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Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent?

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Can Fla. insurance co. be held to homeowners binder rate that differs from policy rate due to incorrect info submitted by agent? Doc 03-05-2008
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Posted by Doc on March 5, 2008, 12:11 pm
My former carrier sent a notice of non-renewal so I went shopping for
homeowner's.

Among the quotes I got was from State Farm who I currently have my
auto policies with. I got the quote last Wednesday 2/27, as it
happened I discovered they were going to cease writing homeowner's
policies in Florida as of close of business Friday 2/29. They said if
I wanted to go with them they had to get it in by close of business
Friday.

They at first quoted me a rate that was on the high end, but later on
the phone the agent quoted a rate that was substantially lower, by
about $500. Obviously I wondered why the difference. She attributed it
to "the way their quoting system works" implying that quotes sometimes
are higher than what the policy comes in at due to some quirk.

I told her I'd evaluate all the quotes and various elements and call
her by Friday noon. The amount she quoted was lower than any other
quote I got so I called her and told her to go ahead.

I got the binder in the mail on Monday with the same amount she had
quoted me so I figured I'm all set.

Not so fast. I called today just to see if they needed contact
information for my Mortgage Co. to send proof of insurance, but she
asked me if I was calling about the policy difference. I had no idea
what she was talking about. She said when I got my policy from
corporate it would be around $1500 rather than the $978 she quoted me
and which the binder I got reflected. The reason is she quoted based
on having a hip roof. At the time she asked me about this I advised I
don't have a hip roof if my understanding is accurate of what a hip
roof is - where the roof sits on the house like a hat and ledge runs
around horizontally with no upward angles. AFAIK mine is a gable roof
- it has points where the roof is shaped like an "A". This is what I
told her to begin with and when I described it she agreed I had a
gable roof. When she came back with the lower quote, at no time did
she advise me it was due to quoting for a hip roof.

She said after looking at pictures, she thought it would qualify as a
"partial hip"roof and said she's still trying to get corporate to give
me "somewhat of a discount".

This is the roof in question:

http://home.mpinet.net/~docsavage20/my_roof.jpg

Do you see any basis to call this anything but a gable roof?

Since the binder reflects the amended amount she quoted me over the
phone, do I have any basis to hold the company to this since the lower
quote was based on the information this agent submitted?

Thanks for all input


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Posted by Bill on March 5, 2008, 1:05 pm
You have 'Gabel roof'. Hurricanes like to open them up, more so than a 'Hip
roof'.
Grab what insurance you can, as in Florida, the insurance companies all seem
to be jumping ship.

State farm was $500 more than what Liberty Mutual offered me.

> My former carrier sent a notice of non-renewal so I went shopping for
> homeowner's.
>
> Among the quotes I got was from State Farm who I currently have my
> auto policies with. I got the quote last Wednesday 2/27, as it
> happened I discovered they were going to cease writing homeowner's
> policies in Florida as of close of business Friday 2/29. They said if
> I wanted to go with them they had to get it in by close of business
> Friday.



Posted by Charles Pisano on March 5, 2008, 1:38 pm
I was also under the impression a hip roof is better. I believe it's
also on the loss mitigation form most HO companies provide you with for
things they look for to qualify for a discount. (ie roof clips etc).

We got hit with 3 hurricanes in 2 years here in St. Lucie county and I'm
grateful to be under $1k a year for my HO's....

I'd cancel the state farm and go elsewhere. They didn't pay off very
well for the people of lousiana...


Posted by Charlie Bress on March 5, 2008, 3:38 pm

> My former carrier sent a notice of non-renewal so I went shopping for
> homeowner's.
>
> Among the quotes I got was from State Farm who I currently have my
> auto policies with. I got the quote last Wednesday 2/27, as it
> happened I discovered they were going to cease writing homeowner's
> policies in Florida as of close of business Friday 2/29. They said if
> I wanted to go with them they had to get it in by close of business
> Friday.
I had been with State farm in Florida for 25 years. I didn't get canceled
but that was not a good thing. They had jacked the price up beyond believe.
I found a relatively new company that was not only cheaper than SF's new
quote, they were cheaper than the previous barely tolerable year,

This outfit is in the Tampa area. While they did not write a policy for the
same house value as SF, there deductible was so much lower that in the event
of a total loss the proceeds would be higher.

Check around with independent agents and see if you can find one that sells
policies by American Traditions

Charlie



Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on March 5, 2008, 9:54 pm

> She said after looking at pictures, she thought it would qualify as a
> "partial hip"roof and said she's still trying to get corporate to give
> me "somewhat of a discount".
>
> This is the roof in question:
>
> http://home.mpinet.net/~docsavage20/my_roof.jpg
>
> Do you see any basis to call this anything but a gable roof?

Looks like a cross gable to me.


>
> Since the binder reflects the amended amount she quoted me over the
> phone, do I have any basis to hold the company to this since the lower
> quote was based on the information this agent submitted?

A binder is just that. The insurance company has the final say, not the
agent.



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