I would not sign that document. Instead, if you want to oblige them in some way, write up a short statement basically summarizing your findings with those systems.
If you did not have any findings for a system, simply state “no material deficiencies were observed at the time of inspection with this system, following our SoP.” Maybe add some quick verbiage stating the report takes precedence over this statement, referring back to the report, blah, blah, blah, etc.
I think sometimes the insurance wants some basic info, but agents are hesitant to send them the full report.
Might be onto something there… It would make sense that the buyer’s agent does not want to send the full report to the insurance company, as they might pull out and then the deal could fall through. However, it would also be a big surprise to me if any insurance company accepted something like this. The whole thing seems sketchy.
When I was buying the first house here in Florida, the insurance agent didn’t want the entire report and in fact, specifically asked me NOT to send her the report otherwise she’d be required to make sure everything in the report was repaired. She just wanted the safety issues(missing garage door sensor was one) and anything that would degrade the property, i.e. stuff that wasn’t weather tight.
What insurance company? Doesn’t one have to buy a house before they insure it? The real estate agent has no role in that process. Insurance companies require the prospective insured to complete the application, only, for it becomes part of the contract.
Apparently they’re starting to ask for more. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question but with no inspector certification requirement in MN and no standards (as others have mentioned) in regards to their verbiage it seems pretty arbitrary.
Who is asking, though? The insurance company that will insure the next house I buy has not been chosen yet. It certainly will not be chosen on the date of my home inspection, but at the time I decide to buy the house and start the closing process. If you are being asked by an insurance company for information about the home before the buyer owns the house and has insured it, what insurance company is it that is making the request? I don’t mean to be dumb, but this makes no sense to me.
If you were inspecting a house for me that I wanted to buy today … and my agent gave you this document to sign “for the insurance company” … whose insurance company is my agent referring to, since I have yet to buy a policy for the house?
Thanks. What is the real estate agent’s role in getting the home insurance policy for the buyer? In my state, all information pertaining to the home being insured must come from the buyer. When that information is later proven to be inaccurate or incorrect, the insurance company can deny coverage and/or initiate a fraud investigation against the insured property owner. Information accepted by the carrier from any other source would be a defense against such actions.
In a case where I (rather than a real estate agent) presented a statement like the one proposed by the author of the first post in this thread to my insurance company when I bought the policy, and the information was interpreted by the insurance carrier to be used against me in a future insurance claim, I would probably come after the home inspector to recover for whatever the insurance carrier refused to pay. I don’t think this is something a home inspector would knowingly want to be involved with.
Thats sort of my point. Here in Minnesota there are no approved forms or standards for gathering this data. It’s arbitrary and there is no authority to gather this data. A home inspector in Minnesota isn’t the authority in this situation, unless for example, the insurance provider accepts InterNachi certification as the required prerequisite.
Unfortunately, after consulting with my attorney, insurance provider, and the certifying board I follow, which adheres to the InterNACHI Standards of Practice, I am unable to provide certifications for major components of a home. My role as a home inspector is to identify defects within specific systems during the inspection. While I can confirm the operational status of these systems during the inspection, I cannot certify them, as I do not determine the life expectancy of the property or its components.
I apologize for not being able to offer more assistance, but providing certifications for systems and components would go beyond my Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics and would expose me to undue liability, as my insurance coverage does not extend to such certifications.