Lake Arrowhead & Crestline Communities

Is Horace Man writing new policies in the mountains? A year ago when I checked they weren't.

Lloyds of London is a non-admitted carrier and so affords none of the protection afforded under California law for standards of maintaining sufficient reserves to pay claims. You also give up any recourse under California law since they are beyond jurisdiction and without a presence in the state. I don't know the status of Ameriprise, but you can search prospective companies on the California Department of Insurance website under Company Profiles. If you don't pull up the company you are searching, stay away.

These carriers should be an insurer of last resort due to the risk you are assuming in the event of a loss. You will pay more for less.

When you read the disclaimers on a Lloyds policy you will perhaps be surprised to find that the underwriter is an individual who is basicly a speculative investor who may or may not be solvent in the event of a loss. Lloyds of London is an association of such investors who pool exposure and share premium revenue. In bad times they become very shaky from a financial standpoint.

We have Ameriprise and our policy is underwritten by IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company which is on the State list.

Ron....same coverage so far. Same square footage, replacement value. I still need to read the fine print with regard to garage and cost of new permits and code upgrades.

By the way...they include identity theft 30,000. First time I have heard of that. The times they are a changin.

nanomug: The state allows non-admitted company policies to be sold via such intermediaries. You still have none of the state protections regarding solvency or recourse if there is a dispute. It's legal, just not a good idea. In my business, some industries are more difficult to insure than others. I never accept a non-enrolled insurer without a due diligence document from the agent detailing refusals and reasons from at least 3 admitted companies. This gives me cover in the event of a loss involving such a company. I can demonstrate I've done my due diligence. However, this doesn't help the owner a bit.

You will really never know how good your policy or your inusurer is until you try to collect! Farmers was more than fair to us when we lost two houses in the Old Fire. We did have to do our homework and our share of making sure they did their part but it was well worth it. And like SilkNLace our policy was renewed last year at a much lower price with more coverage.

I laughed when a local So CA firm came back with Lloyds of London. Ron's advice is sound. I would have gone with Amerprise but Farmer's just reverted to the original policy so I stayed with them. Things (with Insurance companies) may be better now. Qualify the Insurance broker/company that the actual carrier is able to write a policy before your application takes too much time. Maybe more are writing now.

I know people who had Lloyds of London in the Old Fire. They did not fare well. The wait was long, they were not going to pay at all, they pulled about everything they could to avoid paying. One of our friends got only a partial payment of the policy. So much for that company!

Ron its my understanding that my policy is written by IDS which is on the state list. Are you saying that they are not admitted by the State? What question(s) should I ask to find out if this is true?

IDS is not the insurer. They are acting as an agent for the insurer and so have as much influence on the process of filing a claim as any agent would. They are simply providing your application to the insurer and acting as a go between and collecting a fee. They will not pay a claim or stand up for you in the event of a dispute. Your insurer has no legal presence in California and has not met any of the requirements for offering insurance here other than finding this licenced go-between.