TAMPA, Fla. — Hoping to be heard and helped. That was the subject line of an email from Tampa homeowner Alexis Moore-Merritt after her insurance company dropped her and then denied her several times as she tried to find new coverage because she had filed too many claims.
Watch full report from Nadeen Yanes
"I was shocked, scared, of the unknown, so I immediately started searching for new coverage and to my surprise was turned down because of claims that were previously filed," Moore-Merritt wrote.
NON-RENEWAL NOTICE
ABC Action News anchor Nadeen Yanes visited Alexis to find out more about why she was dropped and why she couldn't find other coverage.
According to a letter she received from her insurance company, American Integrity, she was being dropped "for the reason of reduce and high concentration area due to catastrophic exposure management" the letter read.
"I didn't want to tell my husband. I'm a stay at home wife and I didn't want to tell him," Moore-Merrit said. "Because I knew that if they are canceling us for being in a catastrophic area, where would I get insurance that is now going to cover a catastrophic area?"
Turns out it wasn't easy.
"Endless phone calls," she added.
THEN DENIED FOR FILING TOO MANY CLAIMS
Denial after denial, no one would insure here. Even Citizens Property Insurance, the insurer of last resort, wouldn't give her insurance. The reason?
"I got a call, 'I'm sorry, but they aren't going to pick you up because you have three to five claims,' she said. "I said, 'All those claims are closed. They've all been rectified. I have pictures, I have receipts. I have everything.'"
YOUR C.L.U.E REPORT
When applying for insurance, companies pull what is known as a CLUE Report, which stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, and it shows Alexis put in 5 claims in 3 years.
Claim 1: Accidental discharge leakage
Claim 2: Wind
Claim 3: Extended coverage perils
Claim 4: Accidental discharge leakage
Claim 5: Wind
"How can you file too many claims when you are paying for insurance?" she asked. She didn't know filing claims could hinder her. "Shame on me. I learned my lesson," she added.
A HARD LESSON FOR HOMEOWNERS
It's a lesson a lot of homeowners have had to learn the hard way, as explained by insurance agent Jake Holehouse with HH Insurance Group.
"That's unfortunately, something as an industry we don't do a good job educating consumers about," Holehouse said.
Giving an example of a recent policyholder running into the same problem, just for calling to see if he had coverage.
"We just had one where a person had four, $0 dollar claims. For them it was, 'Hey, is this covered that they called their insurance company on. But unfortunately, it's still goes in as a claim. When it starts to become a maintenance policy, that's when carriers do start to non-renew."
Holehouse said 99% of the time, insurance companies do not drop you for hurricane claims known as 'An Act of God', but other claims like water damage will count against you even if you are paid nothing from your insurance company.
"If it's a water claim and it's a $1,200 claim and your deductible is $2500, probably not something that we want to start filing a claim on," Holehouse said. "But if it's $25,000 to fix it and I've got a $2,500 deductible, than that's what you are paying for insurance, right?'
And now Alexis knows.
"If my sink ever does leak ever again, I'll be going on Angie's list," she said.
After calling around to different independent agents who shopped her policy around, Alexis said she was able to get insurance last week.
"You've helped me ask those right questions and I want you to keep going because somebody else 5 years from now is going to be in my position."
.
"He just never showed up"
What started as a project to make a bathroom more accessible for 80-year-old Sharon Shomaker turned into a family paying for a job without seeing any work and discovering the plumber they hired had no business taking the job.
