Home Inspections on New Policies

[DJAJ]

Anybody have any insight as to how accurate the insurance home inspectors are? I recently have had a bunch of my new policies come back with inspection problems. Two in particular are very annoying. In the first case, the inspector took some photos from the groud which they are saying shows granular loss. I have asked the underwrtiers what they want done about it but no one can give me a straight answer. I have had a roofer go check it out and he agrees and says the roof is a mess. However, the homeowner then called his real estate agent and his loan officer (who gave me the referral). They assured him that the original home inspector checked the roof under FHA rules and that the roof has a lot of life left.

In another cases, the insurance inspector went out and saw organic growth on the roof. So the inspection came back saying they needed to take care of that and send photos in. When they sent the photos back in with the organic growth gone, the underwriter claimed that the organic growth has eaten into the shingles and therefore they will not renew the policy.

These situations are from 2 different companies and underwirters. I am not very good when it comes to roofs so I am trying to get a better understanding of how knowledgeable these inspectors and underwrters are. My clients are upset and I dont want to tell them they need to replace the roof unless they really need to. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Heather]

I try to use the smaller regional carriers that will forgo the home inspector if they receive a good quantity of photos of the entire property. I go out myself and make sure to zoom in on the roof and take pics showing pride of ownership like nice landscaping. I also send in with the pics any inspection reports the property owner has like for a new purchase, refi or any appraisal.

I had a company send me a cancellation on my own home because of moss growing on a section of roof in back that I never really noticed. We had to spray this chemical and scrape it off. Then we had to climb up on a ladder and take zoom in photos to prove that the shingles were not rotted. Still was not good enough had to get the marketing rep involved as a last resort. It was not cancelled but could not get the newer roof credit anymore.

Since that episode we go out of our way to take pics ourselves and label each and everyone like "west side of house facing main st", so there is no confusion as to what is what.

 

[bobbygrv]

Have you seen either of these yourself? If I'm an underwriter and all you give me is other people's opinions on these issues, I'm probably not going to bend over backwards to rescind anything. If you bring me firsthand experience, I might listen a little longer.

I'm not saying this would work here, but I know for my own issues, my first thought is to go see it myself and gauge my own opinion, gather pictures, etc...

I find that roughly 10-20% of home inspections done for my policies have some sort of inaccurate, overestimated, or overinflated information that needs to be dealt with. Sometimes you just gotta roll up your sleeves and get dirty for your client. You have to do it in a way that doesn't make anyone upset or burn any bridges with your carriers.

I just know that the carrier is taking a sub contracted inspector's information and it's their word vs mine. They just have to decide who they are going to listen to.

If you know that the roof needs to be replaced, but the "FHA Inspector" said it "has lots of life left", I wouldn't think it's too hard to figure out.

Some business isn't worth writing and if a client gets mad at you for not allowing them to get a policy on a roof that's no good, what type of service are you offering them?

Just my .02 on this. I do see this a lot though...

 

[insurance1822]

I battle underwriters all the time. What you'll need to pay attention to is the bigger picture. Hows their credit? What's the overall condition of the home when you look at photos? Have you paired the auto? What tiering are they falling into w/ that carrier?

I've found that when the overall picture is not a prospect they want...they'll find any reason to get off it. Your best bet is documentation. Get a license roofer to write on his letterhead his opinion of the roof. Get the home inspection too.

Chances are when you're chasing down this information...you may start to realize no roofer will put his name on it...

Have the homeowner take detailed photos...review them...and if they tell a different story then send it over. The UW's are probably not liking the big picture right now. If you hit them w/ supporting documentation & photos (and it's legit..) and you involve management...you should get your result.

But if it's a bum house in the first place...you may be spitting in the wind. Watch out too because those underwriters will use your information on the app against you. I've had situations where we've put the roof was replaced 15 years ago & this same situation happens. The roofer says it's a 30 year shingle & it appears to have 5 years left. Now...(Even though you're thinking that 5 years left is a good thing..) they'll use the inaccuracies on the app against you.

 

[DJAJ]

I appreciate the feed back, great advice by all of you. Just to address some of the questions. I went to the first propety as soon as I got the inspection because there were other problems as well, like the square footage got doubled (which was resolved, after we put in a dispute. The square footage was not put in accurately by the admin when the inspection came back). For the most part, the property and home is being well maintained so far. I just wasnt sure what to do about the roof. This is something that I can work on to be a better agent for my clients.

As far as the second property, I haven't been there yet but after reading the responses I sent my client an email to schedule a time to go out there and take photos together.

 

[ZappMan]

.... However, the homeowner then called his real estate agent and his loan officer (who gave me the referral). They assured him that the original home inspector checked the roof ...

In another cases, the insurance inspector went out and saw organic growth on the roof. ...
....!

Is the guy selling the house or buying? Moss right? Haven't gotten that one to many times. Some bleach ( I think) takes care of it I'm told. Some underwriters are good & some are bad. If I have a risk that I think a carrier will remotely be concerned about I try to take it somewhere else.

Someone else talked about carriers going out.

I think most carriers do inspections. I wouldn't be looking to place w/ a carrier just because they won't go out & do an inspection. That will come back to haunt you.