This is why the underwriting department is called, “Commission Impossible.” I could tell you more dumb reasons to decline a risk than you can imagine. I think the worst was a homeowner risk that I had been after for a few years. The person finally came to me one day and said he wanted me to insure his home. It was a beautiful home with immaculate landscaping and there was no mortgagee. Oh it is was inside the city limits with a fire hydrant in the corner of the yard. I got a memo from the underwriter declining so I called to find why. The underwriter said that the insured was now retired and their experience shows that when someone retires the property usually deteriorates. The guy worked for the same company for 30 years and retired and had no debt. I went to the VP of underwriting and got the policy approved.
Good job! I had to get my underwriter to approve a property that the owner had two claims with $0 paid out. Luckily he replaced the roof or this comment would be different.
The first story: I highly doubt that is accurate. If it is you need to write for more reputable companies.
The second story: Any roof claim (even if it didn’t result in a payout) is a red flag on a new HO policy. Two in 5 years is a HUGE red flag. Sounds like the UW process played out as it should. Rules based UW was followed to mitigate bad risks then a human was able to confirm the specifics to make the proper final decision. Basically that the roof was replaced and in this case the insured wasn’t moving carriers to try open a new roof claim on something that needed to be replace before the policy went into effect.
Two claims in five years is nothing in Texas. We have customers in the Dallas area that get a roof replacement every three years. Just how it is in a storm prone area. So, saying two in five years is really painting with a broad brush, because it should not automatically be a red flag. Weather related claims can’t even be counted at all for renewals in Texas, which is exactly how it should be. You can’t control the weather at all.
This is why the underwriting department is called, “Commission Impossible.” I could tell you more dumb reasons to decline a risk than you can imagine. I think the worst was a homeowner risk that I had been after for a few years. The person finally came to me one day and said he wanted me to insure his home. It was a beautiful home with immaculate landscaping and there was no mortgagee. Oh it is was inside the city limits with a fire hydrant in the corner of the yard. I got a memo from the underwriter declining so I called to find why. The underwriter said that the insured was now retired and their experience shows that when someone retires the property usually deteriorates. The guy worked for the same company for 30 years and retired and had no debt. I went to the VP of underwriting and got the policy approved.
Good job! I had to get my underwriter to approve a property that the owner had two claims with $0 paid out. Luckily he replaced the roof or this comment would be different.
The first story: I highly doubt that is accurate. If it is you need to write for more reputable companies.
The second story: Any roof claim (even if it didn’t result in a payout) is a red flag on a new HO policy. Two in 5 years is a HUGE red flag. Sounds like the UW process played out as it should. Rules based UW was followed to mitigate bad risks then a human was able to confirm the specifics to make the proper final decision. Basically that the roof was replaced and in this case the insured wasn’t moving carriers to try open a new roof claim on something that needed to be replace before the policy went into effect.
Two claims in five years is nothing in Texas. We have customers in the Dallas area that get a roof replacement every three years. Just how it is in a storm prone area. So, saying two in five years is really painting with a broad brush, because it should not automatically be a red flag. Weather related claims can’t even be counted at all for renewals in Texas, which is exactly how it should be. You can’t control the weather at all.