that we shouldn't build houses on floodplains, houses on beaches should be able to withstand hurricanes, and fire "management" has actually made things worse. Fires are a natural part of the ecosystem, and by putting them out, we let too much fuel build up, and then a huge fire comes through that can't be stopped.
Watched some other channels about this problem especially in California and Florida. In Florida it simply the increased risk from hurricanes. In California it'sthe wildfire risk but with a twist. The state insurance regulator has refused for several years to allow the insurance companies from raising their rates for coverage and major insurers like State Farm are leaving the state. Thus could be devastating for the state housing market because it is making it difficult to get insured. If potential home buyers can't find either affordable insurance or any insurance at all then lenders will not provide loans for people to be able to buy homes unless they pay cash.
I thought it had to be something like this. Companies try to do business with customers, and if they're refusing to do business, something weird is going on. Usually, the reason is the government making it so difficult to do business that companies would rather avoid it.
Ironically, in California, the utility companies had to reimburse the insurers for the fires that were deemed to be caused by the utility companies, which were most of the worst ones. That, in turn, caused utility rates to skyrocket. California is no longer affordable. Housing costs, insurance rates, utilities and taxes are snuffing out any possibility to live and thrive here.
This is insane, these companies are shady as I have dealt with a couple of them. I was left with a bad opinion of them. Working on it restoring an old car is a normal use and not a major risk.
This is happening because the insurance commissioner refused rate increases on the policies… this is always what the insurance industry does when this happens. If you vote for an activist insurance commissioner that doesn’t understand how it works everybody gets screwed.
@@esquire9445 Well, where I live, insurance isn't to costly. The woods won't burn as it is a swamp. It stayed wet during a big drought. The gators moved deeper into the woods
@@kirkmorrison6131 I’m in Washington State, I’ve worked in the insurance industry. Here it happens every 15 years or so that the people elect an insurance comissioner that is a lawyer that has never worked in the actual industry. Insurance company refusal to write new business and increase cancellations are part of the system. But again, most people blame the companies without understanding the commissioners part in the problem.
If anybody has any kind of equity loan on their property and the insurance is cancelled, a loan-provider will invariably cancel that loan and demand full-payment, or commit a foreclosure. There is happening right now a homeowner apocalypse mostly because insurance is either not available or is abusively expensive. Financial institutions are accruing a fantastically over-abundant backlog of homes that they then intend to either eliminate or ONLY provide to the public as rentals.
No, they'll assign you to a tame, in house insurance company with rates triple or quadruple your old policy with higher deductibles and lower claim limits. I just went through this when my mortgage holder "forgot" to pay the semi annual premium.
Interesting. Historically, if a home becomes uninsured, the lender will buy "vendor's single interest" coverage to protect its financial interest in the home, and charge the premium back to the borrower.
@@richdiddens4059 One of the many tactics and responses they're using to further take money from the poor and give to the rich because the rich need more money and vou don't.
If this is only happening in California, sounds like California enacted some sort of law that makes it undesirable for insurance companies to do business in California.
In California it's wildfires that are driving up rates. In Florida its hurricanes. At least in Florida you can build to the new hurricane code and get some relief. Other that building an underground concrete bunker, I don't know what you could do in California.
@@Inkling777 Sure you can. Any non-combustible roofing (steel, galvalume) but probably not tile (too heavy for pre-existing structure), non-combustible siding. storm doors, steel garage door. Get shrubs away from the home. Get rid of all your pine trees. It has been done before and real-life tested. I suppose a larch would be OK. Fire season, it has already shed its needles.
100% the same thing is happening Florida. 10,000's of homeowners are having their policies cancelled or their rates exponentially increased. My policy went from $3,500 to $11,300 and then on the next renewal I received notice of non-renewal and was forced to buy a policy from Citizens. Citizens is backed by the State of Florida - the big catch - they force you to also purchase a Federal Flood insurance policy, whether your in a flood zone or not.
It's because so many people choose not to buy food insurance but then do a shocked Pikachu face when they aren't covered for food damage. Forcing them to buy it prevents a ton of disputes and mistrust.
When we lived in Florida (the Panhandle) we weren't required to have Flood insurance, even though we were only 1 block from the intercoastal waterway. It was kind of a gamble, even though we went through several powerful hurricanes without any damage from wind, rain, or storm surge (lived there for 10 years).
That's an insane increase :(. But I'm not totally against getting flood insurance outside a flood zone. My town (not in Florida) had a major flood in a neighborhood that wasn't in any flood zone. The water did something no one expected.
It's happening in Arizona too. I just had my homeowner's brought up to date with today's costs. I've been with Farmer's since I was 16. I am now 67. I also have 4 vehicles insured through them as well. I received better coverage at a cheaper premium rate. My agent did say many in my area are loosing their policies over various things. He said it's mostly due to bad roofs. I have a tile roof not shingles. The underlayment is in great shape.
I had a client call me with a drained pool who had this exact situation a month ago. Flew a drone over the house. The insurance company clearly doesn’t want the business and is out fishing for cause to drop their roles in California.
@@escapedfromnewyorkInsurance companies are there to make a profit. If the risks are too high for the premiums, they're not going to want to continue coverage. I wonder if there are restrictions on how much they can increase premiums (which would be the more logical step). Maybe California has just become too crazy to make actuarial predictions. (Edit: I see from other comments that there are restrictions on increasing premiums. This was entirely predictable).
@@escapedfromnewyork You never heard of losing money before? it's like a restaurant selling you a smorgasbord and then changing their mind when you go for the prime rib first.
@@escapedfromnewyork If your payouts are higher than the income from premiums, you won't make a profit. some time ago, a California law came into effect that limits insurance companies from raising premiums beyond a certain point. However, this limit is lower than the inflation rate of 2022. Meanwhile, due to increased (cheap) solar installations and the rising risk of wildfires, the overall risk has gone up. While the maximum allowable premium increase might offer short-term benefits, it could result in a substantial long-term loss. Unfortunately, politicians often prioritize immediate concerns and don't pay enough attention to the consequences down the road. The fundamental principle behind insurance is simple: a large group of people pays a relatively small amount each month, and only a few receive payouts when necessary. When payouts exceed the premiums collected, the insurance system becomes unsustainable. Insurance companies can't drop you as a client without valid reasons. Violating the terms of coverage is one such valid reason. Even if you rectify the issue for which you were dropped, the company isn't obligated to reinstate your coverage, as businesses have the right to choose their clients. This situation occurs in multiple high-risk states. I live in a low-risk state, and I received a notice a few years ago to address a hazard (tree line too close to the house). I live near Dulles Airport in a heavily wooded area aligned with one of the runways primarily used for landings. If a plane were to crash, there's a chance the forest could catch fire. I was given around 90 days to comply. Following that, I requested the insurance company send an inspector to avoid any surprises in the future. They found no additional high-risk issues but identified a few medium and low-risk concerns. These have been addressed. With four children under the age of 5, this brings some peace of mind...
You’d have to ask them why they are dropping policies for cause. I don’t understand why they are doing it, I’m just saying that they are definitely doing it.
A year ago my insurance company dropped me out of the blue because I could not prove that my 75 year old house had been "updated" with all sorts of bullshit green new deal type building materials and technology. This was after I had been with them for a decade. The best deal my insurance agent could find ro replace it raised my premiums by over 200%. So I sold the house and am now leaving the state. Born and raised in CA and lived there for 43 years. Used to be a paradise but not anymore.
@@orppranator5230sounds like building codes? But you are grandfathered in to follow codes in whatever year it was built. If you remodel you must meet current code and pass inspection.
@@orppranator5230 Yeah. We also have an older home (only 62 years old), but we remodeled it some 20 years ago, and put in dual-pane windows, some insulation, and a "modern" force-air heating system... Our homeowner's insurance has only had the typical incremental increases.
Now I understand what my insurance pulled a couple of years ago. We were doing major repairs including roofing. Got cancelled for a bad roof and debris. Just one more reason why we are leaving California.
Don’t plan on moving to Florida or Texas. Florida has lost it’s major home insurance companies. Texas is next on the list. I suggest the upper Midwest- maybe North Dakota.
"Just one more reason why we are leaving California." It's not just California. Insurance companies are doing that sort of stuff all over. I had my own issue when I was replacing my privacy fence and left old fencing material out in the backyard for a bout a month because the weather was too bad to work on it.
Just FYI, San Rafael is pronounced locally as "San Rafell" And lots of places have odd pronunciations. I grew up near Greenwich, New York and it is pronounced Green Witch. A suburb of Rochester, NY is Chili - pronounced Cheyeleye. I made the same mistake with San Rafael when I moved here and it one of the easiest ways to know someone is not from the Bay Area.
except, you know, all the states where they are cancelling without price controls. Always amazed to see people bend over for their corporate overlords.
@@kenyattaclay7666 Due to wildfires and other issues in CA, insurance payouts are more, but CA insurance commission is allowing rate increases to cover the additional costs.
My parents in Wisconsin were threatened with cancellation because of so called junk in the back yard. They did have some items behind a shed in the rear of the yard. No one could see it but clearly the insurance company snooped around. We did help them get rid of it but we were surprised as both our families have used American Family for over 40 years. I was not happy to say the least.
I once had a insurance company from CA cancel my homeowners insurance because my mail to address differed from the property address. I had a PO Box for my mailing address
It's not just the wildfires. It's the unstable government, law enforcement defending and a 300 percent in claims from break in burglary, damage of house and property from homeless squatters. The policy of not prosecuting theft under 1000 dollars is greatly accelerating the problem. If you were a insurer you would get out of California, Oregon,and Washington state. The only solution is insurance offered through the State Governments or they will lose all their homeowner taxpayers.
More to do with California's overregulation--individual cases are just the visible part of a policy to limit or eliminate a major source of financial loss.
This seems like a huge opportunity for scammers to step in with fake paperwork, take peoples money, tell them they have insurance, and disappear. (I mean scammers other than the insurance industry)
If not a single insurer in the entire state will take your coverage that seems like a good indication the insurer may not be the real problem. As far as the insurers, I suspect it's bad law causing them to do this. Remember, the federal government created federal flood insurance because it thought the insurers were charging too much or refusing to cover a lot of flood prone properties, the federal insurance was at low rates but our taxes have to cover the payouts because the insurance is too cheap to cover the risk and we're insuring homes no insurance company would insure because it's very high risk. Some states decided rather than offer state funded insurance that would lose money they would just pass laws forcing insurers to lose money instead.
@@odius94-- Were you under the mistaken impression that R's don't pass stupid laws too? I'm guessing not as many of them as D's do but they're also politicians with buckets of other peoples money and stupid ideas.
As usual the government and the powers that be require something of us, i.e. insurance on just about every aspect of our lives, but offers very little protections from the insurers themselves. I retired early from my job of 20 years with the public schools because the medical insurance they provided me paid very little toward ANY of my health care costs and I was drowning in bills to the point that I could not even buy food. Retiring made me eligible for Medicaid in the state of Arkansas but even that was a mixed blessing because even if I had a part time job I would lose that insurance. What would be the point?
Government does more harm than good. In this case Cali capped the rate at which insurance companies can raise premiums but I do believe the business model in fire hazard country is unsustainable and Insurance companies would price themselves out of a job if left unchecked and have to leave eventually because nobody is going to pay 200% premiums every year. You also need to think about what you do for your own health and take responsibility for your own life. You're probably fat because you eat carbs and don't exercise, stay indoors all day and watch tv. Am I right?
In an earlier comment I mentioned being dropped by insurance carriers has been a problem in rural areas. But actually, last year some of my neighbors were dropped, deep into the big city, because they lived near an open space canyon preserve. The companies decided the fire risk was too high.
Insurance is a scam. However, it is a logical scam and when home prices go up 60% within a couple years there's just no way insurance companies are going to be able to afford to replace homes that were insured at 2010 premium revenues at 2023 costs.
If an insurance company cancels your policy they should be forced to return all the money you've sent them over the years. It's absolutely ridiculous how insurance companies are allowed to commit flat out theft with 0 legal repercussions whatsoever.
I've been with my insurance company for over 20 years. I get a discount since I also have my car insurance with them. I just had a renewal for my cars and the insurance went up less than $100 compared to last year. I know CSAA isn't the cheapest but they aren't the highest.
during the federal romneycare debates, health insurers were crying that they would lose money if they had to pay 40% of their revenues as benefits. I looked up casino regulations, and they have to pay out 60% of their revenues as winnings. and you almost never hear of casinos going bankrupt.
I work in the insurance industry, in California, and have been for more than 20 years. The real reasons this is happening is that ALL insurance companies are losing money on Home and Auto in California. California strictly limits how much rates can be raised. California has probably the worst litigation environment in the nation. Generally speaking, California jurors make good decisions and then judges radically increase the amounts awarded. The public never sees this. Simply put, the amount of premium that can be collected is significantly less than the cost of defending and paying claims. If the companies are losing money they have to pull out. They do not have a choice. They can't be "nice" and continue insuring when they are losing money else the companies themselves will collapse. I know there will be a lot of resistance and anger at what I am saying. I will just say this: if someone could make a profit selling policies in California they would. No one would throw this money away. If California wants to be able to insure their homes and cars they need to change their laws to allow a reasonable profit.
Living in California as I do, the cancellations are due to the fact that the State required Insurance Companies to pay MORE money than the Policy actually said it would. Every home that burned in the huge fires had to be cleared of the burnt remains and the State charged the Insurance Companies $40,000 to $60,000 EACH to clear the parcel. No questions, no arguments. California has gone, legally, insane. Welcome to Socilaism California Style.
As a former owner of a pool maintenance company, I can tell you this, it is dangerous to empty your pool. The weight of the water holds the pool in the ground. By emptying the water from your pool, you have created a chance for it to actually pop up from the ground. I’ve seen it.
It also depends on the style of pool. I see public pools that get completely drained every fall. They stay drained all winter. I know it's generally not a good idea to drain a residential pool for the winter due to freezing risks though.
That was my first thought. It's definitely a thing. Perhaps the insurance company is concerned that someone may drain the pool and then file a claim when it shifts.
I have read of in ground concrete or plastic pools popping out if the water table rises enough, or partially filled Had it happen to a couple stock tanks I buried to their tops for a water feature, even with 150# of concrete in the bottom.
@mred8002 I've seen one pool where the rising water table made it pop up. It was at a YMCA camp. The pool was at the bottom of a hill and relatively close to a stream. One year, there was a lot of flooding, which raised the water table and popped the pool up. I believe the pool was actually filled when it happened.
@@karlrovey Yup. People underestimate the force of water, thinking the weight of concrete will hold it down, but pools are essentially boats in those circumstances. Says something that they seldom break apart when that happens. Even my stock talks with their thousand pounds of water and 150# of concrete popped right up.
I think more and more people are going to have "PROPERTY COVERS" to keep these people from looking down. I think these practices should be against the law...
I live in a "high risk fire zone" as defined by the city. We are down to 3 companies that will insure homes on our street. At the same time, the city charged a local resident $50k for clearing behind his property line, so it just makes things worse. I can believe insurance companies are looking for any reason to ditch the state. Not to mention the values are way beyond what insurance companies can keep up with in rate increases.
Our insurance has gone up $1000(same with property taxes) a year for 3 years in a row. Some in the area are paying $10,000 or more for basic coverage. I've tried a couple times to find alternative coverage and was frighteningly unsuccessful. This, I believe is another way to eliminate rural living and push us into their fifteen minute stack and pack cities. Out home could become un-sellable and we will loose all our equity.
We have an insurance commissioner here in California. He's failing at his job. He needs to go after these insurance companies and protect the people of California.
Had my house recently declared uninsurable because of the roof condition. Never mind the fact that the roof stood up to hurricanes Ian and Nicole with only extremely minor damage (compared to the major damage my neighbors’ “good” roofs took). I had to bite the bullet and spend about $20k to replace a the roof (that my roofer said still had at least a few more years of life left in it) just to satisfy a pencil-pusher’s whims at the insurance company. Edit for clarity: I live in the Orlando area, so both hurricanes were down to strong tropical storm conditions by the time they got to us.
Our house was robbed twice in nine months. The following year State Farm cancelled our policy, despite the fact that we had installed a security system, my wife had had auto insurance through State Farm for 36 years and we had renter's/home owner's insurance with them for 28 years. Five years latter, State Farm pressed us to sign up again. No way!
This is governments fault for limiting the insurance companies ability to do business. When a company can't raise rates to cover the liability they cancel policies and this happens with all insurance coverage
Tell ya what. We can solve this problem for everyone, just have the government come in and take over all insurance companies. Cut off the need for any profit to be made, and they'll always have plenty of money to cover claims. That's what we should do nationwide.
You commented that draining the pool changed the back yard from a drowning hazard to a trip hazard. (at 1:02) I'm thinking it's more of a fall hazard, especially if it had an 8' or so deep end. But draining a pool creates another problem: a possible collapse. Most pool walls depend on the mass of the water to help keep the walls from collapsing inward. Draining pools is a big contributor to collapsing pool walls, which typically result in very costly repairs. I've seen people drain their pool, have it collapse, and then file insurance claims. Pool owners normally avoid draining them, although lowering them a foot or so for the winter is fine.
Couldn't they have simply covered the pool OR be allowed to remedy the situation before officially being dropped? I'm still listening to Steve but still....
I had an auto insurance company try to tell me they'd cancel my car insurance after being with them for 11 years. The reason behind this asinine and fraudulent decision is because they falsely assumed someone else was driving my car. I recorded the call, filed a complaint (told their a$$e$ off), and received an apology. The issue is, getting a new policy is more expensive and sometimes can be hard to find.
We have caught a drone flying, hovering, and literally 'looking' at us looking at it, over our property, a couple times a year. . I'm talking about 3-5 acres into our property. It doesn't appear to be coming from the road. When one of my grandsons points at it and makes a run for the house, they back tf up, turn around and get outta Dodge.
When we had a large above ground pool in our rural area, we got a discount on our estate insurance as it was considered a water source to fill fire department trucks.
@@MattM-oe6qs Wasn’t likely in its protected location, away from vehicular traffic, and far enough from the house, too. When we took it down, it was laborious, as this was steel walled. Oh, yes: the nearest neighbor was over a quarter mile away. Rural. But if needed, the pumpers could back up and fill their tanks without returning to the fire hall five miles away. They have a map of all available locations for water supply, as one can’t really fill them with a garden hose.
This is driven in part by the state of CA having very tight controls on what insurance companies are allowed to charge. So when they get to a point where they need to charge more than the state will allow to be profitable, they will either pull out of the state, or mitigate their risk by using whatever reason they can to cancel policies.
No. No major insurance company is "pulling out" of California. What they are doing is NOT writing new policies (a difference that doesn't mean much if you're shopping for homeowner's insurance--but it's different). What they will PROBABLY do, in the future, is have stricter underwriting (more exclusions), and probably higher rates.
Steve it happened right in your neck of the woods Camp Michael in Brown City Mi. They had the staff go through orientation on a Thursday & Friday campers were showing up on Monday. Late Friday the insurance company called to notify them they had dropped their insurance . Just 2 weeks a ago they we’re finally insured through a new company and we’re able to have one week of camp. This will have serious economic struggles for the camp.
Most modern people forget that Insurance Companies are in business to make money for stockholders, NOT to benefit policy owners. Most 'cheap' insurance means the company avoids paying off. A swimming pool has to be 'filled-in' to reduce liability (sand or dirt) not just empty of water (a fall hazard. as is any hole) a hole may be considered an 'attractive nuisance' under some law/city code.) In my state a swimming pool might reduce a fire policy, as a 'fire pond' during the season when filled. I have read that maybe 25% or more California 'wild fires' may be the result of Illegal Aliens living RAW and camp fires getting out of control. Also many Illegal Aliens do not understand English and are ignorant of "No Open Fame" signs in restricted areas.
Honestly, it might be more financially efficient to have each person make it's own LLC (limited liability company) which to store the financial assets of the insurance payment they make to their own company, so they can actually get the insurance money when they need them, unlike in the case of normal insurance companies.
I used to work in the corporate offices for one of the three largest insurance companies in the country. The three worse & most expensive states to insure your home & auto are California, Texas & Florida. I remember a meeting in either in 08 or 09 where they told us they were pulling out of Florida for homeowners insurance. I think they went back several years after I left the company but this has been a big issue for several years in these three states.
@@pilsplease7561 I used to live in Texas & that’s complete bullshit. Texas is NOT cheap. In fact I now live in the DC area & cost of living here is only slightly higher by the thinnest of margins. Also, I had a house in Texas. Texas has progressive deductibles that you don’t have an option for. Home insurance is double what it is here in northern Virginia & property taxes are triple. When comparing auto insurance Texas is almost double what it is here in northern Virginia. My sister recently moved here and her auto dropped by almost $50 a month. I can also get into other areas that aren’t insurance as examples of how Texas isn’t cheap. I already mentioned property taxes between Virginia & Texas however I moved from Illinois to Texas & my property tax bill actually went up. In Illinois I was paying $60 every three months for water but in Texas my first water bill for ONE month was $60. By the time I moved to DC I was paying almost $80 a month. My mom had moved to Texas & bought a house & before she passed she was paying over $100 a month for water. However after moving to DC it was 9 years before I even paid a water bill until I moved into my current house because it was always included with rent or HOA when I bought. Even now however my water bill has never gone over $40 a month. Then there’s sales tax. When I was living in Illinois sales tax was 4.5% however in Texas it was 8% & now it’s 8.25%. Here in Virginia it’s 5.3%. Lastly just to put a period on your ignorant statement. One of my best friends recently moved to Texas and she’s thinking about buying a house. We were online looking at listings & she saw one she liked so I started running estimators to get an idea at what her mortgage payment might look like. The house she saw was listed for 30k less than what I paid for my house here in Virginia. It had the same number of ned & baths & was roughly the same square footage. However the payment on that house in Texas were coming back at $400 more a month than I pay because of property tax & insurance. Sorry man but your dead wrong about Texas being cheap, DEAD WRONG.
If I moved to texas today I could buy a 4500 square foot house with a double car garage and 20-40 acres for $160k and get my car insurance, phone bill, electricity, garbage and water and all that and pay $500 a month for all of it combired and add food in and its 25-50% of the cost of california. Its so cheap its a legitimate good deal. Which Is why I just bought a house in the state. @@kenyattaclay7666
@@kenyattaclay7666 Probably some other reason he was paying less in Texas but generally speaking, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Florida are about the most expensive home owner insurance states in the country.
I live out in the country, and when I put in an above ground pool, my insurance went down because it is a water source in case of fire. But if I had put in an in ground pool, the insurance would go up, because if the pool water was used to put out a fire, the inground pool is in risk for collapse with the sudden lack of water pressure against the sides. Interestingly, rural fire departments routinely put up temporary pools to dump water for fire fighting and the pumper trucks run back & forth to keep them filled.
@@gorkyd7912 Nope, that's what the insurance agent told us. This is what google says: "An older inground pool may not be able to withstand the weight of dirt against it once it is empty or if the water levels are too low. Groundwater can also push against the pool walls and cause it to collapse."
9:25 We had a similar issue in TX when we switched insurance companies last year. They started our policy and we canceled the previous one. Then they “randomly” chose us for a closer look and told us they were canceling our new policy after the first month unless we replaced our roof, which to be honest, was over 25 years old, and we planned to replace it on our schedule. We weren’t prepared for having to do it so quickly.
We're in Texas too. Our insurer sent us notice that we must replace our roof or be canceled. There is nothing wrong with our roof. And who on the Gulf Coast replaces a roof during hurricane season? Not us.
I was in the insurance industry in Canada for 20 years. It seems to me that the USA as a whole does not regulate their insurers very well. This is especially true in California, I think because of the fire loses over the last couple years , that the insurers are trying to cut their pay out liabilties for the future and are abitarily cancelling clients were ever possible. This sort of thing happened in my province of British Columbia back in the 50's and 60's. especially with car insurance, so the province created their own insurer to provide coverage so that every one was insured at least for legal liability and optinal pd coverages were also provided. They also increased the rules that insurers in general had to obay, such as no cancellation of policy unless a breach of conditions was proved. I wonder if the couple who had the pool ever informed the insurer of the change of condition of the property before they did drain the pool as not notifiing the insurer of a change is a loop whole used to cancell policies most everywhere.
As you know, insurance regulation varies state by state. Some states are more consumer friendly than others. Many states have a high risk pool for those who can't find coverage. For better or worse, the prevailing US view is that the government shouldn't be in the insurance business.
@@mwduck our insurance laws vary from province to province, too. BC is just one province. Sure, it's bigger than Texas but every province and territory west of the maritime provinces is, so that ain't special, at least not to us.
Uh no. Commiefornia is OVERREGULATED. Do you think it’s smart to have a random elected official to manage insurance policies instead of someone who actually know what they are doing? It’s the insurance commissioner who refuse to allow companies to raise rates and they only care about getting elected for next term.
Same thing happened to us last month by triple A and we live in Oklahoma not Commiforinia. I work on cars in my backyard and they did exactly the same to me that they did to this guy in the article. Used a drone to take pics of my property and said I had too many cars in my backyard. They also told me that even if I moved the cars they wouldn’t cover me again. I got with my private insurance broker and she found me another company to cover me with equivalent coverage for less.
People need to stop buying bs products. you were basically supporting the antichrist the whole time and now you're making the world a better place by just not buying $h!t.
The pool can be a serious situation. A buddy of mine's son fell in their pool 3 years ago after they drained it for repairs, he died that evening from an irrepairable brain bleed. I think he was 7 or 8 years old. Any neighbor's kid could hit a ball over those people's fence and fall to his death retrieving it. Most fatal falls are from short distances like a short ladder or a pool. I am NOT in the insurance industry, btw.
If that's the case though, the ideal thing would be to contact the owners to correct the issue (or just deny any claim when it's made if you're evil) so you can keep receiving those premiums. This is clearly being used as an excuse to get out of contracts that the insurance companies no longer want to cover.
After 56 years with AAA Insurance I received a letter canceling my ability to renew my homeowners insurance. The letter stated that I had hazardous materials and or conditions, excessive tires, unmaintained pool, and no fence around my pool. Obviously none of this was accurate with the exception of the statement that said I did not have a fence around my pool. That part was correct. The reason I did not have a fence around my pool was because I do not have a pool. I spent over $7,800 a year with AAA for my homeowners insurance, automobile insurance, motorcycle insurance, boat insurance, and my antique car collection. After contacting USAA insurance company I now have everything insured through them. I am saving over $2,000 a year by making that move. My son and daughter have canceled their AAA Insurance and so have their children. We are all now with USAA and enjoying the savings…. Thank You AAA
What I thought about this situation is what happens to people who have mortgages and can't get insurance, they might also become unable to sell the property or keep it.
@@wdousley Except most home loans are effectively backed by the federal government. So the "law" just has to be a change to the "conforming" mortgage criteria. The government is already absorbing the risk, it would just decrease the amount they can resell loans for...which is already sketchily subsidized by the Federal Reserve. Hey, if they're printing money to subsidize loans anyway, why not?
@@wdousleyand/or interest rates will shoot up as the lenders self-insure their potential loss. People seem to think there's a free lunch to be had here.
If mortgage companies could force you to buy insurance, they'd just buy it themselves, then add that to the fees. Until you pay it off, that is their property that is at risk.
Insurance should NEVER be "for profit" like other corporations. Once "for profit" becomes the ONLY reason to be doing business, NO ONE can get a fair shake from the insurance companies. Denials become habit, lies become the norm, court fights become ways to avoid payments. It's terrible. One reason I'm no longer in insurance sales!
When you take away the need for profit in insurance, the customers increase risks. You can see that with government flood insurance. Whole cities are built on flood plains, and they can only afford it because the government subsidizes it.
@@Br3ttM Not to mention rebuilt every time there is a flood or hurricane. For example, few properties in New Orleans should ever be insured given the only thing keeping most of the city from flooding are electrical pumps that have to run 24/7.
I had a women hit me on the highway years ago and a couple months later my rates went up dramatically when I asked them what happened and if this was because of the accident I didn’t cause the agent said “we under quoted you and we honored it that” which was obviously a crock they never keep that a secret.
A true story about ALL-STATE - my friend's dad, Mitch, was hired at a rather high position at an All-State branch in a major city. It quickly became very obvious the guy who ran the branch was an alcoholic and a gambling addict (which was illegal in the state). Because Mitch wouldn't go drink with him at lunch and after work, or get into sports gambling, he was soon fired. The branch president (or whatever he was called) said Mitch was unqualified, even though he was the one who hired Mitch.
This is what happens in a society run for the benefit of corporations, and not citizens. Allowing companies to make unlimited political donations was always going to end in disaster.....
I believe the main "reasoning" (if you could call it that) for cancelling the policy over the pool is actually because of wildfire risk, helicopters can dip from private pools and use it to save your house from wildfire.
Florida too! I just got my new homeowners insurance bill for 2024. I'm a veteran, I've lived in my home for seven years... never once filed a claim. My initial bill back in 2016 was ~$3,000.00 and this Friday? $13,168.00!!!
