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House Fire With No Insurance
by
Chris Spivey
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What do you mean I don't have any insurance???????
This is not the topic I planned to write about this week. I doubt many of you have been waiting on the edge of your seats for me to say something about insurance.
I had yesterday afternoon blocked off to work on this email with a completely different subject to share with you, but my plans were changed when I ended up spending my afternoon with multiple phone conversations with my insurance company.
I received a letter in the mail from the mortgage company that has the loan on a rental property of ours. The letter stated my homeowners insurance had expired. Since I escrow my insurance in my monthly mortgage payment, I thought this certainly had to be a mistake.
When I called my local insurance agent, her answer was not what I expected to hear.
"Yes, your insurance is expired and actually expired two weeks ago."
What? How does this happen? Why didn't someone call me? These were just a few of my questions.
Now, I'm not a yeller and I don't use bad language. It's just not who I am. So my conversation with my agent's office was calm, but firm and she had no doubt that I was not happy.
After spending the afternoon on the phone trying to fix the problem, the conclusion was that my insurance company confirmed that the check was in the mail from my mortgage company, but I wouldn't have any coverage on this property until next week when they received the check.
What? No coverage until next week?
I asked, "What if something happens before next week? What if there's a house fire?" Her reply, "You would have no insurance on the property, so it wouldn't be covered". She had no other suggestions.
I asked her, "So would YOU want to go 3-4 more days with no insurance on your property? Especially when you've been making all your payments and all of this was out of your control".
Reluctantly, she replied no.
At this point it was almost 5:00pm so I knew she was ready to be done with me. After explaining that not having insurance until next week was not an option, I asked what I could do to fix this now. She said I could pay the insurance bill myself over the phone and then try to work out getting reimbursed with my mortgage company.
Not what I wanted to hear, but as I often say, "it is what it is," so that's what I did. Wish me luck on getting reimbursed.
I've been with this insurance company for a couple years. They have the insurance on our personal home, our 2 cars, and our 2 rental properties. I can't say that I've ever heard from anyone that currently works for this agency.
I had one final question for her. "Don't you think someone from your office should've picked up the phone and called me to let me know I've got a property out there with zero insurance coverage on it?"
Her reply? "Yes", with no further comment.
Lack of communication is the biggest complaint against the average real estate agent. Maybe this insurance office should be added to that list.
Frequent communication is one of the ways that I strive to provide superior service to my clients. It's just one aspect of my business that motivates me to be so much more than just "an average real estate agent". It's common sense to me. I treat others how I would want to be treated.
Friends, I hope this email helps you in some way and helps you avoid having this experience with your insurance.
Chris
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impactclubwilmington.com
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Chris Spivey
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Aspiring Leader
910-279-1138
Co-Founder, IMPACT CLUB WILMINGTON
RE/MAX Essential
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