Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differsfrom policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

My former carrier sent a notice of non-renewal so I went shopping for
homeowner's.

Among the quotes I got was from State Farm who I currently have my
auto policies with. I got the quote last Wednesday 2/27, as it
happened I discovered they were going to cease writing homeowner's
policies in Florida as of close of business Friday 2/29. They said if
I wanted to go with them they had to get it in by close of business
Friday.

They at first quoted me a rate that was on the high end, but later on
the phone the agent quoted a rate that was substantially lower, by
about $500. Obviously I wondered why the difference. She attributed it
to "the way their quoting system works" implying that quotes sometimes
are higher than what the policy comes in at due to some quirk.

I told her I'd evaluate all the quotes and various elements and call
her by Friday noon. The amount she quoted was lower than any other
quote I got so I called her and told her to go ahead.

I got the binder in the mail on Monday with the same amount she had
quoted me so I figured I'm all set.

Not so fast. I called today just to see if they needed contact
information for my Mortgage Co. to send proof of insurance, but she
asked me if I was calling about the policy difference. I had no idea
what she was talking about. She said when I got my policy from
corporate it would be around $1500 rather than the $978 she quoted me
and which the binder I got reflected. The reason is she quoted based
on having a hip roof. At the time she asked me about this I advised I
don't have a hip roof if my understanding is accurate of what a hip
roof is - where the roof sits on the house like a hat and ledge runs
around horizontally with no upward angles. AFAIK mine is a gable roof
- it has points where the roof is shaped like an "A". This is what I
told her to begin with and when I described it she agreed I had a
gable roof. When she came back with the lower quote, at no time did
she advise me it was due to quoting for a hip roof.

She said after looking at pictures, she thought it would qualify as a
"partial hip"roof and said she's still trying to get corporate to give
me "somewhat of a discount".

This is the roof in question:

http://home.mpinet.net/~docsavage20/my_roof.jpg

Do you see any basis to call this anything but a gable roof?

Since the binder reflects the amended amount she quoted me over the
phone, do I have any basis to hold the company to this since the lower
quote was based on the information this agent submitted?

Thanks for all input

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

You have 'Gabel roof'. Hurricanes like to open them up, more so than a 'Hip
roof'.
Grab what insurance you can, as in Florida, the insurance companies all seem
to be jumping ship.

State farm was $500 more than what Liberty Mutual offered me.

My former carrier sent a notice of non-renewal so I went shopping for
homeowner's.

Among the quotes I got was from State Farm who I currently have my
auto policies with. I got the quote last Wednesday 2/27, as it
happened I discovered they were going to cease writing homeowner's
policies in Florida as of close of business Friday 2/29. They said if
I wanted to go with them they had to get it in by close of business
Friday.

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

"Doc" wrote in message
...
My former carrier sent a notice of non-renewal so I went shopping for
homeowner's.

Among the quotes I got was from State Farm who I currently have my
auto policies with. I got the quote last Wednesday 2/27, as it
happened I discovered they were going to cease writing homeowner's
policies in Florida as of close of business Friday 2/29. They said if
I wanted to go with them they had to get it in by close of business
Friday.
I had been with State farm in Florida for 25 years. I didn't get canceled
but that was not a good thing. They had jacked the price up beyond believe.
I found a relatively new company that was not only cheaper than SF's new
quote, they were cheaper than the previous barely tolerable year,

This outfit is in the Tampa area. While they did not write a policy for the
same house value as SF, there deductible was so much lower that in the event
of a total loss the proceeds would be higher.

Check around with independent agents and see if you can find one that sells
policies by American Traditions

Charlie

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

"Doc" wrote in message
She said after looking at pictures, she thought it would qualify as a
"partial hip"roof and said she's still trying to get corporate to give
me "somewhat of a discount".

This is the roof in question:

http://home.mpinet.net/~docsavage20/my_roof.jpg

Do you see any basis to call this anything but a gable roof?

Looks like a cross gable to me.



Since the binder reflects the amended amount she quoted me over the
phone, do I have any basis to hold the company to this since the lower
quote was based on the information this agent submitted?

A binder is just that. The insurance company has the final say, not the
agent.

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

In article a60cff37-2e48-44b8-a0c2-
, says...

Since the binder reflects the amended amount she quoted me over the
phone, do I have any basis to hold the company to this since the lower
quote was based on the information this agent submitted?

I'm not a Florida insurance agent and I don't know the specifics of your
laws, this is just general information, but usually, the language of a
binder makes it clear that the binder's coverage is temporary, and that
the company reserves the right to decline coverage or adjust the premium
after underwriting the risk.

So, in general, no, you can't hold them to the quoted rate beyond the
temporary coverage period of the binder.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate thatdiffers from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

On Mar 6, 12:59*am, wrote:
This is the roof in question:

http://home.mpinet.net/~docsavage20/my_roof.jpg

That is not what the insurance company considers a hip roof. You have
3 exposed gable ends

Sorry, my mistake FOUR exposed gable ends.


That's what I thought. There's absolutely no way to call this a
"partial hip" roof correct? Sounds like the agent was engaging in some
bait 'n switch or just tossing crap and seeing what sticks.


*Have you done the gable reinforcing recomended by mysafeflorida.com
You might be able to do other things on that site for other discounts.
They will give you a free inspection and recomendations


I appreciate the tip, will definitely look into it.

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

Doc writes:

That's what I thought. There's absolutely no way to call this a
"partial hip" roof correct? Sounds like the agent was engaging in some
bait 'n switch or just tossing crap and seeing what sticks.

Not necessarily. When I was in insurance (not in Florida) often the
agents weren't given all the information necessary to make a good
underwriting decision. They'd write the policy, then an underwriter would
come along and tell the agent he wrote the policy with the wrong terms, so
the agent gets the fun of going back to the customer and telling them the
policy is now unavailable or more expensive.
If the underwriter insists you have a hip roof and you don't, you should
go elsewhere. It means the company has underwriters who aren't
knowledgeable enough to write correct policies. You don't want to get
stuck with a policy that incorrectly defines what type of house, roof,
etc. you have, because if you have a claim, that incorrect roof
classification could bite you in the butt.
Good luck.

Stacia

Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?
 

In article , says...
Doc writes:

That's what I thought. There's absolutely no way to call this a
"partial hip" roof correct? Sounds like the agent was engaging in some
bait 'n switch or just tossing crap and seeing what sticks.

If the underwriter insists you have a hip roof and you don't, you should
go elsewhere. It means the company has underwriters who aren't
knowledgeable enough to write correct policies.

Or the underwriters are working of a field inspection by a marginally-
competent drive-by inspector. An agent I know had a house declined for
having an "open foundation" -- actually, it was a brand new concrete
foundation, the pictures were so bad the black waterproofing coating on
the concrete looked like the shadow of an open foundation.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html