Just try looking at this as though you were the insurance company. An old roof can still be damaged and even if they were going to settle ACV, they would still have to have to pay out something. Companies today are just trying to reduce their risk and if they don't, it affects your rates and the likelihood of your getting insurance in the future. And yes, inspections are getting to be the norm and they can be tough. Generally there has to be some kind of red flag to reinspect a current policy holder. Most inspections happen at new business. Keep that in mind if your shopping your homeowner's insurance. They will be looking for trees over hanging the home and any other structures on the property. Roofs, gutters and soffets. Any liability exposures such as dogs, unfenced pools, trampolines uneven sidewalks (tripping hazards). Missing rails are a big one. For now the inspections are generally just the outside but with the flood of foreclosed homes on the market, they may move to inside inspections. You may ask why, simple. Foreclosed homes are often missing things such as copper piping, appliances, cabinets etc. Once new ownership takes place then comes the "vandalism" claim. We are seeing more of that and yes, they are being heavily scrutinized.

Have you (or your agent) asked the relo company for a CLUE report yet? I would want one of these before I closed. In the meantime, I'd give my insurance company a call and see what they have to say. "Get insurance early! Learn the claims history on the property you own and the property you're buying. If you want to know of prior losses that may impact the availability or price of your new home's insurance, ask the seller to provide a copy of the home's loss history report (called a CLUE î or A-PLUST Report) with the disclosure statements. This is a record of home insurance claims that have been reported or filed in the past five years. Finding out what claims have been filed in recent years, such as water loss claims, can affect whether the property is considered higher risk. When you're selling your home, also make sure you know what the loss history is on your own home. # Do your homework. To order a CLUE î Report, see www.choicetrust.com To order a copy of your A-PLUST Report, call 1-800-709-8842. Links that might be useful: Homeowners Insurance - Don't Forget the Keys www.rmiia.org/Homeowners/Walking_Through_Your_Policy/Do_not_Forget_Keys.htm Get a CLUE (Report)-Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange www.fool.com/personal-finance/.../get-a-clue-report.aspx 10 things you need to know about homeowners insurance www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/.../lock-insurance.asp 12 Ways to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Costs www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/housing/12ways/12ways.htm

We ended up going with Citizens/Hanover. I was actually a little worried because I didn't know much about them, but I did some research on my own and found high reviews. They are also rated AA in the Best Book so we decided to give it a shot. In Michigan, if someone is injured or even has a heart attack in their car, the AUTO COMPANY is responsible for all the medicial bills. It's horrible and has raised our rates to unreasonable amounts; highest in the country actually. State Farm is notorious for not paying, fighting everything tooth and nail and for using very sneaky methods to get out of their obligations. They're going to be great for you until you have a claim or a problem. There is no charge from an insured to use a broker and it really took no time for them to compare rates with 15 different companies. It was 3 days from the day I first called, to the day I had policies in hand. Wonderful experience. I would highly recommend you give a broker a call, send them a copy of your deck sheets and let them see what they can do. There is no obligation, so really what do you have to loose?

I'm with State Farm. We get some breaks for having multiple thnigs insured by them: 3 cars, home, personal property, and an umbrella policy. I believe that if I shopped around I could find a little lower rate for some of these items, but at the expense of not having a local office and having to deal with 3rd party people in case of claims. We've dealt with our local insurance office for a number of years and have built a relationship with them. The agency recently passed from mother to son. Yes. it may be a little more expensive, but when you need to file a claim, it is very good to have help and guidance. Over a year ago, a driver ran a stop sign and t-boned my SUV. He hit it hard enough to roll it over. After the accident, everything went smoothly for me as my agent went after the other driver and his insurance. The settlement was fair, but before arbitration was settled with the opposing insurance, my insurance covered the cost right away. The arbitration process with the other company dragged out for a year. Over a lifetime of driving, I have had a couple of fender bender claims against a parties that had low cost, out of state insurance by mail, and that was a pain. For example, they wanted me to take time off my job to look up their independent claim adjuster, chase around and schedule meeting places. I felt that I could not take the time away from a critical project i was working on. After a few phone calls, I finally told them I will tell you where the car is parked and your guy can see it any time by contacting me. I am no longer going to do your job!. The claim adjuster came to my company's parking lot and examined the car. This one sample of what one might face with a fly-by-night operation. I had to become resistant else I would have been running all over town getting 3 estimates on my time. The fender did get repaired by a guy working out of his private garage at his residence and the paint job was less than spectacular, but acceptable for an every day driver. While it was being repaired, I had to use my other car - A loaner was not offered. Maybe a loaner was available, but again, one had to agitate to get it. In this case, it was not worth the hassle, but it led me to think about what it would have been like if that had been a major event with personal injury. Yes, standard insurance through a company's insurance agent and office may cost more, but in my opinion, the service provided by a local professional agent is worth it.