Not so fast! There are critical implications that hoarding can have on your homeowner’s insurance status. Insurers normally take photos of the outside of the home prior to insuring it—an inside inspection is not usually done unless evidence of the hoarding is visible from the outside. So if a claim is made that requires the insurer to enter the home, it’s often a shock to the insurer and a tricky situation for the owner or owner’s estate. Because hoarding poses so many health and safety hazards—including trips and falls, fire, rodents or other vermin, and more—plus an inability to gain access to plumbing, air conditioning and heating units, and structural damage for maintenance and repair, by the time a hoarded estate needs to make an insurance claim, the homeowner may be in danger of either losing their insurance altogether or having their rates increase dramatically. Here are some things to know about how hoarding can affect your homeowners insurance. Things not typically covered by homeowners insurance:
In addition to claims concerning the general state of the home, for claims regarding possessions, hoarding has serious implications: “Some carriers have limited coverage such as no replacement value or actual cash value on articles that are outdated or obsolete and stored and not being used,” says Toby Bell, an independent adjuster and the principal of Professional Claims Service, Inc. Articles not maintained in good or working condition may also be excluded from replacement.
In most cases, your insurance company may not find out that the estate has been hoarded until a claim is filed and they come to inspect. If they walk into a hoarded home, they might (or might not) pay the claim but then drop the coverage if the situation is extremely bad. What to Do Address the problem before the claim is made. In whatever way possible, remediate the hoarded home before making an insurance claim. "Rather than wait for the insurance company to act or for a major problem to arise that destroys your home, take matters into your own hands. Contact a professional to deal with your problem of hoarding or cluttering,” says Lita Epstein in Daily Finance. By hiring a company such as Clutter & Hoarding Pros to clear and clean the hoarded home, it is much more likely that the insurer will honor your claim, and you have a much greater chance of avoiding cancellation of the policy. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMichelle Quintana Featured Service Information
• Hoarding Clearout Saves More than "Stuff" · Why Clients Hire—and Trust— Clutter&Hoarding Pros · Levels IV & V Clear-Out · Is My Loved One a Hoarder? • After the Clean-Out • Animal Hoarding • Decluttering for the Elderly • What Is a Hoarding Clean- Out? • Hoarding vs. Clutter • Hoarding Help in Orange County • Hoarding Help in LA County • How to Choose a Hoarding Clean-Out Company • Why a Junk-Hauling Service Is NOT What You Need! • Paper, Paper, Everywhere! • Are You a Concerned Third Party? • Estate Clearing for a Loved One—You're Not Alone • Clearing a Hoarded Estate During the Holidays • Where Do You Fit In? • Deep Cleaning a Cleared Estate • "That's okay, we have insurance . . ." • Planning to Sell Your Hoarded Estate? • In-Home Assessment for Hoarding Remediation-- Second Step to Success • Is Your Relative's Home Red-Tagged? • 7 Simple Step to a Successful Estate Sale |