Interior Home Inspections?

[peewee]

How many of you are required by your homeowner insurance carriers to conduct interior inspections?

Do you feel qualified to make judgements on the functionality of HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems? And if the a/c, furnace are in the attic are you actually crawling up there to take a look?

How many female agents would feel safe going to an unknown prospect's home and doing these technical mechanical evaluations?

If you are doing these how many times a day do you have to change clothes to go on these wild goose chases versus the ones that pass with no issues? How many can you do in a day and still maintain your regular workload in the office supervising staff, attending to customer service issues, etc.

I'd love to hear feedback/comments.

 

[BTFuzz]

Seriously? What carrier is asking you to do this? The only time I am required to do this is if there is a coal or wood burning stove in place.

 

[Guest]

I think Peewee is in reference to their brain size......

 

[FL P&C Broker]

The carriers do the inspections for us. I don't leave the office.

 

[Indiana_Adam]

If I write a home over 50 years old, I have to do inside inspections. I have to get photos of plumbing, breaker box, bathrooms, furnace and a/c unit. No, I don't go chasing for those items. If I can't see any plumbing because it's in the crawlspace, such is life. I go by what the insured says and fight my UW on it. I'm a guy, so I don't have a problem going into a prospects home, though I do let my co-workers know where I'm going.

On any home I write, I have to have photos of outside. Outside photos take maybe 5 - 10 minutes. Inside photos....figure on half hour to an hour. It depends on how talkative the client is and the raport between you.

Yes, it's a pain.

 

[peewee]

I think Peewee is in reference to their brain size......

For your information this is a specific requirement of a major insurance carrier operating in Texas, dearie! Go check your underwriting manuals, you might just find out the hard way what I am telling you is true. As insane as it is which is why I posted the issue in the first place, the major carrier I represent is expecting their agents to do exactly what I described. We are to physically inspect all interior and exterior aspects of any home, regardless of it's age. That inspection is to include heating, cooling, plumbing connections, wet areas, electrical boxes, switches, fuses, along with the normal stuff such as flooring, walls, etc. It's so insane no wonder some of the responses are so wild. Regardless of how stupid it sounds it is a situation that exists with this major insurer in Texas. Believe me, I work for them.
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Seriously? What carrier is asking you to do this? The only time I am required to do this is if there is a coal or wood burning stove in place.

Well it's one of the majors and it's not State Farm or Allstate.
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I think Peewee is in reference to their brain size......

Why are you participating in this forum if only to make snide remarks, that doesn't serve any meaningful or positive purpose.

 

[Guest]

Because this is such a stupid question, I cant believe it is true.....

I would simply tell them you are not trained as a home inspector,

Find out in your contract, where it says you have to do this.

If you feelings are hurt, then this isnt the board for you

 

[FL P&C Broker]

The carriers in Florida would never expect us to do an inspection. The insured has to pay to have a 4 point inspection, end of story. Some insurance companies will do a full home inspection on older homes at their cost.

 

[peewee]

Because this is such a stupid question, I cant believe it is true.....

I would simply tell them you are not trained as a home inspector,

Find out in your contract, where it says you have to do this.

If you feelings are hurt, then this isnt the board for you

Come on dude....either participate on a professional level or find another chat room where beating one's chest is considered entertaining. Most of here are here to share meaningful information not bash one another. If we just wanted to kill time beating up on someone, there's plenty of opportunities elsewhere.
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The carriers in Florida would never expect us to do an inspection. The insured has to pay to have a 4 point inspection, end of story. Some insurance companies will do a full home inspection on older homes at their cost.

Most rational companies wouldn't - I agree. However, thus is the case on the Farmers Next Gen policy. Agents are REQUIRED to conduct interior and exterior inspections to include the systems I mentioned, then if you miss something they WILL file an E&O claim against the agent's policy. So if you're writing Farmers Next Gen home policies and not doing an interior inspection be warned, you better up your E&O coverage immediately, if you can get enough to cover all this unlimited exposure. What they are trying to do is get the claims they pay out reimbursed at the expense of the agent's E&O policy so they pay whether the case is legitimate or not then try to get their money back from the agent's E&O - what a deal.

 

[b61mack]

well said, pee wee welcome to the board. newbies, that spam the board usually will, get jumped on, but you brought a good subject to the board...