According to a report, home insurance companies are increasingly using aerial images from drones and even high-altitude balloons to dump properties seen as higher risk.
The Wall Street Journal reported that angry homeowners have reported losing their coverage after being told they had damaged roof shingles, debris in the backyard, or undeclared items such as swimming pools or trampolines.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase across the country in reports from consumers whose insurers have dropped on the basis of an aerial image,” Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a consumer advocate group, told The Journal.
No home is safe from surveillance. The Geospatial Insurance Consortium, an industry-funded group that conducts aerial surveillance missions, said it has photographed 99% of homes in the US.
One of those homes belonged to Cindy Picos, a Northern California resident from the town of Auburn, who said her coverage was yanked last month after the insurer took aerial photos of her roof.
The underwriter told Picos that the roof had “lived its life expectancy” — though she told The Journal that she had recently hired an independent inspector who said the roof was good another 10 years.
The insurer declined to reconsider, she said. It also refused Picos’ request to see the photos in question, a decision she called “absolutely wrong.”
The state, which has seen costs soar due to natural disasters like wildfires, has had seven of its top 12 home insurers — including Farmers Insurance, State Farm, and Allstate — pause or restrict coverage, saying they can’t afford to take on new clients.
Last month, State Farm announced it would drop coverage for 30,000 residential and 42,000 commercial properties in California. Meanwhile, home and auto insurance companies continue to report robust profits — fueled by steep rate increases.
Premiums for US homeowners’ insurance jumped by an average of 21% from May 2022 to May 2023, according to a study by online insurance marketplace Policygenius. That eclipsed the staggering 12% rise from the previous year.
