Contacted my agent this morning about the email. She verified the company and app was one the insurance co. was using to gather info. She also suggested using the app because it gives you then don't have an inspector coming to your home.

Took about 15 minutes to take the pictures required. There were interior and exterior pictures required.

Interesting company that may benefit contractors and homeowners looking to remodel their homes.

I got a notice in the mail from my homeowners insurance company saying that I needed to get a new roof or my policy would be canceled. This was quite a while back now, before drones were really a thing. In any case a tree overhung the entire house and garage, so a drone wouldn't have been able to see anything. So I figure the guy must have done a drive-by. But if the notice came from a 3rd party, yeah my first assumption would be a scam attempt.

We are shopping carriers to replace the current one.

Several questions are asked, and before they write an inspection is required, a few of the questions are:

• Age of the water heater, 15 years is a no go
  
• what electrical panel is in the home (Challenger is no)
  
• Age of the AC Unit
  
• Type of Plumbing
  
• Age of Roof
  

The others make sense (plumbing/electrical/roof/water heater/etc.), since an age-related failure could easily lead to an insurance claim for water damage, electrical fire, sewage backup, or similar.

But I wonder why AC unit age would be a factor for insurance?

If your aging AC craps out in the middle of summer, that's not covered by insurance, nor is it likely to lead to damage that would be covered.

Saw this today, those are clearly solar panels!

These insurers are just looking for any excuse to drop people in certain states now:

A California couple was dropped from their home insurance plan last month because of a satellite photo of 'moss' on their roof - but the owners said it was just solar panels.

A problem that I have heard several times is that people will change their insurance to a new company and a couple of months later they get a letter stating that they need a new roof or a tree cut , etc. Failure to comply will result in the policy being dropped . If that happens , you're screwed . You'll have to scramble to find somebody that will write you a policy and they all know why you were dropped .

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
We are shopping carriers to replace the current one.

Several questions are asked, and before they write an inspection is required, a few of the questions are:

• Age of the water heater, 15 years is a no go
  
• what electrical panel is in the home (Challenger is no)
  
• Age of the AC Unit
  
• Type of Plumbing
  
• Age of Roof
  

Just sold our Florida place. That whole process was special largely due to Insurance.
I've never been so glad to have something done and in my past. And the bad news is that the whole Florida homeowners insurance situation is only going to get worse.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I’ve been hearing that insurance companies are starting to fly drones over their insured homes to look at roofs.

They have also been using satellite video/images for some time. Companies like EARTHNOW are providing the service.

Here is an article from 2018. You can only imagine how far they have come since then.
EarthNow will provide real-time video of ‘almost’ anywhere on the planet - Published Wed, Apr 25 201810:36 AM EDT

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/2...video-of-planet.html

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

But I wonder why AC unit age would be a factor for insurance?

If your aging AC craps out in the middle of summer, that's not covered by insurance, nor is it likely to lead to damage that would be covered.

If I had to guess, given that he is in Florida, it is because it could lead to an increase in the humidity inside the home which could lead to mold and other issues that would be covered.

This is not a new concept. More than twenty years ago, we received a letter from our homeowners carrier, relating that a view of the front of our home showed that the two sets of about five steps, one from our front porch onto the walkway and another from the walkway onto the sidewalk, had no hand rails -- creating a fall hazard. The renewal of our policy was contingent on putting up the handrails. At the time, I wasn't particularly happy to have to spend the money on what I perceived to be a "non-issue". We decided, that if we were being "forced" to make the "improvement", we should at least try to make it fun. We were fortunate enough to find a local artist whose specialty was ironwork -- railings, fences, gates, etc. We had him build a set for each side of the steps for both stairways. In essence, the railings (which are each a bit different) became sort of an art installation. Our neighbors thought they were very cool, as did my wife and I.

The irony of the story is that as the family got older (as did we), we found that those steps which never seemed to be difficult to use when everyone was younger, were with the handrails, way more manageable by older adults (which now includes us!). Absent being sent that missive by the insurer, I likely never would have added the handrails, and potentially could have seen someone fall as a consequence. I get that the insurer was looking to limit a loss exposure all those years ago, but the end result has been a major plus in safety and accessibility for our family.

I just got a new roof a few weeks ago after noticing some shingles curling up...after 21 yeasts.

Fortunately I got a great roofer through a associate who I met through the Academy. Call them up and in two days we meet at the house. No need for a estimate as he has all the dimensions and angles he needs through sat imagery. He even was able to name the brand of the original shingles.

Drones are used here for surveys as I' sure everywhere else. A friend in the business has said they are a huge leap forward.

quote:

Originally posted by rscalzo:
Drones are used here for surveys as I' sure everywhere else. A friend in the business has said they are a huge leap forward.

And they limit the need for adjusters and roofing estimators to climb all over your roof, saving you the extra wear/damage (if the roof doesn't end up getting replaced) and them the fall risk.