FUCKING INSURANCE COMPANIES . . .
I am developing a rapidly growing dislike for all things connected to the insurance industry.
Last November, we got a letter from the company we've had our Homeowner's Coverage with for the past 22 years informing us that they are no longer able to provide the level of coverage we have at a rate that is allowed by the state I live in. In order to continue coverage with them, we would have to sign a waiver agreeing to allow them to charge us whatever they liked, which at best was going to be $300 more than our state law allows. If we didn't want to do that, they would agree to provide our homeowner's coverage at the maximum allowed by state law IF we moved our vehicle insurance to them.
We saw that as essentially being a form of extortion and flat refused to do either. Our agent said they could write our coverage with another company, so we opted to do that.
What we hadn't considered was that the new company would send someone out to take new photos of the house, and would then refuse to provide coverage to us because we have a Rottweiler. We were told to get rid of the dog, or our coverage would be cancelled.
They may as well have asked me to cut off a leg as to get rid of Max, so we went searching yet again for insurance coverage. This time we actually had to change agencies because our long-term been-with-them-for-thirty years agent said it was not possible to own a Rottweiler and get homeowner's insurance in our state.
I know Rottweilers as a breed have a bit of a reputation for being bad boys ... but I think it's horribly unfair to discriminate against all Rottweiler owners just because some either train their dogs to be vicious, or are incapable of training them to be sociable. I would wholeheartedly support an insurance company that required temperment testing for dogs, or that had a one-bite rule (coverage cancels if there is an incident), or who wrote an exclusion into your policy stating that you had no coverage for dog-caused liability.
I wouldn't even have a problem with being charged a slightly higher premium than non-dog-owning customers due to the perceived greater risk. Insurance companies don't (can't) cancel your coverage when your teenager starts to drive. They're perceived as a higher risk and you are charged higher premiums for something like three years until the teenager has proven himself or herself to be a safe driver. So charge me a higher premium for homeowner's coverage for three years until my dog has proven himself to be the teddy bear that I know him to be.
Well, we found an agent willing to put a bit of actual effort into finding coverage for us WITH A ROTTWEILER, and all was right with the world.
Or so we thought ...
They sent someone out to take photos too and the only thing we worried about at all was all the standing water around our house because we have had so GODAWFUL MUCH rain here lately.
Sure enough, I got a phone call from our new agent a few minutes ago telling me there was a problem since the insurance company's rep went out to take the photos. Seems that company is going to cancel our coverage because WE OWN HORSES!
I'm just really not believing this shit!
We now have until March 7th to get rid of four horses (we can keep the Rottweiler) or they will cancel our policy! That's not enough time to find good homes for four horses even if we wanted to get rid of them, which we don't.
Our new agent is looking for new coverage with someone who will accept both Rottweilers and horses, but I can't help wondering what will be next. Will the new company (assuming we have luck even finding one) cancel our coverage when they discover that birds sometimes nest in our trees? Or will they bail on us when they learn that we seem to have an over-abundance of squirrels in the yard? Or perhaps this company will discriminate on the basis of sex and will ask me to get rid of my husband, or him to get rid of me.
This is so FUCKING RIDICULOUS it would be hilarious if it were not happening to me.
Okay ... end of rant ... sorry. And sorry for my language. I usually try to be a little more polite unless I'm doing dialogue in a fanfic, but this has just really made me mad.
Last November, we got a letter from the company we've had our Homeowner's Coverage with for the past 22 years informing us that they are no longer able to provide the level of coverage we have at a rate that is allowed by the state I live in. In order to continue coverage with them, we would have to sign a waiver agreeing to allow them to charge us whatever they liked, which at best was going to be $300 more than our state law allows. If we didn't want to do that, they would agree to provide our homeowner's coverage at the maximum allowed by state law IF we moved our vehicle insurance to them.
We saw that as essentially being a form of extortion and flat refused to do either. Our agent said they could write our coverage with another company, so we opted to do that.
What we hadn't considered was that the new company would send someone out to take new photos of the house, and would then refuse to provide coverage to us because we have a Rottweiler. We were told to get rid of the dog, or our coverage would be cancelled.
They may as well have asked me to cut off a leg as to get rid of Max, so we went searching yet again for insurance coverage. This time we actually had to change agencies because our long-term been-with-them-for-thirty years agent said it was not possible to own a Rottweiler and get homeowner's insurance in our state.
I know Rottweilers as a breed have a bit of a reputation for being bad boys ... but I think it's horribly unfair to discriminate against all Rottweiler owners just because some either train their dogs to be vicious, or are incapable of training them to be sociable. I would wholeheartedly support an insurance company that required temperment testing for dogs, or that had a one-bite rule (coverage cancels if there is an incident), or who wrote an exclusion into your policy stating that you had no coverage for dog-caused liability.
I wouldn't even have a problem with being charged a slightly higher premium than non-dog-owning customers due to the perceived greater risk. Insurance companies don't (can't) cancel your coverage when your teenager starts to drive. They're perceived as a higher risk and you are charged higher premiums for something like three years until the teenager has proven himself or herself to be a safe driver. So charge me a higher premium for homeowner's coverage for three years until my dog has proven himself to be the teddy bear that I know him to be.
Well, we found an agent willing to put a bit of actual effort into finding coverage for us WITH A ROTTWEILER, and all was right with the world.
Or so we thought ...
They sent someone out to take photos too and the only thing we worried about at all was all the standing water around our house because we have had so GODAWFUL MUCH rain here lately.
Sure enough, I got a phone call from our new agent a few minutes ago telling me there was a problem since the insurance company's rep went out to take the photos. Seems that company is going to cancel our coverage because WE OWN HORSES!
I'm just really not believing this shit!
We now have until March 7th to get rid of four horses (we can keep the Rottweiler) or they will cancel our policy! That's not enough time to find good homes for four horses even if we wanted to get rid of them, which we don't.
Our new agent is looking for new coverage with someone who will accept both Rottweilers and horses, but I can't help wondering what will be next. Will the new company (assuming we have luck even finding one) cancel our coverage when they discover that birds sometimes nest in our trees? Or will they bail on us when they learn that we seem to have an over-abundance of squirrels in the yard? Or perhaps this company will discriminate on the basis of sex and will ask me to get rid of my husband, or him to get rid of me.
This is so FUCKING RIDICULOUS it would be hilarious if it were not happening to me.
Okay ... end of rant ... sorry. And sorry for my language. I usually try to be a little more polite unless I'm doing dialogue in a fanfic, but this has just really made me mad.