Insurers Are Spying on Your Home From the Sky

[ATCclears]

Across the U.S., insurance companies are using aerial images of homes as a tool to ditch properties seen as higher risk.

Nearly every building in the country is being photographed, often without the owner's knowledge. Companies are deploying drones, manned airplanes and high-altitude balloons to take images of properties. No place is shielded: The industry-funded Geospatial Insurance Consortium has an airplane imagery program it says covers 99% of the U.S. population.

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/home-insurance-aerial-images-37a18b16?st=wyzvfe3cy0g65yz&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

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[Jay Walk]

Or maybe insurance companies have google maps?

 

[Alexx1401]

This seems to be all about CA and crying. CA has LONG ignored proper care of the area's were these fires happen. Then instead of telling the kooks who will not allow them to fix the problem to pound sand? they blame climate change. Great, let them live without insurance then.

 

[CamoDeafie]

This seem to be insurance companies not wanting to keep customers who would file valid claims and just another way to avoid paying claims

 

[Alexx1401]

This seem to be insurance companies not wanting to keep customers who would file valid claims and just another way to avoid paying claims

Insurance companies are like all companies. They either make money or they go away. When people keep asking for gov to get involved this is what happens every time. Costs go up. When people tell gov they want them to run off insurance companies, they get what they ask for. So then people scream because they got what they asked for.
The only other option is people tell gov they want them to take over and set up their own insurance co. If they keep asking for this they will get just what they asked for. As soon as they get it they will scream because they got what they asked for.

 

[powermad]

When I treated my roof for moss the white spots showed up and they thought I had holes in my roof.
Sent my agent some pics from a few feet away and not miles.
They were going to cancel my insurance over it.
This year I texted him and let him know ahead of time that I'm not blowing holes in my roof.

 

[CamoDeafie]

This sort of thing is going to push even more people to just renting/leasing, or committing to a RV/Mobile home park or some such

 

[Alexx1401]

This sort of thing is going to push even more people to just renting/leasing, or committing to a RV/Mobile home park or some such

When Wife and I finally quit we may well look into some kind of RV living. May be fun.

 

[nammac]

Just another move to increased socialism. One bite at a time…

Don't trust the guberment

 

[Alexx1401]

Just another move to increased socialism. One bite at a time…

Don't trust the guberment

Stuff like this is a shining example of why some flavor of socialism is always being pushed. People ask for it. NO ONE likes insurance companies. They tend to be something most of us need. The industry is HEAVILY regulated by both state and fed gov. When an insurance co pays a claim they can't print money. They have to have the money to give out. So more people scream for more gov control. Gov does one thing well, turns things to when they touch it. If people scream loud enough they will get gov insurance. Then they will scream even louder because they got what they asked for.

 

[P7M13]

Google sells pics of your house too -- the lastest ones, not the ones that lag a few years.
When my moss growth was too thick, my insurance co sent notice of cancellation, with a picture, taken from the street like from the Google car top cameras. You bet I was up on the roof that weekend fixing it.
I've since replaced it, but the old roof would grow moss like the algae at Klamath Lake, even though I would spread Moss-B-Ware on it.
I found dry laundry detergent works much, much better at killing moss and preventing its growth.

Edit to add: if you ever look at google earth satellite images and note an area that has no imagery for a zoom -- you're looking at someone who paid to have their spot obfuscated. For example, Bill Gate's think tank retreat up on Whidbey Island. There are some industrial facilities where satellite imagery is also blanked.

 

[WEE]

I have homeowner's insurance through Allstate. I've lived at this address for 10 years and not had any claims. Early this year I received a letter explaining that they would like to send an independent inspector to examine the outside of the house and property, looking for safety hazards. No concerns about the inside of the house. I said OK and the inspector's report did not indicate any issues. I wonder what would of happened if I had declined the inspection.

 

[Alexx1401]

I have homeowner's insurance through Allstate. I've lived at this address for 10 years and not had any claims. Early this year I received a letter explaining that they would like to send an independent inspector to examine the outside of the house and property, looking for safety hazards. No concerns about the inside of the house. I said OK and the inspector's report did not indicate any issues. I wonder what would of happened if I had declined the inspection.

Best guess is they would have raised your rates.

 

[WEE]

Best guess is they would have raised your rates.

Or cancelled.

 

[Kcee]

I dumped my insurance last year, because I knew my rates would skyrocket. It happened to my neighbors, and they said that our neighborhood had been reevaluated as a high risk area. Thankfully I own my place, so it's not required. If this old dump burns down, I will put a single wide on the property, and lower my property tax down to peanuts.

Like in Florida, if there's a major disaster, they won't pay out anyway, because most of the companies will go bankrupt.

It's only going to get worse.

I learned back in the 1980s not to insure things, and save your money.

 

[Nosferatu]

This is why I own an excavator and a few very, very large tarps.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Surplus US mil/NATO large camo nets over the cabin in the woods? supposedly they also work against FLIR (thermals) and reduce NIR (night vision) detectability..

Clicky to embiggen for the above, its probably photoshop

Edit. Actually might be best in backyards particularly over "undeclared swimming pools and trampolines" or other things.. though they might send inspectors in person to verify things

Edit 2. This might be something I should look into, at least for my mom's backyard when we tear down old sheds and build or install new replacement "accessory structure" (new shed, or building for studio/storage or something else entirely)

 

[Certaindeaf]

Across the U.S., insurance companies are using aerial images of homes as a tool to ditch properties seen as higher risk.

Nearly every building in the country is being photographed, often without the owner's knowledge. Companies are deploying drones, manned airplanes and high-altitude balloons to take images of properties. No place is shielded: The industry-funded Geospatial Insurance Consortium has an airplane imagery program it says covers 99% of the U.S. population.

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/home-insurance-aerial-images-37a18b16?st=wyzvfe3cy0g65yz&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

This is why California is insured by beelzebub.

 

[Jay Walk]

Maybe just ask KGW tv, they are running an advertisement stating that "We will tell you what is true or false, so check with us before you vote."

I mean, they aren't even pretending to be a news source anymore.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Maybe just ask KGW tv, they are running an advertisement stating that "We will tell you what is true or false, so check with us before you vote."

I mean, they aren't even pretending to be a news source anymore.

On a serious note, yeah I think this is going to give me a reason to add camouflage netting and retractable/lightweight awning structures with regular light colored awnings, put camo netting on the top.. bam, shade, privacy from overhead, and camouflage/hiding whatever needs hiding, to my mother's house backyard/side yards, eventually. I'm pretty sure the house has homeowner's insurance through USAA (my late father was military veteran, so a lot of our insurance policies are through USAA)