Iowa insurance regulator: Avoid filing too many property claims

Iowa property owners experienced a range of severe weather during summer 2022, which lead to an uptick in wind and hail damage.

But one of the state’s insurance regulators recently warned Iowa residents against filing too many homeowner’s claims in response to that damage in order to avoid having their policies cancelled or receiving a non-renewal notice.

“If they identify damage, if a storm comes through, they contact their insurance agent and talk through with them what their options are,” Iowa Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jared Kirby said in a recent interview with the Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-13. The story aimed to educate consumers about the scenarios in which an insurance carrier might opt to cancel or decline to renew a policy. “One would be filing a claim. That will give the insurance company the options to come out and look at the damage, assess the damage, because the consumer may not actually be able to identify all the various things that are damaged.”

Kirby also said that property-owners might consider seeking out damage assessments from a contractor without involving their insurance carrier. He encouraged Iowans who feel like their homeowners insurance is wrongfully cancelled, or a claim is wrongfully denied to turn to the Iowa Division of Insurance for assistance.

Cancelations and non-renewals

The Triple I reported that in 2020 that nearly all homeowners insurance claims (97.7%) were related to property damage, and just under half of those (45.5%) arose from hail or wind damage. The average property damage claim payout between 2016 and 2020 was $13,804.

According to the Washington state sustainable contractor Urban NW Homes, the most common reason that homeowners’ insurance claims are denied are:

• Insufficient coverage;
• Missed filing deadlines;
• Non-payment of premiums;
• Non-disclosure of fact;
• Insufficient documentation; and
• Property wear and tear.

Insurance companies can only cancel a policy that’s been active for more than two months if the premium was not paid or the policyholder committed fraud or misrepresented information on their insurance documents, Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA) says.

“Non-renewal is a different matter,” the RMIIA says. “Either you or your insurance company can decide not to renew the policy when it expires. Depending on the state you live in, your insurance company must give you a certain number of days notice and explain the reason for non-renewal before it drops your policy.”

See also:

• Florida homeowners win case alleging insurer wrongly denied claim
• NYC denied every property damage claim from deadly Hurricane Ida
• 7 common reasons travel insurance claims are denied