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March 2024 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM Page 23
Your Insurance Guy
Am I Under Surveillance by My Insurance Company?
By Jim King neWfounD insuRance
Well, the answer is Yes and Yes.
Just this week Channel 7 Bos- ton, as part of the “7 Investi- gates” program, featured a story of a homeowner in Saugus MA whose Homeowner’s Insurance had been terminated by their in- surance company as a result of an inspection. This was particularly unnerving to the Homeowner be- cause they had no idea that their house was being inspected.
This Homeowners situation is a perfect example of the risks of new technology being used to do what used to be done in person and face to face and ‘Customer Service” that no longer serves the customer.
The specifics of this situation
are that the insurance company, as part of their normal due dili- gence when insuring a property, transitioned from an in-person inspection to using a drone to do a fly over and capture a video image or the house and property. The video image was likely then reviewed by a person or perhaps another computer (Hello AI). The video review concluded that the roof was in a poor condition which is indicative of a high risk of water leak or other potential damage. As a result, the insur- ance company decided to termi- nate the Homeowner’s policy.
The insurance company has every right and in fact a respon- sibility to inspect properties they agree to insure. It is smart busi- ness and in avoiding unnecessary losses it helps keep down the in- surance costs for all customers. It is without question a prudent thing to do.
With the increasing capability of technology, doing inspections by drone or potentially satellite is a smart and cost-effective way to inspect a property. An insurance company can easily see if there is a pool, trampoline or other struc-
ture that was not included in the application and may change the risk profile or risk assessment as- sociated with a property.
So YES, as a homeowner you are subject to having your prop- erty inspected and YES you can expect in the future it will be done by a surveillance drone.
In this case the video review was faulty. The roof had actually recently been replaced. When the Homeowner contacted the insurance company to dispute the interpretation of the video from the drone fly over and appeal the termination, they were met with a stone wall of customer non-ser- vice. This despite being able to provide proof that the roof had been recently replaced
Historically if there were any issues found during an inspection, an insurance company would provide a homeowner with a list of and description of deficien- cies, things that need to be fixed to reduce risk and provided the homeowner a reasonable amount of time to address the areas of concern. That didn’t happen in this case and it turned out to be a perfect storm of using a new
technology with the best of inten- tions but implementing it poorly, combined with a poorly trained customer service individual.
This experience highlights two important things. First un- derstand that when you apply for insurance be truthful on the ap- plication because your property will at some point be inspected, Second work with your local in- surance agent because you may need a voice to advocate for you in the event there is a dispute with the insurance company. In those cases, it is nice to have someone on your side.
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If you are interested here is a link to the Chanel 7 Investigative Report - 7 Investigates: Sky-high surprise - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
Please feel free to call us with any questions or concerns about your insurance coverages. We are happy to help. We are here to an- swer any questions. You can reach us at 603-744-5000 or email us at info@newfoundins.com.
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