Five Reasons Your Home May Fail A Home Insurance Inspection

3 March 2017
 Categories: Insurance, Blog

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You've found the perfect homeowner's insurance and even paid for the first month. Now what? It may surprise you to know that your insurance policy could still be cancelled. After the initiation of a new policy, most insurance companies will conduct an inspection. If your property fails that inspection, your request for a new insurance policy could be denied. Here are a few things that could cause you to fail your home insurance inspection.

1. Undisclosed Structures

Your insurance agent will ask you general questions about your property. But there may be things that they didn't think to ask about, such as a fireplace, or an above-ground pool. These are things that are going to become immediately apparent to an insurance inspector.

2. "Banned" Dog Breeds

There are a few dog breeds that are considered to be overly aggressive and thus difficult to insure. This can include American Pit Bull Terriers, German Shepherd Dogs, and Doberman Pinschers. If the adjuster notices that you have one of these dogs, your insurance policy could be denied.

3. Visible Damage

Hail damage on the roof, foundation problems, or other structural issues will send an alert to the insurance company that your home is in need of repair. They may decline to insure you until these repairs have been completed.

4. Attractive Nuisances

An attractive nuisance is anything that can be seen from your property and might draw individuals in. For example, a playground set that is not fenced off. These "attractive nuisances" are so-named because they tend to attract children who can be injured on the property. An insurance company may request that you hide these features before they insure you.

5. Damaged Trees

Finally, tree and tree limb damage are some of the most common types of homeowner's insurance claim. If you have dead trees on your property or if your trees look like they have not been well-kept, your insurance company may require you to tend to them before they will insure you. This is especially true if these trees could potentially fall on neighboring houses as well as your own. 

What happens if you fail a home insurance inspection? For the most part, you'll be asked to fix any minor issues. If the issues are more severe, you may be denied a policy altogether. Either way, it's important that the issues in question be fixed -- otherwise it's likely all companies will deny your policy request.