Spring has certainly sprung in our area with lots of spring rain and now, the start of some beautiful blooming flowers and trees. Additionally, we want to wish our farming clients a very safe and productive planting season! We are blessed to live in an area that is moved forward by a strong agriculture industry! Please remember to be patient during these next few weeks when you encounter tractors and other agricultural equipment on the road.
This spring has also brought many challenges with inclement weather to our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with those clients who have been effected by the weather in our local areas. We are working alongside many of you to help get your claims resolved, but we would be remiss if we didn’t thank our community for their help rolling up their sleeves and helping cleanup the damages. We are truly blessed to live in a community where neighbors show up to help each other without hesitation.
Attached you will find our agency newsletter.
I want to take a quick minute in the body of this email to talk about roofs. Roofs, roofs, and more roofs. As you are aware, the insurance industry has been updating underwriting guidelines in response to increased frequency and cost of losses. With the most recent wind, hail and tornado events in Ohio and Indiana, many of our companies are turning their focus towards mitigating their losses with roof restrictions.
IF your roof is on the verge of needing replaced, we recommend for insurance purposes that you prioritize getting it replaced.
We are beginning to receive non-renewals for roof conditions. Insurance companies have embraced technology and are starting to use satellite and drone images to review properties. Therefore, roof conditions are more accessible than ever before.
Insurance companies are also looking to increase their home deductibles to help offset their losses.
And finally, many companies have put restrictions on age of roof at NEW BUSINESS which is causing us issues if we want to shop your coverage. As I write this, the current replacement cost restrictions for shingled roofs are (subject to change and are changing rapidly):
Acuity- 20 years
Buckeye- 15 years
Donegal- 10 years
IN Farmers- 30 years
OMIG- 14 years
Nationwide- Strict quote controls for new business right now
Progressive- 10 years
Safeco- No clear-cut age restrictions, but has strict quote flow controls currently.
As your independent agent, we are working hard to navigate these challenging waters for each of you. We understand the frustration that these changes are causing and are working to express our concern to the companies on these changes. We will get through this challenging time AND the insurance industry will change again and may begin to ease restrictions. However, we do not know WHEN these positive changes will occur.
Part of our job as your independent agent is to keep you abreast of changes in the industry and with your policy so we hope you find these newsletters valuable. We are anxiously looking forward to the days when we can have more positive news to share. Until then, let’s enjoy the sunny weather and all the exciting celebrations that spring brings—weddings, graduations, first communions, family vacations and lots of family celebrations.
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