Who Is That Taking Pictures Of My Home?

Have you ever seen someone snooping around your home with a camera? Many of us work outside the home, so it is not often you even know this is going on. When you purchase homeowners insurance to protect your home, many insurance companies run an inspection report. They don't care if you eat chocolate for breakfast, but what they are looking at is the condition of your home. Google Earth is pretty good, but it is not real time, nor detailed enough for what insurance companies are looking for.

So, what do these inspectors check out? They look at the condition of your roof and check to see if there are tree limbs above it, as this scenario can cause problems. If you have a dog, they'll check if you have a Pit Bull or a Bassett Hound? Pit Bulls have a bad reputation, deserved or not; Bassett hounds are more of a tripping hazard — as their ambition in life is to emulate a door stop. But it is the canine with a bad reputation that they are looking for. Insurance companies hate dog bites! It's a no win situation for them.

Inspectors will likely check out your home's pool to see if there is a diving board and how the area is fenced. Some companies are OK with diving boards, but will charge you more; others do not want to mess with a pool with a diving board.

Inspectors will likely check the cleanliness of your property. Their theory is that if you take care of your stuff, there is less likelihood that it will have to be replaced or cause damage.

Now, there are occasions when your home insurance company will come back to you and let you know you need to repair something if you want to continue coverage with that company. They do give you time to fix the issue. Even if you do not think it should be an issue, they might — so you'll need to deal with it somehow. If you do not think the issue they bring up for you to repair is legitimate, give us a call and let us help you. That is the advantage of having a local agent in your community — rather than someone at the end of an 800 number somewhere on the planet.

These professional snoopers do not work for the insurance companies directly. They are hired to take a look at your property — so if you catch one, they will work for company XYZ, which is not your homeowners insurance carrier. They are not revenuers from the federal government looking for your moonshine still. (I used to live in South Carolina). Sometimes, they do not even know who the insurance carrier is that they are working for — as they are just producing a report and it's up to the home office to track with the insurance carrier, not the people in the field.

So now you know who these folks are. Feel free to ask them what they are doing and whom they work for, as it is not a secret. And if you are not sure, give us a call so we can make sure they are from your homeowners insurance company.

Time for Guinness and wings, so I will talk to you later.

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Looking for top-notch home insurance coverage that won't break the bank? Call Colgrove Financial, LLC at (480) 830-2595 for a free Phoenix home insurance quote.

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