How to Make Sure You Never Give Insurance Companies Reason to Cancel You

Insurance is a funny thing. You pay a small fortune to have it. Then, if you have the blatant audacity actually to file a claim, the company either increases your premiums or cancels you altogether. 

While the world of insurance can, at times, be so confusing as to be maddening, going without is simply not an option. The financial risk is just too great. But there are some things you can do to make sure you don’t stand out to the company as an intolerable risk. 

Cover the little stuff yourself 

Instead of looking for ways to recoup your premium by making lots of small claims, raise your deductibles to $500 or $1,000, and then do not make a claim unless the damage exceeds that limit.

Personal Finance expert, Liz Pulliam Weston, suggests, “The real problem with filing a small claim is that it can count against you if you ever need to file a bigger claim.” A good rule of thumb is not to file a claim if the damage is under $1,000.

No injuries? Don’t file 

If the incident is your fault and does not involve injuries, not telling your insurance company will help protect your premium. Your state may require that accidents involving property damage beyond a certain dollar amount be reported to its Department of Motor Vehicles.

Of course, you must do that if you’ve crossed the legal threshold. But if the damages are less than $1,000 and you can swing it, paying out of pocket will be cheaper than facing increased premiums for years to come. Mishaps reported to your insurer, no matter how minor, become a black mark against your record because it makes you appear to be accident-prone.

Got mold? Tread softly

If you suffer water damage and the word “mold” comes to mind, do all you can to not file a claim. Of course, you will have no choice if you’ve suffered a major disaster. But if we’re talking about the washing machine overflowing or the wet carpet smelling a bit on the moldy side, filing a claim will do more than increase your premium. It could make it impossible for you to buy a policy at all.

Home insurers are becoming mold-phobic, and even a phone report that suggests you might have a mold problem goes into a history file tied to you and the property. That could make it difficult to sell the house in the future.

Self-inflicted neglect

Think twice before filing a claim that is the result of your neglect. Most policies won’t cover damage the insurer determines was preventable if you’d only taken reasonable care to maintain the property in question. Filing a claim will only raise a red flag and add another black mark to your record.

While you might think that neglecting things like leaky faucets and roofs will eventually lead to a nice insurance claim that will pay for new carpeting and a complete paint job, think again. You’re asking for trouble if you try to pull a fast one on your insurance company.

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