Insurance Pain.....

[Buckwheat]

Just seeing if anyone else is experiencing a substantial increase in their home premiums in Alberta this year. I live in Calgary and use TD Insurance. My renewal just came in the mail and they upped my premiums by 35% and increased my deductible from $500 to $1000. Also have some contents insurance on a place in BC and they upped that by 65%. They also put a limit on my sewer backup to $15K. I have had no claims in the last 10 years and do not live in any the flood effected districts of Calgary. Definitely going to shop it around. I guess everyone pays for the flood!

[BlackHeart]

They are getting insanely greedy....mine climbed to over $2000 per year. No claims and with them for 20 years.

Plus they really Pd me off....came to do a market assessment......instead it was a risk assessment and a way to weasel out of any paying for things. As an example, they noted and informed me that my roof shingles were nearing the end of their life (translation=if you have a fire claim were deducting that off or not covering it......but we're still going to charge you the premium as if it was new.......insurance for nothing)

They also demanded that I repair some stairs to the back patio (they are a private use and stone and being slowly built as time and money permit). They also demanded a wood stove insert be removed because I couldn't find any CSA stuff on it.....as if an open fireplace is less risky.

Really got tired of them pushing they way, telling me what to do in my own house (give them an inch and next we all be required to wear helmuts in bed.....not that it will decrease the amount charged) and trying to decrease risk to zero, while increasing premiums and finding sleasy ways to reduce possible payouts.

[Newf]

I spoke with my insurance company last fall and they told me my home insurance was going up this year. Even without any claims it's increasing because of the amount of claims in this area last year. (Airdrie) Hail in particular.

Seems like the only thing not going up these days is the pay check

[Xiph0id]

Yup, ours doubled here in Leduc.
Insurance lady said it was because we were between Edmonton and Calgary and that area has all had increases due to wind and hail damage.
Switched from wawanesa to intact.
The rate increase went from double to only about 20%

[Bennettcw]

Originally Posted by Xiph0id

Yup, ours doubled here in Leduc.
Insurance lady said it was because we were between Edmonton and Calgary and that area has all had increases due to wind and hail damage.
Switched from wawanesa to intact.
The rate increase went from double to only about 20%

I was the same in fort sask, but I switched from td to wawanesa and actually saved money, my broker told me it's only a matter of time and they will all be around the same again

[Icatchfish]

my first thread on the general forum was about this subject a month or so after last years flood my renewal came in and they increases my payments by 55% or so. i live out of the flood zone. and didn't lose power water or ever made a claim.

its all because of the flood i guess

[Who Da Fisherman]

Just did my renewal and it went down by 55%
Maybe give Cumis a call.

[nekred]

Have to pay for flooding from last year....

[Don Andersen]

In just two weather events, calgary blows the insurance budget. How about we get rid of Calgary? We can't afford 'me.

1) The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the June flood in southern Alberta is the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.
The bureau says the latest estimate of the insured property damage now exceeds one-point-seven billion dollars.


2)Outside the city, the massive hailstorm decimated over 90,000 hectares of cropland near Strathmore and Hussar, spurring crop damage claims totaling $18.5 million. The huge number of claims forced insurers and auto body shops to bring in field adjusters and dent technicians from other provinces and the United States and Europe. When all was said and done, Canadian insurers estimated the dollar value of total claims at about $400 million, making it the costliest hailer in Canadian history. The previous claims record of $340 million, set in 1991, was also in Calgary.

Edmonton on the other hand we may keep.


Regards,



Don

[Sooner]

I was just in Calgary over the weekend for my daughters soccer tourney and while there got to visit my uncle and aunt in Bowness. They were flooded out in their basement and were just telling us about the jump in their insurance rates. And they had to get a back water valve installed to appease the Ins company. Between the floods, hail and wind claims the last couple years the Ins companies will be looking to re coupe I think.

[Vacation]

Just think about how many flood victims never got insurance because the insurance companies weaseled out of paying....brutal....damn greedy

[MAC]

Originally Posted by Vacation

Just think about how many flood victims never got insurance because the insurance companies weaseled out of paying....brutal....damn greedy

There is no weaseling out. Read your policy NO OVERLAND FLOOD COVERAGE
Its up front and in writing. For years its been reported that floods due to swollen rivers are not covered by insurance and people are surprised when a flood happens and the insurance company's say no coverage.

TD was the first company that was bad mouthed for no coverage, a public campaign was waged and they relented providing coverage in certain situations and now people complain that rates are going up. What do you want!!

Your policy is a written contract with all conditions spelled out. You know what is or is not covered in the event something happens. If you are surprised its because you did not read your contract. A pain in the butt YES ! It should not surprise you.
And NO I do not work for an Insurance company but deal with adjusters all the time.
Insurance is a business like any corporation providing a service for a fee.
Greedy maybe but no more than Enmax, IBM, GM or any Bank..

[Eklipz]

Insurance is and always has been a scam. From the day the mofia invented it, it's been legalized extortion. It's like a casino, the house always wins, if they lose, you will lose bigger. Every time 100% guaranteed. This is just another proof, I saw a study done in early 2000's that said insurance companies in Alberta alone profit $10 million a day, that was over 10 years ago, it's probably close to double now. So they could have paid off all the flood damage and then some in a couple months profit and still come out ahead. But they will use any BS excuse to run to the insurance bureau and ask for huge increases, out of our pockets.

[brazeau]

Originally Posted by MAC

There is no weaseling out. Read your policy NO OVERLAND FLOOD COVERAGE
Its up front and in writing. For years its been reported that floods due to swollen rivers are not covered by insurance and people are surprised when a flood happens and the insurance company's say no coverage.

TD was the first company that was bad mouthed for no coverage, a public campaign was waged and they relented providing coverage in certain situations and now people complain that rates are going up. What do you want!!

Your policy is a written contract with all conditions spelled out. You know what is or is not covered in the event something happens. If you are surprised its because you did not read your contract. A pain in the butt YES ! It should not surprise you.
And NO I do not work for an Insurance company but deal with adjusters all the time.
Insurance is a business like any corporation providing a service for a fee.
Greedy maybe but no more than Enmax, IBM, GM or any Bank..

Well, somebody in this thread understands how it works. And, insurance invented by the mafia? Wow, some of the things that are posted in this forum are beyond comprehension IMHO.

[Vigilante]

Originally Posted by MAC

There is no weaseling out. Read your policy NO OVERLAND FLOOD COVERAGE
Its up front and in writing. For years its been reported that floods due to swollen rivers are not covered by insurance and people are surprised when a flood happens and the insurance company's say no coverage.

TD was the first company that was bad mouthed for no coverage, a public campaign was waged and they relented providing coverage in certain situations and now people complain that rates are going up. What do you want!!

Your policy is a written contract with all conditions spelled out. You know what is or is not covered in the event something happens. If you are surprised its because you did not read your contract. A pain in the butt YES ! It should not surprise you.
And NO I do not work for an Insurance company but deal with adjusters all the time.
Insurance is a business like any corporation providing a service for a fee.
Greedy maybe but no more than Enmax, IBM, GM or any Bank..

Many people around here had 6ft of sewer backup, but Insurance denied them because signs of overland flooding were on the neighbors lawn.

[MAC]

Originally Posted by Vigilante

Many people around here had 6ft of sewer backup, but Insurance denied them because signs of overland flooding were on the neighbors lawn.

There are adjusters that don't know what they are doing, too many if you ask me. If the situation is as you described the adjuster should have inspected for verification of sewer or absence of sewer. Its not hard I have done it many times. Sometimes good people get shafted. Being informed and advocating for yourself is hard when you don't understand the process.
Unfortunately it was a very stressful time and many mistakes were made.
Good people lost out. If no overland flooding occurred and they had sewer
in their basement. It may not be too late to file again and ask for a review.
What is going on at the neighbors is of no concern to you or the adjuster looking at your property.
These types of mistakes or in some cases individuals trying to make themselves look good to a supervisor do not make the insurance industry a SCAM or make insurance extortion. There are ways to address wrong decisions
if they are wrong. Your policy will let you know. Talk to your broker.

MAC

[sakogreywolf]

Well it's renewal time for my house insurance. Last year (before the flood) it went up approx. $800/yr. This was due mainly to hail and windstorm coverage and the deductible was increased to $2500. This year the policy has gone up another $600 for a total of $2,443 at wawanesa. Truth be told I would have been shocked if there was not another increase, but the kicker for me was seeing that sewer back up is now capped at $10,000.

I will get quotes from others, and may even find one substantially cheaper, but like another stated previously, in the years to come others will most likely follow suit. Due to storms over the last few years, I can understand the rate increases, although a little excessive perhaps.......but to combine that with ridiculously low payout caps is disturbing to say the least.