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CHICAGO (WLS) — Recent statistics reveal that the rate of non-renewals for insurance policies, not related to non-payment, has surged in our region, surpassing the national average. This trend of increasing non-renewals is also being observed across the country.
Additionally, the frequency of claim denials is on the rise. Industry insiders attribute these trends to an uptick in severe weather events and an increase in claims being filed.
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In the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, homeowner Vivien Jones, who has depended on insurance from The Hartford for many years, is feeling the impact firsthand.
Jones recently received a cancellation notice from her insurer. The Hartford’s letter explained, “You do not qualify for coverage with our program due to the existing unrepaired damage hazard on your property. A recent claim inspection of the property indicates the roof needs to be replaced.”
“I contacted them to discuss the issues I was experiencing, which is why I filed a claim in the first place,” Jones explained.
Jones says she was never given enough money to replace the roof after filing three different weather-related claims with the insurance company since 2017. In the three claims she received a total of $3,200. Each time, she says she used payouts to make repairs to the roof.
“That I needed that roof really bad the first time,” Jones said.
The Hartford told the ABC7 I-Team, “Customer service is a top priority… Generally speaking, when a roof is not properly maintained and results in multiple insurance claim payments, we require a homeowner address the underlying issue by replacing their roof and sealing openings where rain can leak into the home. If the repairs are not made, and the home remains at continued risk of water damage as a result, we make the difficult decision to no longer offer insurance coverage for the home.”
Julie Gillette and her husband Sean of Mundelein say after several weather-related claims, they were dropped from state farm after being with the company for decade.
They received a letter, saying “thank you for allowing state farm to provide your insurance under this policy. We are sorry we cannot continue this insurance.”
“Due to the multiple claims in the past five years, that we were high-risk customers,” Gillette said.
The couple says after months of appealing state farm’s decision, the company let them come back, but at a much higher premium.
“You feel helpless,” Gillette said.
In a statement to the I-Team, State Farm said it is always looking for ways to provide customers with the coverage they want and need at a competitive price, adding that “those efforts must be balanced with the responsibility we have to all our customers to make good decisions in choosing which properties we insure at a rate that is appropriate for their risk.”
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Garfield Park neighborhood residents Ricky Johnson and Latonya Nelson were denied a claim by Allstate after a 2023 a storm caused their attached porch to collapse.
“They would be sending out a structural engineer to make sure that the foundation was solid,” Nelson said.
Allstate told the I-Team it was reviewing the claim. Then, in an email, Allstate said they denied the claim based off this engineering report. The report acknowledged high winds of 70 miles per hour and bad weather- but also said the porch must have been in a weakened state. The homeowners say they always maintained the porch. The homeowners had to pay more than $50,000 to fix the property.
“Nationally, the state of home insurance is in a little bit of a crisis,” said Chase Gardner, a data insights manager from Insurify.
Gardner blames inflation and more severe weather.
“They’re either increasing people’s premiums dramatically, or they’re even dropping coverage for people that they deem as risky or too risky,” Gardner said.
Data obtained by the ABC7 I-Team shows that in Cook County and other surrounding counties, non-renewals are higher than the national average. And non-renewals and cancellations are much higher in Lake County, Indiana than in area Illinois counties.
“Customers shouldn’t have to go through this,” Gillette said.
Insurify says the average Illinois pays about $3,400 dollars for insurance annually, slightly below the national average.
If your premiums are up, you should shop regularly, every one to two years. Bundling home and auto can save you money. Review coverage you may not need.
You can also save by bumping up your deductible, but make sure you have money set aside for emergencies.
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