When?Inspections are done within the first 60 days of your policy going into effect. (Although usually within the first 30). State law allows insurance companies to cancel policies any time within the first 60 days without providing a reason- so that first 60 days is important.
Why?
Your Home Inspection
An example of this would be the giant oak tree that has never been trimmed that has branches all hanging over your house, garage, and driveway. Oh- and it’s half dead, so in the next windstorm, you’ve got money on whether your house will get crushed or a car in the driveway. Or both.
Other details a home inspector may zero in on are things including but not limited to:
3. Compliance: Inspections also ensure that the property meets safety and construction standards required for insurance coverage. For example- do you have five steps coming down from your sliding doors off your kitchen and no railing? It’s not a far stretch of the imagination to believe that someone could easily miss a step and fall right off the side. WI building codes require hand rails on any stairs of 3 or more. Another example: Does your pool comply with all of the required safety standards and municipal codes? Most will require being fenced (in ground) or have a safety latch (above ground), etc. 4. Liability issues: Inspectors will keep their eyes open for safety concerns for guests as well which could include the example above but also things like cracks in the sidewalk that people could trip over, aggressive dogs, railings on decks, debris in yard (like old refrigerators that a child can get trapped in), balconies that look like they could fall at any minute, second story doors that are missing a balcony all together, etc. FAQsLanguage in most standard insurance policy contracts grant the company the right to inspect the property they insure. If you (the customer) do not cooperate with this process, the insurance company can choose not to write the policy, or can choose to cancel or non-renew an existing policy due to breach of contract. Usually they only need an exterior inspection which does not require your participation. The inspector sends a copy of his/her report to the insurance company and if there are any concerns or additional information needed, our office will get in touch with you. If you don’t hear from us- that means that we were not notified that there was a problem. (No news is good news!) If there were issues, underwriters have three options: continue with no changes, modify your policy, or cancel your policy. If something is a big enough problem that they want to cancel your policy-they will almost always give you an opportunity to fix it first. Your rate may change either higher or lower after the insurer has evaluated the results of the inspection. Usually these difference (when they happen) are because there was a discrepancy in the square footage or building material used, etc-and that changed how much the insurance company believes it will cost to replace your home if there is a total loss. If they believe it will cost more money, then your policy should cost more. If they believe it should cost less money- they will refund you the difference. If they make a change and it is just completely incorrect, we also have a method of disputing this. If your inspection fails, we will talk right away. Depending on the reason for failure and whether or not it is an issue that is something that can be repaired will give us a direction on which new company we can send in new insurance applications for. Keep in mind that almost any new insurance company will also want to do a home inspection. You will also want to make sure to take care of this before the new company’s final termination date so you do not have a lapse in coverage. As a last resort, Wisconsin does have a high-risk plan that can be used as a stop-gap. |
Contact Us: (262) 737-5080
