My Bad Experience With Allegany Co-Op Home Owners' Insurance (Rochester: rental, houses)

[rochester-insurance]

I used to have Foremost Insurance for my rental houses in Rochester, but my rates rose, so I switched to Allegany Co-op. At first it seemed great because their rates were lower. They carefully inspected all of my houses in person.

I have had three claims with Allegany Co-op Insurance Company and they would not pay 2 out of the 3. They paid the first claim for a large tree branch that fell on a roof, causing damage. At another house an entire tree also fell, but they refused to pay anything, saying that they had told me the trees needed trimming, when they issued the insurance.

In the second year a house caught fire. They would not pay for the fire. They claimed the tenant appeared to be renting out rooms in the house. They asked me to travel 300 miles to their offices to give a statement under oath. They refused to do it at a more convenient location in NY. When I called in the claim the woman said the rent of $925 for this six bedroom house sounded high. It is not high and has been the same for 5 years, but I should have realized this was showing their thinking about how to get out of paying the fire damage. They had inspected this house carefully when they issued the policy about a year before and nothing had changed, but they did not want to pay.

Foremost Insurance on the other hand, in spite of their significantly higher rates, never refused to pay a claim in 6 years.

If you are investor in Rochester, NY -- I would definitely recommend going with Foremost instead of Allegany Co-op.

Have other people had problems with Allegany Co-op Insurance too?