Is this a new home insurance thing? (Austin, Howe: how much, contractor)

[Dontshootme]

I've been with USAA Insurance for 30 years - auto, home etc. and for the first time EVER, I'm getting a letter and a phone call requesting that a local company representing USAA be allowed to visit my home and "take pictures" for their files. The few times we have had to file claims have been when a tree fell upon our house years ago. Is this a new trend or is something going on with USAA? We have not and don't file frivolous claims with them. It feels like a weird form of invasion of my privacy tho...I've never had them request to come inside of my home and to take pics including climbing into my attic - their request. Is this now the new norm for the industry? Just wanting to understand the direction they are taking with us. I'm not hiding stuff but it feels weird. Ideas?

[EzPeterson]

Perfectly normal, particularly as your home ages. Companies have taken a real beating on HO policies over the past 4 years - relative to premium levels, Austin has been hit harder than most areas in TX.

All they're looking for are pre-existing conditions and items that may need attention to minimize risk. Look at it not as an invasion of privacy, but a free home inspection that may help you catch something before it gets to be an issue.

[owlman]

Did you talk to USAA about it? I would call USAA directly to make sure they're actually behind this, and it's not just a local scammer.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Dontshootme

I've been with USAA Insurance for 30 years - auto, home etc. and for the first time EVER, I'm getting a letter and a phone call requesting that a local company representing USAA be allowed to visit my home and "take pictures" for their files. The few times we have had to file claims have been when a tree fell upon our house years ago. Is this a new trend or is something going on with USAA? We have not and don't file frivolous claims with them. It feels like a weird form of invasion of my privacy tho...I've never had them request to come inside of my home and to take pics including climbing into my attic - their request. Is this now the new norm for the industry? Just wanting to understand the direction they are taking with us. I'm not hiding stuff but it feels weird. Ideas?

You want them to cover your stuff in the eventuality of some sort of casualty right?

I've never heard anyone comain about USAA, widely regarded as one of the best deals anyone can get.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Dontshootme

I've been with USAA Insurance for 30 years - auto, home etc. and for the first time EVER, I'm getting a letter and a phone call requesting that a local company representing USAA be allowed to visit my home and "take pictures" for their files. The few times we have had to file claims have been when a tree fell upon our house years ago. Is this a new trend or is something going on with USAA? We have not and don't file frivolous claims with them. It feels like a weird form of invasion of my privacy tho...I've never had them request to come inside of my home and to take pics including climbing into my attic - their request. Is this now the new norm for the industry? Just wanting to understand the direction they are taking with us. I'm not hiding stuff but it feels weird. Ideas?

We have been with USAA for decades. They did this with us a few years ago. It seems perfectly reasonable for an insurance company, potentially on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars, to verify that the home is as you say it is.

Compared to surveillance cameras in every store, drones overhead (before long), and the NSA monitoring our phone calls this is nothing.

USAA did a great job with a recent roof replacement on our home. No arguments over trivial crap and a great contractor to work with.

[BriansZ]

This sounds reasonable. I will note that I've been with USAA for 15 years now and I'm satisfied. However, when we had a home built last year they had someone come out to appraise it. The 3rd party appraiser than over-valued the home by a significant amount (about $60,000 over what we paid the builder), and that is what USAA used for our coverage and premiums. It made our premium higher but I was able to call USAA and get it reduced to the original quote. So, in the event they appraise and significantly raise the value over what your policy currently covers, you can call USAA and they'll work with you.

Ours is financed through a bank, so we have to have adequate homeowners coverage. If you own your home outright the situation may be different as far as how much coverage you want on it.

[Idlewile]

Normal. We have USAA and were surprised too when they asked for this (they did not on our last home they insured) when we bought our home last summer. They said, at least at the time, it's random, and some homes are visited, others are not.

I was worried after the visit that they would appraise our home higher, thus our coverage rates would increase but, not such thing -- that was the end of it.

[RooCeleste]

And I guess it could benefit you, in the event of a loss and a claim - they say they aren't going to cover something, you point out that in the pictures they took, they can see that 60" LED TV and those super nice new leather sofas, etc. so they have no basis to say that it wasn't as you claimed it to be. But I agree, it would still feel weird to me, too.

[austin-steve]

As others have said, this is normal. All companies do it. It keeps your rates lower by helping the insurance company weed out problem homes.
Steve

[woodinvilleguy]

They do this regularly with my insurance. I usually get a latter from the insurance company ahead of the phone call to schedule the visit.