4-POINT Changes and YOU

Here is something amazing for you, if you have a mortgage you are required to carry home owners insurance. The insurance companies know this and will force you to rebuild your home, even though the insurance quote is based on the unlikely event of total loss and replacement cost.
If you fail to do what they want, then they drop you and force placed insurance, which is 3 times as much as any insurance is implemented. They know this so you are forced to make upgrades, that your home may not need, or insurance that most can’t afford is implemented. I call that extortion.

I might suggest, tongue and cheek of course, that everyone with a home over 30 years old, burn it to the ground and get it rebuilt. That way, you would have a home that you would be able to get insurance for and afford!

I submitted a form which would have been standardized and no one wanted that. I hope everyone is happy!
For me it won’t matter as I have my reports set up that anything can be changed. If I have to use the Citizens version, so be it.

Since everyone knows much more about this than I do, I’ll just sit poolside for the rest of the day after a nice round of golf this morning.
Everyone else enjoy your day. I suspect, in the coming months, some of you will be working harder for less.

John, the idea of providing this “other” information is not bad… I feel like that would be just providing good old customer service. Unfortunately, for me at least, I seldom or never have the insurer’s information when I do a 4point or wind mit for a client. I never get those requests for information until months after I have turned over the report to the client. Then I get a memo saying, “You failed to provide…” or “You didn’t include the following…” In the meantime, my client is told they are being cancelled or their premiums are going up.
These requests for extra info - whether photos or other info - apparently come from a faceless, anonymous underwriter. They won’t reach out to an inspector, and we can’t contact them - we go through the agent.
Regardless of the info needed, whether it’s a specific photo or whether a pool or dog is present, everyone would be better served if these requirements were standard, and if not, at least standardized for each insurer. I’d have no problem supplying whatever information I was capable of observing - just let me know what to expect!

I guess not respectfully to me huh. :roll:

You are an idiot that knows nothing about me or my practices.

Fools like Steve Taylor are the reason these things are accepted.

No offense intended but you have forgotten who your client is.

Your good service screws them.

If the insurers paid for the inspections I would agree with you.

I guess Licensed Home Inspectors better decide where they stand before we have these other markets taken over by a new group, just like wind mitigation was.

Each group had a different objective from the start. HI’s normally commenced the business by trying to help the HO save money and thereby sell their service. WCE’s want to save the carrier by eliminating HO credits. It is a natural and expected function by each group. What is interesting is now, HI’s are not going the extra mile and are, in fact, acting as though they are WCE’s and will quickly document “no access”, etc. as they do not want to get re-inspected. Only difference, is the WCE is getting $85 to discount the credit and the stupid HI is getting $40.

Eventually, the agent will get fed up (HO’s already are) and will only refer to the WCE (which is what they want) and the Carrier wins. That is why they have allowed poor, cash starved, newbie HI’s to do this work. they know most are poorly trained and desperate and think doing ten WM’s a day for $400 is making them rich when in fact, it is putting them and all HI’s out of business. I can’t wait for the attorneys to finally get going and start suing both groups.

As an aside, I am sick of State Farm selling HO policies which are actually Citizens policies. I just informed the 3rd customer in less than 2 weeks, “by the way, you understand you do not have SF insurance coverage, don’t you?..uh, no, I thought I had SF, my agent is SF”

I am not complaining or failing to support the brotherhood, InterNachi, FLHII, God or anybody’s Mama. I’m just sayin’.

How was I disrespectful to you? For the record, I admire your willingness to fight for what you believe in - even though you are usually on the wrong side of most issues. :stuck_out_tongue: I wish more professional home inspectors would fight as hard as you do for what they believe in- rather than sitting back and being led like sheep to the slaughter.

One question— how am my the reason these “things” are accepted?

The Meekers of the trade.

The things comment on my part was just tit for tat.

I felt attacked and therefore attacked.

Nothing personal. It seems as if we can agree to disagree on most matters because at least we believe most are sheep.

One thing for sure I will not likely bash you or anyone else that does not bash me first. We all know I sure will battle when challenged.

It seems as though I may have been a little to sensitive :wink: I have been on vacation for a while.

Knowing what insurance companies need, requires being in contact with the agent and working together. When you do enough insurance inspections and have a working relationship with the agents you learn what they need, then your clients are better served and everyone have less headaches.

Taking one wind mit coarse once, will not make you a good inspector. Monitor the message board, ask questions and attend the meetings. We constantly adjust how we do insurance inspections to meet the needs of the changing market. We also try to stay ahead of the curve.

For the record…I have never performed an insurance inspection for the homeowner, even though they are paying for it!!!
I try to make it clear to the homeowner:
THIS INSPECTION IS BEING PERFORMED FOR YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY AT YOUR REQUEST. IT IS INTENDED FOR INSURANCE UNDERWRITING PURPOSES ONLY.
Inspectors are performing a service for insurance companies at the request of the homeowner.
Inspect and report, offer the homeowner advice if you can.

If the insurance company was not requesting this info, the homeowner would have absolutely no use for the inspection!

This looks to me that, at least in the state of Florida, that things in the LONG term may be shifting to insurance inspections… in Florida there is a another industry that is very similar…Marine Surveying…that is inspections done on boats so that the new boat owner can get insurance on the boat. It is for the insurance company but is paid for usually for the new boat owner. It is a very detailed report and would be very similar to a home inspection report in details and photos. Usually no conflict of interest since there is no agent in the mix and the reports are usually in the price range of $400+ and more depending upon the size of the boat/yacht.

The biggest problem is that these insurance reports for a home should not be in the $50-$100…they need to be comparable to the Marine Survey report… and yes the insurance companies will make you fix something BEFORE it goes on the water and sinks…not after.:wink:

If it works for a big floating home then I would think the same should work for a home on land.

Jeff, the last I checked on marine surveyor rates in Stuart, FL, they were charging about $10/lf.

So, a 50’ convertible sportfishing boat in Port Salerno might bring a $500 fee. That’s terrible considering the boat is loaded with expensive gear of all types and could easily be worth well over 7 figs!

A good friend of mine called me to “look” at his 55 Hatteras he ended up buying. I told him in 15 minutes that he would easily spend 150K fixing this mess. He bought it and spent 150K. The survey didn’t find half the things I did.

I’ve decided I hate the new Citizens form. We have gone back to a modified NACHI form.

That didn’t take long! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

No offense taken, but how does this “screw them”? My client is the homeowner/buyer. It may trickle down from the insurer or whomever, but the buyer pays eventually. Until the insurance company pays for the inspection, the buyer is my client and I turn over the work product to them.

The other info sometimes screws the homeowner and costs them money. The more info in a 4 point the worse it CAN be for the client.

Like every industry there are the good and bad ones.

I agree Eric. I received a call today from my local State Farm Agent. We do a lot of work for this office. The State Farm Gal asked if i was aware of the new 4point Inspection and asked what I was charging. I informed her that i was undecided and I’m still researching the form. She then tells me that
another Home Inspector stopped by with brochures informing them that he is doing the inspections for $65.00. Well i just about vomited in my mouth! $65.00??? How is that possible! I feel the Inspection should cost nearly four times that.

jim

Not a chance in hell of me doing one for that. Sad thing is now every company out their is going to make up their own crap report. So much for sending the same report to different insurance companies.

I’ll do them for $65. Of course, to actually GET the report, add $100 to that! - Shipping and Handling…