Neglecting regular maintenance as well as not taking proper care of a home can be considered a liability for your insurer. Doors that are cracked or could be easily broken into, loose shingles of a roof, damaged and broken windows, and debris lying around the yard, all can increase the risk of damages during an insurable incident. The probability that an insurer will need to pay out a claim is also increased by these factors and it is therefore in the insurance company’s best interest to ask a homeowner to improve these areas – it is also in the best interest of the homeowner for the safety of their family and longevity of their home; but, an insurer cannot legally make the insured (or homeowner) take steps to correct these issues. They can, however, raise premiums or cancel a policy all together if the risk becomes too high.
What Your Insurance Company Can’t Control
When a policy is purchased, the insurance company agrees to foot the bill for any losses resulting from an insurable incident, less any deductibles the insured may be responsible for. The insurance company cannot decide how and when their customers should make repairs to any part of your home. It is ultimately the responsibility of the individual home owner to decide when their home needs improvement, how to make those repairs and improvements, and what type of repair or upgrade is needed.
The only entity that may demand home owners make repairs or changes to their home would be a home owners association or a police officer may issue a citation for certain risks such as tall grass or other safety hazards.
What Your Insurance Company Can Control
Despite what insurance carriers can’t control, they can raise rates or decide to not renew a policy if they get the sense that a lack of repairs to the insured property is increasing their exposure to risk.
Insurance companies have to correctly assess risk and protect themselves against it in order to ensure that they will have the funds to pay for all the claims they receive from their other policyholders. If a home’s condition increases the risk that a home owner presents to an insurance company, then the insurance company has no choice but to raise rates to reflect that increased risk or lose a customer. Without these precautions, insurance carriers expose other customers to the possibility of not being able to pay for their claims because a neglectful home owner didn’t pay enough to cover the costs of an insurable incident made worse by lack or care.
No matter how it works out for the insurance company, it is always in a homeowner’s best interest to preserve their home to the best of their abilities. In fact, much of the damage that occurs as a result of poor maintenance isn’t any more than the deductible and doesn’t count as an insurable incident, anyway. This means the homeowner has no one to blame, and has to eat the cost themselves.
For your own Regina Home Insurance quote, please contact an agent at Heritage Insurance today.