I recently bought a house at auction for dirt cheap.
Overall it was a good deal, ecept for a few headaches.
Just got a letter from my insurance company stating they are dropping coverage.
They have a few legitimate reasons but I don’t, ubderstand their beef w my basement windows.
I have a basement window boarded
Another window was broken out(which they saw) but it has since been boarded.
My agent works for a company that shops around mostly smaller companies for the best rate.
I have three properties w this company. All have boarded bsmnt windows (no bdrms or living space)
They only noticed on my this one (newest and worst looking)
Almost every house in these neighborhoods either has broken bsmnt windows, or boards.
It sounds like they are being extra picky to me. They might of sent out an adjuster, and based on his analysis now think you are in a high risk area (for crime, vandalism, etc).
Checkout Foremost - they write all kinds of unusual insurance, and the regular stuff too, at a good price. They WILL take care of you in the event of a claim - trust me - I have been there, done that. Note - be sure you fix or seal off those basement windows asap, just in case they send out an adjuster too…any company might do that. Lowes will custom cut you replacement plexiglass or glass real easily and cheaply, FYI.
I had a case where we bought a house that needed a new roof. It was tarped in 3 areas. Had a couple places where the soffits were coming down. Our insurance company (Foremost on this one) sent out an adjustor right away and saw the house like that. We got a letter like you did stating the house was in danger of collapse. The rest of the house besides the roof was solid. These people just normally do a quick drive-by and don’t really check into much.
Another thing our company looks for is hand rails on steps.
If you have Guide One in your area, check them out. They’re just a little over half of what Formost charges, but they have a limit of 8 properties. I don’t think Foremost has a limit.
This actually was foremost.
If I were an adjustor I’d find a reason not to insure anything in this neighborhood, but thats just me.
I could have just as easily cut a piece of glass to fix the broken pane.
I figured plywood was sturdier.
Now its in the trash, and will take a bit more work to go back.
I have two other houses with the same company and both have boarded up basement windows.
I’ll probably just suck it up, go do some needless work on some perfectly boarded windows. (the boarding up job is caulked and even looks nice by the way)
So for my other places, should I be worried about a liability issue with boarded windows?