Hi - Ive had water damage in 4 separate units (condos) over the past 3 years....now my insurance company has dumped me and I cant find anyone else to take me on.
The company that takes care of my primary residence told me "insurer providers guidelines state they are not able to take new business with water damage claims in the past 5 years"
I dont want to take risk of being liable for $'000s damage.....is my only option left to sell??
Any help would be much appreciated.....pretty stressful time!!
You are definitely in a tough spot. But frankly 4 claims in 3 years tells the insurance company something about either you as a landlord or the general condition of your properties.
It‘s not any different then car insurance.
Last year, thousands of car owners in Alberta were left without the possibility of buying comprehensive insurance, based on their driving habits and claim history. And from what I have heard, 2 accidents and a traffic violation in the recent past could already get you in real trouble. So imagine driving an expensive car, and only the basic insurance and third party liability is available to you, getting into an accident at fault where your new car is a complete write off, it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
So, going back to your props, im very certain you are thrown out based on your claim history.
insurance companies are all about eliminating risk and it seems you are one.
From personal experience, back in 2011 I had a serious water damage, followed up by another smaller one in 2012. I claimed both and premiums went up significantly the years after, (nearly doubled) and when another similar incident occurred I decided not to claim it.
Furthermore, I improved a lot of things from installing back up valves in drains in each unit, having the sewer lines cleaned and cleared each spring, to drip pans under water heaters, making sure water drains away proper from building and in certain cases installing metal roofs when roof needed replacement.
Haven‘t had any water damage claims since and having changed insurance companies afterwards, I was back to pretty much the old insurance premiums from the 2010 level. (Except for the huge insurance premiums increases of 25% plus we all had to endure last year)
So, if I may say, if you are able to purchase insurance, you will find your premiums are high, your coverage will be minimal and your deductibles will be high.
But if you stick with it, make improvements, and you are able to stay claims free for a numbers of years you might be able to bring premiums down again.
In closing, I just like to point out that i‘m not super knowledgeable on insurance issues, I’m sure a broker can do a much better job explaining then I can, but wanted to share based on personal experiences and lots of talks with people that work in the industry.
Wishing you all the best.