Insurance Companies and Inspection Firms

Are you looking for a detail oriented person to do an inspection?  Do you have an area where your inspectors do not want to go or an area where they are having trouble getting appointments for interior inspections?  Do you want someone to follow up on an inspector and audit that inspector’s findings?  Then you are at the right spot.  We have been doing insurance inspections for many years and have completed thousands of inspections for one of the largest property insurers in Massachusetts.  Our lockout rate is very low on interior inspections and we have not yet found a neighborhood that intimidates us.  Many of the insured homes we have inspected and found conditions requested that we be assigned to do their re-inspection even though we were the ones responsible for their substandard letter and were happy to see us again.

I just got this letter from my insurance company about an insurance inspection.   What does this mean?

Insurance inspections are done by almost all property insurance companies.  They will always include an exterior inspection of your home.  Some insurance companies may also ask for an interior inspection of your home.  If you refuse the inspector access to the interior of your home when the insurance company requests it, they may decide to cancel your policy.  The inspector will take pictures of the exterior of your home; they may also take interior photos if the interior is inspected.  They may take measurements, draw a diagram, and note other information that may be pertinent to calculating the replacement cost of your home.

The replacement cost is used to determine how much it would cost to rebuild your home in the event you suffered a complete and total loss of your home, such as in the event of a fire.  It does not include the value of the land.  If the replacement cost is not calculated properly, you could find you do not have adequate coverage in the event of a claim or you could be paying higher premiums than necessary.

The inspector will be looking at the property to determine if the appropriate home maintenance is being performed to keep the property in good condition.  They will also note any potential risks they see on the property, such as a missing handrail and within the neighborhood, like any vacant properties nearby.  The inspector will not normally share with you what is found during the inspection as it is up to the underwriter to make the decision on what needs to be corrected and what does not.

Many homeowner policies are cancelled because of deferred home maintenance on the exterior of the home or debris in the yard.  Your insurance company can order an inspection at any time so it is imperative that you stay on top of all your home maintenance needs.

Are you still worried about what the inspector may find when they come by?  For a small fee we will come out and do a complete inspection of your property noting any items that may be of interest to the inspector the insurance company sends out.  We have worked for several inspection companies doing insurance inspections for various insurance companies that write business in Massachusetts and are very familiar with the types of items they are looking for.

We will write up an estimate for you for each item we find that the inspector may note.  We will honor the price on that estimate up to 90 days from the day we gave it to you.  If you engage us to make the repairs, the fee you paid us for our inspection will come off the total repair bill.

I recently had an insurance inspection and now I have a letter listing the items they want corrected.  Where do I go from here?

Often times the insurance company gives you 30 days to contact them and show that you are making an attempt to correct the conditions that were noted during the inspection.  You can show that you are doing this by getting estimates for the repairs from contractors and sharing these with the insurance company.  Once you have shown the insurance company you are making an effort to make the repairs, they will grant you an extension to get them completed.  Once that extension runs out they will send an inspector out to re-inspect the property and report back to them the progress on the repairs.  If progress has been made and work is continuing often they will grant you another extension.

We can provide you with an estimate for all items in the letter.  If you engage us, we will work with the insurance company to keep them updated on how the repairs are progressing and meet with their inspector should they send one back out for a visual.  This way you do not need to be inconvenienced or miss any more work than is necessary.