Preventing your insurance from dropping you for filing claims close together

CHARLOTTE — Action 9 has more advice so your insurance doesn’t drop you for filing multiple claims close together.

Recently, Jason Stoogenke shared that many homeowners found this out the hard way. Diane Vaglio said she filed two claims in one year and that her insurer didn’t want to renew her at the end of her term because of that.

Stoogenke gave consumers suggestions to avoid this and now, he’s sharing another.

If something damages your home, still call your insurance company. But don’t file a claim just yet. Ask for the names of restoration companies it recommends and see whether those businesses think you should pay out of pocket instead.

PREVIOUS: ‘People don’t know this’: Homeowner says insurance dropped her for filing two claims in same year

Layton Kirby is with RestorePro Reconstruction.

“We’ll give a second opinion on whether, what we see, if it makes sense to file a claim or to not file a claim, which helps the homeowner and the insurance agency as a whole,” he said.

The rest of Stoogenke’s advice is below:

Advice from Action 9:

If you already filed one home insurance claim this year, think carefully about whether to file a second. If you can afford to pay it on your own, you may prefer that.
Ask your agent if filing that second claim may cost you your renewal later. Even though agents don’t have to offer that information, they should be honest if you ask.

If your insurance company does drop you:

In North Carolina, it has to let you know in writing 30 days before your policy is up. In South Carolina, it’s 60 days. So, you should have time to shop around.
If you use different companies for home and auto, definitely see if the one with your auto policy will add your home policy. They like to bundle.

You can request your own C.L.U.E. report through LexisNexis Risk Solutions online here or by calling 1-888-497-0011.

All consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months. To submit a request, provide your first name, last name, street address, city, zip code, and date of birth. Depending on the type of request, you may also be required to provide either your social security number or your driver’s license number and state. “The information that you provide will only be used by LexisNexis Risk Solutions to verify your identity and to process your request,” the company told Action 9.

This can happen with your auto insurance as well, but it’s much less likely because insurers use different formulas for assessing the risk on those claims. Insurers report both home and auto claims to C.L.U.E., but the database tracks them separately. In other words, if you have an auto claim and a home claim close together, that doesn’t flag you as high risk.

(WATCH BELOW: Some Mecklenburg County retirees will soon be paying triple for insurance)