OT - NO POLITICS Happy Holidays Edition

[Morris Wanchuk]

Having to switch home owners insurance to Mass Fair, and they are requiring a full inspection inside and out. Not the home we live in, one of our rentals.

We have nothing to hide here, and the house was completely renovated about 7 years ago all new wiring/plumbing/flooring/windows/etc

Still, seems like an excuse to get an adjuster into the home so they can f*** us onthe premium.

Anyone go through one of these?

Beems? Any advice? @BMC

I had one, poor bastard was from NJ and they assigned him 4 properties in VT, about 1-2 hours from each other. He raced through the house and made us correct a few shingles that were popping up on the garage.

Is Mass Fair the state pool? Are you close to the ocean? I have really liked Vermont Mutual insurance. They seem to be OK with wood stoves and the lack of fire hydrants. I tried to explain fire ponds to my old company, didnt go well.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I was chatting with a student who recently watched the Back to the Future trilogy for the first time. I had to explain to him what it was like being a kid when the 2nd film came out, and to see what the world in 2015 was projected to look like in 1989.

It’s amazing how they got right, and what they did not.

What’s incredible to me is the amount of on demand entertainment in the form of video and music streaming.

My parents owned a decent sized record collection and had some albums on cassette tape. Terrestrial radio played more or less the same songs on repeat. When I was in middle school, I began purchasing my own CDs, but owned very few.

Eventually, I bought an iPod and *acquired* about 2,500 songs. When I got the FM transmitter to enable playing the iPod through my car stereo, it was a complete game changer.

Today, virtually any song can be played immediately through streaming on youtube, Apple Music, Spotify, or satellite radio. The cost is minimal compared to the old days of buying albums and being limited to the tracks they contained.

This is a very big deal.

When I was in college in 2005, My Tunes was in its brief existence which allowed you to share songs with everyone on your network. Everyone was so generous and I was able to get alot of music.

 

[TD Charlie]

I had one, poor bastard was from NJ and they assigned him 4 properties in VT, about 1-2 hours from each other. He raced through the house and made us correct a few shingles that were popping up on the garage.

Is Mass Fair the state pool? Are you close to the ocean? I have really liked Vermont Mutual insurance. They seem to be OK with wood stoves and the lack of fire hydrants. I tried to explain fire ponds to my old company, didnt go well.

Yes close to the ocean. Although WAY up on a hill. Barring an apocalyptic event, the water isn’t getting up here.

All the big players won’t touch us due to proximity to the water unfortunately. This wasn’t an issue before, but now that it’s strictly a rental property we had to change insurance.

 

[BMC]

I had one, poor bastard was from NJ and they assigned him 4 properties in VT, about 1-2 hours from each other. He raced through the house and made us correct a few shingles that were popping up on the garage.

Is Mass Fair the state pool? Are you close to the ocean? I have really liked Vermont Mutual insurance. They seem to be OK with wood stoves and the lack of fire hydrants. I tried to explain fire ponds to my old company, didnt go well.

I'm not surprised you had trouble explaining fire ponds. Today's underwriters & risk control reps have zero clue about rural firefighting methods.

 

[BMC]

Yes close to the ocean. Although WAY up on a hill. Barring an apocalyptic event, the water isn’t getting up here.

All the big players won’t touch us due to proximity to the water unfortunately. This wasn’t an issue before, but now that it’s strictly a rental property we had to change insurance.

I'm willing to bet wind was an issue too.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I'm not surprised you had trouble explaining fire ponds. Today's underwriters & risk control reps have zero clue about rural firefighting methods.

Yea, mine is actually a pipe that goes into a lake which was even more mind blowing.

Have you run into issues with insurers not calling mini splits central heating? I took out my oil tank and called them to try and get a discount but they started pressing me about my heat source so I said a ductless mini split which they said did not qualify. Luckily I have electric baseboard from the 1980s that still work. But I know some new builds that are 100% mini splits that are good to -15F, I wonder how they are able to get insurance because technically they could reduce capacity when it is -25F,

 

[TD Charlie]

I'm willing to bet wind was an issue too.

Our agent only mentioned the water thing, but honestly wind is far more a threat here. Then some companies jacked the premiums sky high since we are absentee landlords now, and wouldn’t allow us to come in at an 80 percent replacement cost. The home is valued way more than it needs to be so I’m totally fine with 80 percent. God forbid it burns to the ground we won’t be the ones to rebuild it anyway.

 

[BMC]

Yea, mine is actually a pipe that goes into a lake which was even more mind blowing.

Have you run into issues with insurers not calling mini splits central heating? I took out my oil tank and called them to try and get a discount but they started pressing me about my heat source so I said a ductless mini split which they said did not qualify. Luckily I have electric baseboard from the 1980s that still work. But I know some new builds that are 100% mini splits that are good to -15F, I wonder how they are able to get insurance because technically they could reduce capacity when it is -25F,

The companies I represent insist on 100% central heating. They're ok with supplemental heating provided it was professionally installed & maintained for the most part although outdoor furnaces have been an issue. I'm not familiar with mini splits central heating but I'd bet it would be unacceptable.

 

[BMC]

Our agent only mentioned the water thing, but honestly wind is far more a threat here. Then some companies jacked the premiums sky high since we are absentee landlords now, and wouldn’t allow us to come in at an 80 percent replacement cost. The home is valued way more than it needs to be so I’m totally fine with 80 percent. God forbid it burns to the ground we won’t be the ones to rebuild it anyway.

Remember what I told you about owner vs non-owner occupied homes!

Replacement cost estimating right now is very high because of labor & material costs (thank you inflation!!). I've not seen it like this since the early to mid 1980s when I saw coverage amount increases of 10% or more on a regular basis.

 

[TD Charlie]

Remember what I told you about owner vs non-owner occupied homes!

Replacement cost estimating right now is very high because of labor & material costs (thank you inflation!!). I've not seen it like this since the early to mid 1980s when I saw coverage amount increases of 10% or more on a regular basis.

lol it’s insanity! The premium more than doubled

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

My homeowners went down $10 which shocked me but I guess Vermont mutual did not have to pay out much because the storms up here we all flooding which is not covered.

 

[BMC]

lol it’s insanity! The premium more than doubled

That doesn't surprise me one bit. Rental properties have more frequent & more severe claims than owner occupied homes.

Ask about higher deductibles, alarm system credits & package credits to save money. Or pass the costs along to your tenant

 

[TD Charlie]

That doesn't surprise me one bit. Rental properties have more frequent & more severe claims than owner occupied homes.

Ask about higher deductibles, alarm system credits & package credits to save money. Or pass the costs along to your tenant

We bumped the deductible slightly and have an alarm system. I wish it made more of a difference on the premium, but it did help a little

We factored in a big insurance increase when we crunched numbers even before we bought the new house, so it’s all good i guess. It’s a few hundred bucks higher than anticipated, but it’s fine. We are blessed to be in the situation we are in, and try to keep rents below market. I feel wrong bitching about insurance on a third property.

 

[GordonHowe]

UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting Live Updates: Police Release Photos of Suspect in Killing of Brian Thompson

Investigators also are looking into words, including “delay” and “deny,” that appear to have been inscribed on casings collected after Brian Thompson was shot outside a Midtown hotel.

www.nytimes.com

Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows C.E.O.’s Killing

The shooting death of a UnitedHealthcare executive in Manhattan has unleashed Americans’ frustrations with an industry that often denies coverage and reimbursement for medical claims.

www.nytimes.com

 

[smithformeragent]

As part of my interview, someone asked me "Where do you see yourself in five years."

I thought about it a moment, and then another.

"Hopefully with another kid or two at home, coaching little league baseball."

When I took the job, I said my priorities were God first, then family a close second, and career a distant third. I feel like I do a great job, but at the end of the day, my family takes priority. That can never change.

Whatever happens, I'm at peace. I know I'll be where God wants me to be.

 

[Bruinaura]

Tsunami warning issued for California and Oregon, big quake off the coast

 

[Bruinaura]

UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting Live Updates: Police Release Photos of Suspect in Killing of Brian Thompson

Investigators also are looking into words, including “delay” and “deny,” that appear to have been inscribed on casings collected after Brian Thompson was shot outside a Midtown hotel.

www.nytimes.com

Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows C.E.O.’s Killing

The shooting death of a UnitedHealthcare executive in Manhattan has unleashed Americans’ frustrations with an industry that often denies coverage and reimbursement for medical claims.

www.nytimes.com

I've been following that, it's like an episode of CSI. Creepy.

And as much as I am frustrated with insurance companies, I would never condone murdering someone over it.

I have many more thoughts but I don't want to take this thread off the rails.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

This talk of house underwriting is giving me flashbacks to when that was my job. I just could not get myself to care about wind deductibles, named storm deductibles, valuable items endorsements.

 

[BMC]

Tsunami warning issued for California and Oregon, big quake off the coast

6.0 on the Richter Scale per the Weather Channel.

 

[Ladyfan]

As part of my interview, someone asked me "Where do you see yourself in five years."

I thought about it a moment, and then another.

"Hopefully with another kid or two at home, coaching little league baseball."

When I took the job, I said my priorities were God first, then family a close second, and career a distant third. I feel like I do a great job, but at the end of the day, my family takes priority. That can never change.

Whatever happens, I'm at peace. I know I'll be where God wants me to be.

I left a message for my daughter. She lives in Napa.

 

[Alicat]

I've been following that, it's like an episode of CSI. Creepy.

And as much as I am frustrated with insurance companies, I would never condone murdering someone over it.

I have many more thoughts but I don't want to take this thread off the rails.

Anthem Blue Cross just backed off their bs anesthesia policy they announced yesterday in the wake of this.

I have thoughts as well and will leave it at that..

6.0 on the Richter Scale per the Weather Channel.

USGS says 7.0!

Latest Earthquakes

earthquake.usgs.gov

 

[Ladyfan]

I left a message for my daughter. She lives in Napa.

Update. All is well in Napa

 

[bruinsfan1968]

Tsunami warning lifted after earthquake off California raised fears of disaster

A powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of California sparked a brief tsunami warning on Thursday, with residents warned to flee to higher ground before the alert was withdrawn.

www.yahoo.com

 

[BMC]

I've been following that, it's like an episode of CSI. Creepy.

And as much as I am frustrated with insurance companies, I would never condone murdering someone over it.

I have many more thoughts but I don't want to take this thread off the rails.

If anyone thinks it is right to kill someone over a policy dispute (and I don't just mean insurance policy) then they need to look at their moral compass because it is broken and needs replacing. I'm appalled at some of the comments on social media.

I hope the police catch the killer and he spends the rest of his days in prison if the death penalty isn't available.

 

[NeelyDan]

edit: nevermind, political