House insurance question

[sweet2ndchance]

Who takes pictures of the house and the roof for insurance purposes when you get a new homeowners insurance policy, you or the insurance people?

I'm thinking that's the insurance people's job because I certainly don't have the tools or ability to take a picture of a roof... but I've been volun-told to take pictures of all the sides of the house and the roof and send them in to the insurance people. After I was told that the insurance people would be out last week to take pictures of the house. Does this seem un-kosher to anyone else? Or is it really my job to send them pictures and not the other way around? Seems sketchy to me like they could say because the quality of my pictures weren't up to their standards that they don't have to pay a claim in the future.... Never dealt with homeowner's insurance before so... what is the normal protocol here?

[Laura Corin]

9 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Who takes pictures of the house and the roof for insurance purposes when you get a new homeowners insurance policy, you or the insurance people?

I'm thinking that's the insurance people's job because I certainly don't have the tools or ability to take a picture of a roof... but I've been volun-told to take pictures of all the sides of the house and the roof and send them in to the insurance people. After I was told that the insurance people would be out last week to take pictures of the house. Does this seem un-kosher to anyone else? Or is it really my job to send them pictures and not the other way around? Seems sketchy to me like they could say because the quality of my pictures weren't up to their standards that they don't have to pay a claim in the future.... Never dealt with homeowner's insurance before so... what is the normal protocol here?

Interesting.  In the UK there are no photos.  You just state that the house is in good repair.

[alisoncooks]

I would think that's their job. Just tell them you're not able to do so, and could they please send out an agent to do it. 

That said, we've once been asked to send in a photo as proof that we'd had a job competed, but that's different. We had to submit roof pics (just iPhone photos taken from our yard). 

[1234]

I would assume it is their job. That said, I’ve not had any discussion of photos for either homes we’ve owned. Maybe the insurance company did it on their own without ever bringing it up though. 

[Carol in Cal.]

The level of inspection before insuring something varies.

The last time we needed brand new insurance, the company had a questionnaire of questions that the agent asked me.  Then they did a personal inspection, because the home was in an area that was considered prone to wild fires.  

[sweet2ndchance]

We live on a hill so just trying to take pictures from the yard won't capture the roof. You need a ladder or a drone.

It just seems odd to me that last week they were sending someone out to take pictures and this week it is suddenly my job. Oh and I don't even own the house or the insurance policy. Technically I'm a renter but the landlord is family and I'm being asked by the landlord/family member to take these pictures and send them to the agent because she is not good with technology. She just wants me to take them on my phone and text them the pictures.... Seems to me an agent who wants pictures is going to want a better picture than my phone would take, ya know? Or they are being shady and want crappy pictures to avoid having to pay out if a claim is ever made. Or maybe I'm just cynical. I dunno. I'm just not at all comfortable with this situation and was wondering if this was normal or not.

[fairfarmhand]

Sounds like the agent didn't do their job and doesn't want to make another visit. 

[Carol in Cal.]

I’m surprised that the insurance company would accept pictures from you if they are expecting them from the agent.

The only time any insurance company of mine has wanted pictures from me is if there is damage for a claim.  Then you are supposed to photograph it and immediately start fixing it, I understand, particularly if there is an opportunity for more damage or injury.  So in that case the photos are a stake in the ground that lets you move on to working on the problem without waiting for an adjuster to visit.  And I believe you still have the option of insisting on the adjuster visit if the photos are hard to get—I recall someone doing that when an elderly parent was told to take pictures under his car of the damage when a catalytic converter was stolen—he said, look, I CANNOT do that, you are going to have to do it yourself.  And then the insurance company did so.

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, sweet2ndchance said:

We live on a hill so just trying to take pictures from the yard won't capture the roof. You need a ladder or a drone.

It just seems odd to me that last week they were sending someone out to take pictures and this week it is suddenly my job. Oh and I don't even own the house or the insurance policy. Technically I'm a renter but the landlord is family and I'm being asked by the landlord/family member to take these pictures and send them to the agent because she is not good with technology. She just wants me to take them on my phone and text them the pictures.... Seems to me an agent who wants pictures is going to want a better picture than my phone would take, ya know? Or they are being shady and want crappy pictures to avoid having to pay out if a claim is ever made. Or maybe I'm just cynical. I dunno. I'm just not at all comfortable with this situation and was wondering if this was normal or not.

So, it's actually the *owner* who is asking you to take pictures - not the insurance company.   Did the insurance company actually ask her to take pictures?  I don't recall ever being asked to take pictures of our roof - and we're on our third roof.

If an insurance company wants to know the condition of a roof - pictures won't give that information.  (even if there was a good view of the roof.)   It would require a roofing inspection.

 

eta: is there an issue with the roof?  was it recently a DIY replacement?

Edited February 1, 2021 by gardenmom5

[Bootsie]

I have never had an insurance company ask  me to take pictures of my house.  It has been years since we have changed insurance companies; we would have had a recent inspection done when buying a house and getting a new policy.  I don't see any reason why an insurance company could not be able to ask a homeowner to provide pictures as a criterion for issuing a policy.  I would think that would be more to show that it was a two story house, did have a wood shingle roof, etc. and not necessarily to detail the condition of those items.  That would not necessarily be to prove quality or condition. 

[sweet2ndchance]

2 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

So, it's actually the *owner* who is asking you to take pictures - not the insurance company.   Did the insurance company actually ask her to take pictures?  I don't recall ever being asked to take pictures of our roof - and we're on our third roof.

If an insurance company wants to know the condition of a roof - pictures won't give that information.  (even if there was a good view of the roof.)   It would require a roofing inspection.

 

eta: is there an issue with the roof?  was it recently a DIY replacement?

Yes, it is the (elderly) owner asking me supposedly on the behalf of the agent. I have no idea if the company asked her or if she just told them that she would have her grand daughter do it to save them the trouble. Both are entirely possible. I'm supposed to take pictures of both houses, hers and mine, as she took out new policies on both. Our house is 10 years old and no problems with the roof. Hers was owner built back in the 60s and the roof is original. Let's just say I would have serious issues with insuring it if I were the agent. It doesn't leak that we are aware of but... Anyways I think I'm going to ask her for more info. I don't want to be the reason a claim is denied in the future if one needs to be made.

[gardenmom5]

5 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Yes, it is the (elderly) owner asking me supposedly on the behalf of the agent. I have no idea if the company asked her or if she just told them that she would have her grand daughter do it to save them the trouble. Both are entirely possible. I'm supposed to take pictures of both houses, hers and mine, as she took out new policies on both. Our house is 10 years old and no problems with the roof. Hers was owner built back in the 60s and the roof is original. Let's just say I would have serious issues with insuring it if I were the agent. It doesn't leak that we are aware of but... Anyways I think I'm going to ask her for more info. I don't want to be the reason a claim is denied in the future if one needs to be made.

I'd let her know the agent needs to be the one to take the pictures for liability.  you don't want them using "unsatisfactory" pictures as an excuse to void the policy if a claim is filed.  
 

If the roof is 50 years old . . . . . . unless it's slate, it needs a new roof.  If she's that elderly, she may not be aware - leaks can happen where you don't see them. (our 19 year old -supposedly - 40 year roof was leaking and even some of the sheeting underneath had to be replaced because it had started to rot!  We only found out it was as bad as it was because someone climbed up on it and inspected it.  Consider that our original 15 year shingle roof (dh installed it) was still going strong at 18 years and the sheeting only needed an afternoon to bake  in the sun before the new roof was put on it.

People have also just slapped new layers of shingles over old layers, and there is a limit how many layers a bank/insurance co will tolerate (as well as the structural load.).  I have a friend who bought a house with a "newer" roof . . . well, it was at least the fifth layer of roofing!  the bank demanded it all be stripped off and a proper new roof be installed before they'd close.

[sweet2ndchance]

2 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I'd let her know the agent needs to be the one to take the pictures for liability.  you don't want them using "unsatisfactory" pictures as an excuse to void the policy if a claim is filed.  
 

If the roof is 50 years old . . . . . . unless it's slate, it needs a new roof.  If she's that elderly, she may not be aware - leaks can happen where you don't see them. (our 19 year old -supposedly - 40 year roof was leaking and even some of the sheeting underneath had to be replaced because it had started to rot!  We only found out it was as bad as it was because someone climbed up on it and inspected it.  Consider that our original 15 year shingle roof (dh installed it) was still going strong at 18 years and the sheeting only needed an afternoon to bake  in the sun before the new roof was put on it.

People have also just slapped new layers of shingles over old layers, and there is a limit how many layers a bank/insurance co will tolerate (as well as the structural load.).  I have a friend who bought a house with a "newer" roof . . . well, it was at least the fifth layer of roofing!  the bank demanded it all be stripped off and a proper new roof be installed before they'd close.

Small town and knowing the agents personally from the time they were in diapers I think has kept her from having to replace the roof. It's metal with I don't know how many layers of elastomeric paint on it. Sigh. Yes, she needs a new roof but I could convince the wind to stop blowing before I could convince her of it. :-/

[gardenmom5]

11 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Small town and knowing the agents personally from the time they were in diapers I think has kept her from having to replace the roof. It's metal with I don't know how many layers of elastomeric paint on it. Sigh. Yes, she needs a new roof but I could convince the wind to stop blowing before I could convince her of it. 😕

Metal does better, and depending upon how often the elastomeric paint (my flat garage roof has elastomeric coating)  gets a new coat, can affect longevity.
Don't argue with her - just let her know the insurance company has to take pictures themselves if they want them.  You can't do it.

[Melissa in Australia]

5 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Interesting.  In the UK there are no photos.  You just state that the house is in good repair.

Same here in Australia 

[Anne]

I've never had to provide pictures to insure our house.

Anne

 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Same here in Australia 

we've never had to provide a picture of the roof for our home owners insurance either.

 

 

OP - are you sure the insurance company wants a picture of the roof?

[sweet2ndchance]

11 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

we've never had to provide a picture of the roof for our home owners insurance either.

 

 

OP - are you sure the insurance company wants a picture of the roof?

I just talked to grandma and she said the insurance company wants pictures and she wanted me to take them because the agent can't get out here this week. :-\ So she had told them I would take the pictures for them and they said here is a number to text the pictures to. I'm not taking them. I told her that sounds shady and I didn't want to be the reason they denied a claim in the future. She sounded exasperated but said ok we will just wait for him to get out here.

[Bootsie]

9 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said:

I just talked to grandma and she said the insurance company wants pictures and she wanted me to take them because the agent can't get out here this week. 😕 So she had told them I would take the pictures for them and they said here is a number to text the pictures to. I'm not taking them. I told her that sounds shady and I didn't want to be the reason they denied a claim in the future. She sounded exasperated but said ok we will just wait for him to get out here.

I would not think that the quality of pictures that you take (if they accept the pictures and provide the insurance) would be reasons for denying a claim.  

[skimomma]

That's really odd.  We recently replaced our roof.  Prior to that, we were threatened by our insurance company that they would not renew our insurance because of the condition of the roof.  It was indeed rough and decades past needing a replacement but it wasn't leaking.  I spoke with our agent and he said that it was likely no other company would insure us until the roof was replaced.  (For the record, we had been trying to get the roof replaced for years but there is a serious shortage of contractors in our area and we could not even get anyone to quote the job, let alone do it.)  In the end, we did finally get it replaced (after being on a waiting list for THREE years) and all is well with the world.  But, this is why it surprises me that the insurance company is not doing their own photos and inspection.  The only indication that our roof was a "problem" was the spaces between the shrunken shingles.  I could have easily made that "flaw" disappear had I been the one taking the photos.

[Scarlett]

I honestly don't think it is that shady at all.  I think it is a little lazy on the agent's part or possibly grandma is just trying to solve problems for the agent.  Is this for new insurance?