We have joined the masses frantically searching for adequate vehicle and homeowners insurance. I am 32. My husband of ten years is 40. I am a full-time mother to our infant daughter, and my husband works full time for the Rhode Island National Guard. My husband currently has eighteen full years serving in the armed services. He’s a true hero.
Neither of us has ever had an at-fault vehicle accident. In November 2008, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
We bought our first home in Warwick, RI in 2003. The airport bought our home toward the end of 2006/beginning of 2007.
Then the fun began. We found a home that we fell in love with, that happened to be located just over the state line in Connecticut. The home was built in 1965, and shortly after we moved in, the drain pipe in the basement had a clog (obviously not from us, as we had moved in only four months before). The back-up caused water damage in our basement.
Our insurance company, with whom we’d had a very amicable relationship, was very helpful, and paid for the damage caused by the backed up sewer water. They were amicable. Very amicable.
So we were victim to the previous residents’ clogs. Then in December 2008, we fell victim to New England weather. During a very common snow and ice phase, followed by thawing on a random day of sunshine, a phenomenon called an “ice dam” prevented the melting snow from correctly draining into our gutters. It instead found its way through our walls, causing water damage. This time, the damage was sustained to our front bay window area.
Again, our amicable homeowner’s policy company took our homeowner’s claim for the resulting water damage. We were told by our file handler that if our damages exceeded her estimate, we just needed to “call [her]”.
We received a letter from our amicable insurance company today, at the end of February 2009, advising us that they would not be renewing our homeowners policy “due to loss frequency and/or severity at the insured location”. Nothing was spoken to us to warn us of this possible outcome. They’re just “breaking up with us via a letter”. We were advised that this “decision of nonrenewal has been reviewed and is final”.
So now, in Connecticut, this amicable company has decided to drop a soldier’s family, which includes our infant daughter and myself, who is also battling Multiple Sclerosis, because they had to pay two claims within fifteen months. Neither claim’s payout exceeded $1,500. If this insurance company had said to us that we potentially could risk nonrenewal if we proceeded with a relatively small claim, we would have cancelled it. Problem solved. Amica would have long-term customers, and we would not be plunged into a situation where our insurance company is dropping us. One phone call is all it would have taken.
Evidently, they are only amicable when there are no homeowners insurance claims filed. Apparently they only are interested in damage mitigation when it applies to minimizing their payouts, not communicating with good customers to help mitigate their future problems and stress. Evidently they do not feel that communications to help customers understand the homeowners policy is necessary.
I battle MS, raise and infant and keep a home clean. I have enough on my plate that I pay someone else to take care of insurance and to notify me of any potential issues we may have. That would be my insurance company. I understand vehicle insurance from past employment, but it seems I didn’t understand homeowners. I futiley depended on my insurance company to have my best interests in mind.
If there are any truly professional insurance companies who will insure our home, and who also offer vehicle insurance, you would also be taking on the task of insuring our three vehicles. Most importantly, you would be simplifying the lives of a soldier, his Multiple Sclerosis patient wife and his infant daughter.