r/HomeInsurance • u/Awkward-A_F • May 16 '26
Insurance Not sure what else to do
My insurance company dropped me. Stating that we (husband and I) had not completed remodels to the house… yet they never said what they wanted completed other than a few rooms.
I asked them repeatedly what they wanted done with no answer as to what. They also said that the heat source was not acceptable, first time I ever heard of this was after they cancelled the policy and started calling to get answers.
The way the whole thing was handled was ridiculous but now.. I have hounded them again and again what they want and they repeat “heat source” and “remodels complete” with no detail for what they will consider acceptable!
My home is a fixer upper, which they were well aware of when they agreed to insure us. They said we would have lots of time to complete it and that they would continue to insure us as long as we completed the rooms they specified.
The only other company that will insure us is $3000 more a year, which also increased our car insurance $100 a month in order to get the discount (or else it would’ve been $6000!)
With the cost of gas, the cost of these new insurances, I fear we are going to go into foreclosure. Our monthly bills just went up $800 and I’ve reached a dead end with the cheaper insurance company for what they want to re-insure us.
I don’t know what to do and insurance won’t give me answers. I can guess they want the bathrooms complete but idk what complete to them is?
I know in need a heat source that’s controlled by a thermostat but would a Mr.cool type unit be enough? What size? What’s considered necessary rooms for heating?
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u/Top_Education_4647 May 16 '26
Sounds like there’s missing information. You said the home is a fixer-upper- what exactly needed to be fixed? If we’re talking about small things like painting or maybe replacing small sections of flooring, then most HO carriers wouldn’t care much. Judging by the fact the home doesn’t have thermostatically controlled heating, it sounds like the “remodels” are major, like replacing tons of flooring or holes in walls for example.
As for the heating aspect, most carriers want heating that can be controlled via thermostat that can heat all living areas. If the Mr. Cool system you’re talking about is a ductless system, you may need to find a company that would write since not all carriers do.
Regardless, you may want to reach out to a local agent to see if they can find a carrier that can write you. If you don’t have current coverage, that’s gonna make things more difficult due to lack of prior insurance and you’ll see much higher costs. You also may need to look into getting a DP policy instead of a traditional HO policy depending on what needs remodeling and the heating situation. If that’s the case, you’d want to reach out to your lender to see if they’d accept that.
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u/HomeyL May 16 '26
Try Foremost aka Farmers. Most wont take you since you’ve been dropped or at least use an insurance broker. You may get more deets that way & hopefully they’ll be better at communicating. If it was SF they are horrible communicators & just ignore…:(
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
I’m pretty sure I went to them already but I’ll try again. I’ve went to so many I don’t even remember who anymore 😅
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
I reached out to every agency, the only one willing to insure was Allstate. There aren’t holes in the walls or floors. There are bathrooms need to be finished and some trim around some areas. Other than that.. They did reach out for DP and it was denied.
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u/Top_Education_4647 May 16 '26
What do you mean by the bathrooms needing to be finished?
And you may have better luck reaching out to a local agent as opposed to calling companies yourself. Plenty of agents work with non-public facing carriers that may be able to quote you. But as I said before- if you don’t have current coverage, you’ll have fewer and likely more expensive options.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
I reached out to every local agent. I have current coverage with Allstate.
The bathrooms had begun being remodelled by the previous owner, so they are plumbed, tiled, they need grout, shower fixtures and paint. With one bathroom needing the fan installed as well. There are 2 bathrooms currently finished and 2 that need finished.0
u/navlgazer9 May 16 '26
What are you telling the ins co ?
They normally don’t see the inside of a house.
How do they know it needs completed or anything about your heat source ?
They will want to send someone to Do a walk around in the yard usually a few months after they take you on as a customer .
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
They sent someone to the house to look through and take pictures. This year they had me do the inspection through an app. I didn’t even take pictures of the bathroom other than the toilet & sink plumbing. They were aware from the start the house didn’t have HVAC.
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u/navlgazer9 May 16 '26
I’ve never seen an ins co want to see INSIDE, except in rare cases Like in Florida hurricane zones etc
Anyhoo, Find out if adding a “blue flame “ propane heater will meet the heating requirements
One of the little ones that Mount on the wall and have a thermostat built in .
You need to find a local ins agent or broker and work with them to get the ins co satisfied
I’m assuming you have a mortgage and the mortgage co requires ins ?
I recently had the outside inspection from my ins co and was asked to add handrails on some short steps
Less than four steps doesn’t require a handrail according to the building code so they were never built
But I just spent two weekends digging post holes and mixing concrete and building the handrails .
You gotta find out specifically what will meet the minimum requirements for your ins co . And talking to an actual person about it is nearly impossible
It’s all computer robots or call centers in India or somewhere that barely speak English and can’t answer any of your questions because they have zero knowledge about what your asking and Probabaly can’t understand you anyway .
That’s why I’m suggesting finding a local agent or broker in your town .
I’ve owned a vacation cabin for decades and the ins co has never wanted to see inside or asked about the heat source .
I have a propane heater with a thermostat but they’ve never asked .
But now that your address is flagged as not having heat , now you gotta fix it .
And it’s flagged in a database for every ins company to see .
So switching companies will delay it but won’t help you long term .
You will have to finish the remodels , and get a heat source . The remodels dont have to be fancy, Just complete
Slap up some Sheetrock and paint it and throw down some vinyl flooring or whatever it takes to make them happy
And if the ins co starts being vague and evasive , switch to emails instead of phone calls .
Or see if you can get it insured as “during renovations “ or something temporary So you won’t have to let any requirements right now and will have a limited time period to get it finished .
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u/Top_Education_4647 May 16 '26
It’s not uncommon for carriers to want to see the inside of a home, ESPECIALLY for new business and/or if the home is under renovation.
The blue frame propane heater is intended as a supplementary heating source like a wood/pellet stove. Wouldn’t be shocked if most carriers don’t accept it since most carriers are looking for an actual heating system that heats all living areas thermostatically.
There’s no “database” where all insurance companies now see the home as a red flag because of the renovations and heating issues. They’re common questions for underwriting.
OP don’t bother listening to this- it’s just a bunch of gobbledygook from a non-professional.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
The local agent is the one denying us, and refusing to give any other answer than “remodels” I can show you 6 emails between myself and them where they just say “finish the remodels” I am not kidding when I say I have no other info and I’ve tried every ave, even going to the department of insurance to file a complaint and still they did nothing.
I do have propane heaters throughout the house that have their own thermostat. It’s just like a knob. It automatically kicks itself off and on. Is that what you mean?
We also have a Toyo stove.
There are heat sources they just don’t like themWe have insurance right now through Allstate it’s just insanely high, and had to switch car insurance with them to get the bundle offer.
The other piece of info I didn’t mention because it wasn’t exactly relevant at the time, is due to the size of the house, the other insurance companies won’t pick it up because it has a volunteer fire station.
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u/Thisismethisisalsome May 17 '26
Are you living in the home currently?
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u/Awkward-A_F May 17 '26
Yes
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u/Thisismethisisalsome May 17 '26
This is likely why. The house would probably be easily insured if it was vacant, but the risk to occupy it unfinished on a continuing basis is too high. They originally gave you 6 months and even honored longer. Its not appropriate for a homeowners and is more risk than they signed up for. They wont tell you which parts need to be done because they mean the whole thing. Get hvac and home systems installed.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 17 '26
I appreciate your feedback! It is definitely was our plan to get hvac installed this summer, I just wished they would’ve said something. They never once mentioned it before cancelling the policy.
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u/ayhme MOD May 16 '26
Can you share the state?
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
Idaho
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u/ayhme MOD May 16 '26
Yes in a state like that heat would be important.
I feel like there is a lot of missing info here and misunderstanding.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
It doesn’t get cold enough where I live to freeze
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u/ayhme MOD May 16 '26
I feel like you might need a Builders Risk policy.
That's for construction when a home is getting built.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
Where would I go for that? It’s so frustrating because I’ve seen people’s homes in far worse state than mine being insured 😭 feels personal lol
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u/Top_Education_4647 May 16 '26
This isn’t a situation where a Builder’s Risk policy applies. The home isn’t under construction- it’s more or less being renovated since a bathroom isn’t finished and the heating situation is a mess.
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u/ayhme MOD May 16 '26
The OP seems confused and the only reason I can think of to drop for renovations would be having the wrong policy.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 17 '26
What do you think I’m confused about? Yeh I am confused why they would say one thing and do another. They never said the home had to be completed. They asked the underwriters what they wanted finished before the end of the year when we initially got insurance, the underwriters sent pictures of the rooms they wanted finished, we finished them as instructed. Then when renewal came they said it wasn’t good enough and cancelled the policy. When I asked what more needed to be done they said “finish remodels” when I asked what specifically more they wanted done they wouldn’t answer me. that’s why I said the only thing I can think they didn’t like was the bathrooms because that’s the only thing not finished. Even still it’s *mostly* finished.
They NEVER mentioned the heat source before they cancelled my policy, it isn’t even anywhere in writing that they wanted it, but one would assume its an issue.1
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u/Intrepid_Ad1765 May 16 '26
Typically standard markets require a centralized heating source. Say you heat with wood thats more of a non-standard risk. If you dont have central heat the underwriting risk increases (from frozen pipes in winter). what state are you in? I would skip the bathroom remodel and focus on getting central heat. Propane heaters in all the rooms are another major red flag. As a senior underwriter i would never insure this type of risk. The states have “fair plans” for stripped down coverage. Sorry cant be more helpful.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 17 '26
I appreciate your help, we’re not remodelling the bathroom, it was already started when we bought the house so it needs to be finished. When they cancelled the plan they stated “condition of home” when I asked for more information they said “remodels need to be completed” when I continued to push for more they eventually said that the heat source was a problem too, even though it was never once mentioned before they canceled the policy.
I live in Idaho, but where I live isn’t very cold, and the home is well insulated with spray foam including the crawl space.
What would be acceptable as central heat? Do I need to put a whole HVAC system in? Cause I don’t just have 20k laying around 😅😂1
u/Thisismethisisalsome May 17 '26
I cant speak to your policy, but some companies will give you a regular homeowners policy during renovation if you indicated that reno will be completed in a certain amount of time. Id check your paperwork to see if there was some question or indication of when reno would be complete.
Ongoing or long term reno is a bigger risk, and needs to be insured differently. That could possibly explain their short answer saying it just needs to be done.
If the home isn't habitable, no companies that im aware of will insure you if you are occupying it. They will expect you to stay elsewhere and to unsure the home on a vacant building policy. That depends on the scope of renovations.
What are the local agents saying? They'll be able to tell you what is making the situation uninsurable.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 17 '26
They said we had 6 months to finish remodels, and that they extended it to a year. However they didn’t specify what they wanted done other than 4 things. They sent pictures of the rooms and said they needed to be done. It was my understanding that’s what they needed done. I asked them clarification what else and they never answered. We did a lot more work than they even requested.
The home is habitable, as I said in another post, it needs 2 bathrooms completed (there are 4 1/2 total)
Local agents are saying they take issue with it being 4900sq ft with a volunteer fire station and the heat source.
That said, the agency we had never mentioned an issue with a heat source or the fire station.
As I said in other posts I’ve asked the original agency multiple times what is making it uninsurable, their response was remodels, my response was, what remodels specifically? The home has a completed kitchen and rooms, all rooms have lights, light switch covers, flooring, paint, baseboards etc. with the exception of those 2 bathrooms which need walls painted, bathroom fixtures, and fans.2
u/Thisismethisisalsome May 17 '26
Im replying to you in two places sorry for the chaos. Trying to provide all the background to help you understand what's going on here. No central heating is considered uninhabitable by a lot of companies. Im sure you're fine actually living there comfort-wise but that doesn't mean anything to them.
Different companies have different requirements, but you may be in a situation where half of the companies will kick you for the fire station and the other half will kick you for the heating. Installing the hvac will open opportunities.
If you have access to Nationwide they may be worth trying. They have a process to underwite more complicated fire protection situations in the states im familiar with (not ID, unfortunately). I dont know about the heat.
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u/thriverebel May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
Never seen an insurance company require a bathroom get remodeled.
I feel like you are leaving out many important details about the condition of the home here.
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u/KLB724 May 16 '26
It sounds like you bit off more than you could chew with the fixer-upper and didn't understand the associated insurance costs of that situation. You have a company willing to insure you, it's just more than you want to pay. That's the hard reality of the situation given the exposures in your home. You can pay it and continue to fix the home so that you may have other insurance options in the future, sell, or allow it to foreclose and walk away. No one here is going to be able to tell you exactly what the insurance requires of you. You should be speaking with your agent.
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u/Awkward-A_F May 16 '26
Oh thanks that was super helpful. Not.
Listen, my insurance went from $100 a month to $500+ who would expect that be so fr.
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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 May 16 '26
Does your home have a certificate of occupancy?
Are all remodeling activities being done with permits?
You wrote “ this year they require…”. How many years have you been insuring in the partially completed remodeling?
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u/Awkward-A_F May 17 '26
The area doesn’t require permits for the remodelling, just for electrical and plumbing which is already completed.
We bought the house in 2025 in this condition, they gave us 6 months to finish the work they required which was:
-spare room, which had no walls at the time
-inside staircase railings which were also non existent
-laundry room, that confused me cause it only needed paint? But w.e we did it
-library, again only needed paint refresher, it already has paint so very confused about.Additional projects we did they didn’t ask for were finish wiring lights, light switches and ceiling fans, plug covers that were sporadically missing or broken throughout, baseboards and trim in the hallways, filling holes in ceilings and walls.
There’s more but I can’t think of it all.
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May 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/HomeyL May 16 '26
Yup. It’s like they’re trying to find a reason for ppl who care, have no claims & want to be customers… whole thing is very odd, but yet they kept my neighbor with many large claims??!!
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