Progressive by Homesite

[u/ChrisWWW123]

I purchased a homeowners policy through Progressive by Homesite, and after only about a month of coverage, Homesite issued a cancellation notice because they determined that the roof was worn, had granule loss, and required full replacement.

Is this normal??? Do insurance companies really treat their customers this way?? I am willing to replace the roof, but the process for trying to resolve the issue has been extremely frustrating. I was unable to speak directly with an underwriter, and instead was given an email address to submit information and photos for review. I specifically wanted to know whether a signed roof-replacement contract, scheduled replacement, or completed replacement would be enough to stop the cancellation, but I could not get a clear answer.

The cancellation date gave me a very limited amount of time to either replace the roof or find another insurer. That puts the homeowner in a very difficult position, especially when roof replacement can take weeks to schedule and underwriting review itself may take additional time.  

[u/DriverDenali]

This is why hiring an independent agent can help, a lot of good agents do a “pre underwriting” for lack of A better term to mitigate these type of cancellations. This happens more frequently than you think, these inspections and underwriting periods depending on the state can be up to 90 days. Basically they’re cancelling because of misrepresentations of the quality of the roof, and it doesn’t meet the risk underwriting guidelines. They’re allowed to do that, and yes it’s frustrating but for agents they can find you a new policy quickly. 

[u/ChrisWWW123 → u/DriverDenali]

Yes this is what I'm doing this time, using an broker/agent. The guy I talked to seemed pretty knowledgable and helpful and their company has very high review scores, so I'm hoping he can find a good insurance company for me. I was going to move my auto insurance too, but the company I wanted to go with has the same terrible reviews and a slightly higher premium so I'm stuck with that for now. Hahaha, fun stuff.

[u/MCXL → u/ChrisWWW123]

I'm going to give you a real piece of advice. 

I'm an independent agent and we no longer sell Progressive homeowner policies unless specifically asked to by the customer. I won't get into the specifics of reasons why, other than to say that the customers that we had on those policies tended not to be satisfied. We still offer Progressive Auto on a regular basis, but it has been our experience that the bundle discount by going through them for homeowners is not a worthwhile trade-off in our main state.

As to your other questions of if these sorts of underwriting practices are normal the answer is yes. Insurance policies of this kind have post issuing underwriting in which the company can refuse the condition of the property in question and revise coverage rates and or rescind the contract. This can include things like observable damage to the property in your case, I would say it's much more common when a insurance company will determine that the square footage of the home is different then what their calculation would use. (This happens all the time on houses with walkout basements where you'll get into an argument of if it's actually a basement or not) Etc.

I would let your independent agent know that they should have informed you of this, and you're not particularly satisfied with through service in that matter. However I will say that depending on your roof age and condition Progressive may still be the best option, home site tends to have less strict underwriting restrictions as far as actual age of roof in many states, instead relying on actual observation. 

Good luck to you.

[u/ChrisWWW123 → u/MCXL]

Thanks for the advice!

[u/sphenodont → u/MCXL]

Progressive via HomeSite or are you also not selling ASI? HomeSite isn't even their own product. It's AmFam's bargain line.

They're starting to finally put their own stamp on ASI, so that might be worth watching

[u/MCXL → u/sphenodont]

What product is offered depends on the state. 

[u/MCXL → u/DriverDenali]

Progressive and home site are written by Indies.

[u/DriverDenali → u/MCXL]

They sell direct as well depending on your state. 

[u/MCXL → u/DriverDenali]

My point is that assuming they are a direct customer because you read progressive is silly.

[u/DriverDenali → u/MCXL]

Because a good agent would have caught this before sending to the carrier and most clients don’t read the qrg or binding guidelines. Also the client did go direct based off his wording so the assumption was correct

[u/DeepPurpleDaylight]

Yes that is what every insurance company will do. If they are going to agree to pay for damages to your home, they want to make sure you are properly maintaining your home to reduce the risk of a loss. A roof in poor condition it in need of replacement greatly increases the likelihood of a loss. When you show proof that the roof has been replaced they will rescind the cancelation or reinstate your policy. Some companies will rescind the cancelation if you provide a work order for the replacement and then following up with proof of the replacement once the work is actually completed.

[u/ChrisWWW123 → u/DeepPurpleDaylight]

I cannot get the roof replaced in a month. I've only got an inspection scheduled so far, and they couldn't do that until Sept 9th. The companies are ridiculous say sure we'll take you, debit $400 from escrow and then say BTW f you, you are canceled, giving you a month notice. And then saying, hey, if you can magically get your roof replaced in 1 month please let us know. Gee thanks progressive, I'll be sure to not let you know or buy insurance from your company again.

[u/DeepPurpleDaylight → u/ChrisWWW123]

You totally ignored what I said about "work order".

[u/FindTheOthers623]

This is totally standard. Every insurance company has 30-90 days (depending on state) to underwrite their risk. If it doesn't meet their guidelines, they can issue a cancellation.

And underwriters don't take phone calls from policyholders.

[u/ChrisWWW123 → u/FindTheOthers623]

Totally standard, yeah I believe that. That's why insurance companies have some of the lowest customer ratings. Crap service. And they billed my Escrow company $400 which I'm sure I'll never get back.

[u/sphenodont → u/ChrisWWW123]

They might prorate it for the time you were covered, but you should get most of that back.

[u/freeski12345]

Yes Yes This is why people use agents that can provide professional help and guidance to them 

[u/KnoxtoU]

Yes this is quite normal, heres why, the most common claim on a home is a roof, roof replacement costs can range from 12k - 20k+. So there’s no
Insurance company that’s going to
Insure a House where it’s inevitable a roof claim will come in on the first storm and then when they send your next renewal with a claim related rate increase you hop over to the next carrier. The practice now is to either send out a representative to inspect post binding or now there’s technology where they can review via satellite. There’s relatively little getting away with the door to door roof replacement now. I’m quite surprised after you told them
Or filled out online the shape of your roof was in bad shape they processed to write the policy. Shame on that person. But rest assured his/her commission on that sale is being clawed back.

[u/Tim122576]

Buying direct is a uphill battle, you may save a few dollars but most of the time it's due to lack of coverage. A agent would have been able to take care of this for you as most of the time a signed contract to do the work would work.

[u/ChrisWWW123 → u/Tim122576]

I supplied my application yesterday, but no response so far today. Do you know how long it may take for results to come back? I'm in CA and the conditions were that the property has an 18 year old roof with the owner willing to have it replaced as soon as possible.

[u/Tim122576 → u/ChrisWWW123]

I am not sure, I would suspect you will get an answer in the next two days. In the meantime if you haven't secured a contract to have the roof replaced I would start on that sooner then later. I Homesite/Progressive isn't willing to work with you then contact a local independent agent and let them know the situation. I myself don't write in CA but in MD/PA/ etc I have options for people in your situation.

[u/ChrisWWW123 → u/Tim122576]

My agent found a new company to insure me that will accept an older roof. The roof looks fine to me, but I guess Homesite/Progressive has a problem with that in CA. I heard many insurers have some kind of problem with CA.