Why would an insurance company tell a client thay had to paint their house and ... Read details please?

Question

My BF just bought house. It does need TLC but is basically a good house. He insured it right after he bought it & everything was fine. That was about 4 months ago. Now his insurance company is saying that they did an inspection & there are problems to be addressed before July 30th or insurance will be withdrawn. The problems: flaking paint so it has to be repainted, debris in the yard that has to be removed & an out building in need of repair. i kind of get the out building issue - he was going to tear it down anyway. As for the debri I don't understand WHY the insurance company would care - but nonetheless it has already been taken care of. Apparently they did the inspection at least 2 months ago because that's when we got the debris out. Anyway - the one that gets me is the paint issue. Why would they care at all? I wanted to ask if they get to choose the color as well. He was going to paint anyway but that is beside the point. Can anyone tell me WHY an insurance co. can do this?

Answer 1

Flaking paint = potential hazard loss from LEAD BASED PAINT. They want that issue corrected. Insurers observe ANY condition which might result in a claim against them. If a neighbor kid walks over there and chews a few flakes of old lead based paint, guess who will get the medical bills resulting ?

Answer 2

Here's how insurance works:

MANY people put relatively small amounts of money into a "pool". When there is a claim, the insurance company has to pay the claim - according to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

Believe it or not, insurance companies & mortgage companies, together with most other lenders AND just about every municipality, have agents and representatives who do nothing else, except ride around to the different areas their particular investments are in, doing “windshield inspections“.. Just like your BF and perhaps you, these folks have a job to do: to make absolutely certain the property is maintained according to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

When a property isn't maintained according to the policy, the mortgage and/or local building code and ordinances, problems begin happening - not only with that particular property, but the street and eventually the neighborhood.

That old expression, "Monkey see. Monkey do." applies to real estate as well as just about every other situation.

Here's an Example: Mr. & Mrs. X worked very hard, saved their money and bought their home many years ago. Mr. X LOVES cutting the grass, puttering around the yard; raking leaves, cleaning the gutters, painting, etc.

Mrs. X LOVES gardening, LOVES seeing the birds come to the birdbath and LOVES - more than anything else - having their children, grandchildren, friends and family over for cook-outs, parties, dinners, etc. Between the two of them, their home is very well-maintained. In fact, over the years, the property's value increased. This is true - to one degree or another - for most of the other properties on the street and in the area.

BUT, across the street and down a few properties, a not-so-well maintained house, which has been vacant for quite some time, is sold to a real estate speculator for rehab and possible sale or renting.

He/She/They are busy with their other investments, apparently too busy to even start working on "the neighborhood eye-sore" or “the dog“. For a very long time, Mr. & Mrs. X, as well as the other residents, have been calling City Hall, complaining about the property.

About a month after the property goes to settlement/closing/escrow [they all mean the same], the insurance company sends an alert to their inspector for that area.

He/She rides to the property, does "a windshield inspection", completes the necessary document and files the report with the insurance company.

On a monthly basis, the property becomes one of those properties the inspector rides to, inspects, completes a document for and files to the insurance company.

Each and every passing second, minute, hour, day, week and month, the property becomes a higher risk to the insurance company and its policyholders.
1] A fire could occur - due to spontaneous combustion or mischievous people.
2] Because the walk wasn't shoveled or salted after the last snow and ice storm, someone could trip on the sidewalk.
3] The grass could grow so high, its a great attraction for rodents and other vermin. They mate, have babies, grow, mate, have babies, etc, THEN they don’t have any place else to go but to another property.
4] How about squatters, drug dealers and other undesirables? Vacant, poorly maintained properties are “magnets”
4] I'm sure you could think of others.

Believe it or not, it ALL starts with a broken window or uncut grass or unshoveled snow.

The reports begin accumulating and they are checked - the most recent against the previous ones. The same situations consistently appear. If the insurance company doesn’t look-out for, protect or do anything about its interest in the property, who will?

If you lived in a great neighborhood, wouldn’t you want something done with “THE black eye”?

Looking at it from this perspective, wouldn’t you be happy to have someone send a reminder/warning - instead of a foreclosure notice?

I wish you well!

VTY,
Ron B.

Answer 3

The paint issue is important to insurance companies because it is an indication of a homeowner who might just be deferring maintenance in other areas such as heating, plumbing, electrical, fire protection, or any other area the insurance company could be liable for. Like it or not, we are judged by our appearance when out in public and this is exactly what the insurance company is doing as well except they are basing their judgment on the general maintenance of our house. The fact that you have owned the house for such a short time was likely never considered and is not a mitigating factor. Paint the house then ask for a re inspection.

Answer 4

The WHY issue is the easiest to answer - because they can. The policy states an underwriting period and their underwriting rules are filed with the state DOI. So legally they can tell you to follow their underwriting rules or cancel the
policy.

They insure thousands of properties in your state, why would they want to risk money on someone with peeling paint, crap in the yard and a busted up outbuilding. Shows no pride of ownership. If the house looks terrible on the outside, imagine the inside.

If you choose not to comply, you could find a standard market or 'high risk' insurer. You premiums will triple and you coverage will be for cash value of the property.

So, paint the house, tear down the outbuilding and clean up the yard. You'll find the neighbors will like you all of a sudden.

Answer 5

Any home built prior to 1978, there's a chance there's lead-based paint still on the home.

If it's chipping or peeling, neighborhood kids or pets could eat it and get sick. Then you get sued, and your insurance company pays.

Also, a good paint job is a protective coating for the home from the elements.

Though I've never heard of a company requiring their car to be repainted, even though those would rust out with chipping paint.

It's probably the first reason, I'd bet.

Answer 6

Any debris in the yard is a hazard to the house. If a storm comes it could damage the house. As far as the paint, they dont want you to buy a house with crappy paint and then when like the first storm comes you blame the paint on that and you claim it.

Answer 7

It probably has to do with lead paint. If the house was built before 1980 then lead paint was often used. So if it is flaking it could be considered a hazardous material that causes Cancer.

So they require you to paint it because they don't want anyone to be able to sue your bf because they got cancer from the lead paint flaking off of his house.

Answer 8

The only reasons I can see regarding paint are

-If the areas requiring paint will suffer weather damage if they are exposed too long.

-If the flaking paint is a lead based paint that needs to be sealed.

I hope that helps some.

Answer 9

Sorry Sir... i don't understand lots approximately Indian regulation yet here i'm quoting a ingredient of checklist printed in cases of India (Delhi/Chandigarh version dt. 12/6/10) "Sri Lankan cabinet minister for classic industries and small organisations Douglas Devananda can not declare amnesty decrease than Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord of 1987, experience criminal specialists. . . . . . . . . as quickly as criminal lawsuits are initiated with the submitting of a typical counsel checklist and chargesheet is filed as according to area 173(a million) of Code of criminal technique, then no bilateral or multilateral agreements between international locations might desire to waive the criminal criminal accountability of the guy noted as an accused, suggested V Kannadasan, particular public prosecutor for human rights courts."

Answer 10

Because paint protects that wood from weather and insect damage. Exposed wood will get rot and mold if it gets wet.

Termites, beetles, etc can gain access to the wood easier of their is no paint covering it.