What are you doing when homeowners insurance companies want a mini inspection or letter stating a home is in good working order or condition? I’ve been getting this request more frequently lately. Do you charge for this? if so how much? Seems they should have their own inspectors if they want this information.
Alan Johnson AHBI
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I perform a full home inspection and let them determine how they want to label it.
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Seeing as you operate NW of the Twin Cities, I can only assume your are referring to a TISH Evaluation. These are typically only Required in the Metro area, but it would not surprise me if Insurance Companies are stretching to collect info on homes prior to insuring them!
I guess i wasn’t clear. These are homes I’ve already inspected for a buyer. they then go to get insurance and the insurance company want me to write a letter stating that the main systems are in good working order/ condition. It must have my letter head and it must be signed, so it’s more than just sending a email. generally more than a month later so I need to review my report and make sure I don’t perjur myself.
First, check with your insurance company. If insurance company A is sued, it may sue your company B. I am not sure I would volunteer for this liability without an additional fee and written support from my insurer.
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If they won’t accept the report from the original inspection, “more than a month later” would require a new trip to the property in my opinion. Even with a new trip, the “working order” you are reporting is only for the moment you were there!
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Personally I would refuse. A few lenders in my area used to ask for similar, especially one specific company. And they thought it was ridiculous for me to want to charge them anything. Another inspector reminded me that these letters stay on record indefinitely, with my letterhead. No thank you.
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Sure, just produce a letter that says:
“The home at (address) was inspected by X and is in the condition as stated in the report issued on X date. Please refer to the inspection report for details on the conditon of the property in question.”
You are under no obligation to produce a letter for an insurance company. Yes, it might be an issue for your client but I would not issue any letter to make a insurance company happy due to the liability you could be opening yourself up to. The report should speak for itself.
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I would tell them that if they want to hire me to perform an inspection for them IAW state law, I’d be more than happy to help, otherwise they can pound sand.
Just be sure to tell them with a smile on your face. 
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Service with a smile!
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I just got my first request like this and mine is exactly like Alan described. The client approached me, saying the insurance company wants a letterfrom me “certifying all Major Systems are in ‘Good condition.’” The insurance company even sent a sample letter they want me to ape, I presume. The letter they provided was from April 21 of this year, from a PTP inspector, with his name and license numbers proudly displayed on it. Maybe he checked with his corporate legal department, maybe he didn’t, but mine (my gut) tells me to not follow this text. Here’s the text of what they sent as an example. Maybe this should be in the “legal advice” section? This is a public forum.
“I inspected the property at ____ on ____. Ther roofing was inspected with no visible acgtive leaking. The plumbing system was also visually inspected with no active leaks. The Boiler system was tested and functioning as intended. The electrical system was inspected per Ohio standards of practice for a home inspection. Other than old wiring and standards at the time of the original build and regular maintenance items, there were no active electrical issues noted at the time that would be a fire hazard.”
This goes way beyond what I would be willing to assert and has too much indistinct language, in my opinion.
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Absolutely!
Personally, IF I were to comply with the request… I would add many choice words, such as limited to readily observable spaces, and including the long list of restrictive conditions, (e.g. hidden in walls, inaccessible attic areas, in-ground/sub-slab, finished ceilings, etc.), and they could ‘like it or not’!
Don’t forget a FEE to cover your time and legal fees for Attorney review!
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Here’s how I just answered my client (after calling him).
Hi _____ -
Thanks for taking my call. As we discussed, I can only witness to the extent of all the systems I saw and the way in which I was able to see them or test them. That is outlined in the report, which belongs to you and you can forward it if you choose. I cannot make an assertion of overall condition to an insurance company or anyone, for that matter, since that’s not what inspectors do. I’m not trying to make a hassle for you, so please let the insurance company know they are welcome to call me. I will not shoulder their liability.
Here’s what I would say to the insurance company:
I inspected the property at _____ on _____ on behalf of my clients ______. I provided a report which, as clearly as I was able, described what I was able to see and what I thought of those items. I have no authority or ability to assert conditions of whole systems, since I’m rarely able to see whole systems or exhaustively test whole systems. Please refer to the inspection report within its entire context and feel free to contact me with any questions or clarification needed.
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IMHO, this is a sloppy request by the insurance company (maybe not malicious!) and it would be sloppy of us to start “complying” with these out of some idea that everyone or some everyones are doing it.
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Here are a few facts to consider.
- Insurance companies earn money by collecting premiums and lose money by paying claims. Insurance companies have boards of directors who want to make money and who do not want to lose money.
- Home inspectors are insured for the products they produce for their clients who are contracted with them to establish the scope of every inspection.
- Home inspectors are paid for the products they produce for their clients who are contracted with them to establish the scope of every inspection.
- Home inspectors have no control over how the insurance company will use the information they might provide to an insurance company which could, in certain cases, result in financial loss to their paid clients.
- Home inspectors have no control over how the insured homeowner or his attorney might interpret information provided to an insurance company that was not also provided to the inspector’s homebuying client in the exact same words.
Be very careful.
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Curious… Which insurance company is this? If I had to guess I would say USAA?
In my instance, Traveler’s.
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Yes, those and the fact that they are insuring every joist in the homes, not just the 8 I could see from the utility room.
Also, the fact that people aren’t required to get home inspections, so how can insurance companies make it a requirement to get a statement from a home inspector? (They can’t - it’s a rhetorical q).
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My most recent was also Travelers
American Family Insurance owns software inspectors use to write home inspection reports. They are already getting information about every home that is being inspected by inspectors using that software. I suppose their competitors are looking for access to the same information.
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