They are scum of the earth because they take advantage of their position to extract as much money from their customers and then deny legit claims by default and make making a claim as much of a pain in the ass for the policy holder as possible. But this is just standard insurance practice, if you don’t want people looking at your stuff, don’t ask them to insure it. Often a luxury only the rich can afford, but that’s a separate problem.
Of course they have the right to inspect the property, with the owner’s informed consent and with clear-cut boundaries of what they’re looking for. The owner needs to have the chance to correct the offending circumstances before a policy should be canceled.
Consider this case: You want to refurbish the storage room and clean it out onto the lawn while you’re painting it. The paint dries and 6 hours later you put your stuff back in. However, in these 6 hours a drone took a picture of a gas canister on your lawn. The insurance company cancels the policy because you’re storing dangerous materials.
Insurance is supposed to be a service where everyone pays a predictable amount so that they have some protection in the event of something catastrophic happening. It’s reasonable for them to assess risks, and it’s reasonable for them to charge higher premiums for riskier situations, it’s reasonable for them to ask for remediation and eventually cancel policies if someone doesn’t abide by previously agreed terms.
But there’s a line between that and “it’s fire season, send up a drone so we can cancel the riskiest x% and boost our profits”, particularly if that’s happening mid policy, and particularly if it’s in a situation where those people will find it hard to get new insurance.
This is also why insurance fraud is such a major offense. If too many people don’t play by the rules, the whole system will collapse and leave everyone uninsured.
As you say, it’s not unreasonable for them to charge more for riskier insurance, so it’s not even like cutting the riskiest x% would or should boost profits… If they think the risk has grown, raise the premium at the next renewal opportunity and their profits should be just fine even if they have to pay out
I agree that the insurance company has a right to regular inspections to spot potential risks and take action before something happens. But they should then come up with a solution rather than cancel the policy. If they told the homeowner to clean up the backyard or they will have to increase the policy/cancel it then that would be acceptable. But letting insurance companies cancel whenever they feel like it makes no sense and defeats the purpose. What’s next? Flood insurance cancels your policy because heavy rain is expected?
But they definitely should have to schedule a time for the inspection. No one should be able to just film your backyard whenever they feel like it. There are tons of things one might do in their backyard they don’t want others to film.
That’s why a right to privacy is so important. You never know what innocuous things anyone is looking out for.
Insurance companies are the scum of the earth. I’m sure Big Daddy Gov will put them in their place. /s
They are scum of the earth because they take advantage of their position to extract as much money from their customers and then deny legit claims by default and make making a claim as much of a pain in the ass for the policy holder as possible. But this is just standard insurance practice, if you don’t want people looking at your stuff, don’t ask them to insure it. Often a luxury only the rich can afford, but that’s a separate problem.
The worst part is if the company fucks you, too bad so sad. But if you fuck them? Welcome to prison.
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Of course they have the right to inspect the property, with the owner’s informed consent and with clear-cut boundaries of what they’re looking for. The owner needs to have the chance to correct the offending circumstances before a policy should be canceled.
Consider this case: You want to refurbish the storage room and clean it out onto the lawn while you’re painting it. The paint dries and 6 hours later you put your stuff back in. However, in these 6 hours a drone took a picture of a gas canister on your lawn. The insurance company cancels the policy because you’re storing dangerous materials.
This cannot be in anyone’s best interest.
Insurance is supposed to be a service where everyone pays a predictable amount so that they have some protection in the event of something catastrophic happening. It’s reasonable for them to assess risks, and it’s reasonable for them to charge higher premiums for riskier situations, it’s reasonable for them to ask for remediation and eventually cancel policies if someone doesn’t abide by previously agreed terms.
But there’s a line between that and “it’s fire season, send up a drone so we can cancel the riskiest x% and boost our profits”, particularly if that’s happening mid policy, and particularly if it’s in a situation where those people will find it hard to get new insurance.
This is also why insurance fraud is such a major offense. If too many people don’t play by the rules, the whole system will collapse and leave everyone uninsured.
As you say, it’s not unreasonable for them to charge more for riskier insurance, so it’s not even like cutting the riskiest x% would or should boost profits… If they think the risk has grown, raise the premium at the next renewal opportunity and their profits should be just fine even if they have to pay out
I agree that the insurance company has a right to regular inspections to spot potential risks and take action before something happens. But they should then come up with a solution rather than cancel the policy. If they told the homeowner to clean up the backyard or they will have to increase the policy/cancel it then that would be acceptable. But letting insurance companies cancel whenever they feel like it makes no sense and defeats the purpose. What’s next? Flood insurance cancels your policy because heavy rain is expected?
But they definitely should have to schedule a time for the inspection. No one should be able to just film your backyard whenever they feel like it. There are tons of things one might do in their backyard they don’t want others to film.