Choicepoint's Secret Database on Your Home

[criticalmass]

Per MSN Money:

Jan and Kevin Garder of Bremerton, Wash., discovered this the hard way...when they told their insurance company, State Farm, about some minor water damage caused by a rainstorm...The couple, who say they had been with their insurer for 30 years without filing a claim, ultimately decided not to file one this time, either.

That didn’t stop State Farm from dropping them as customers...State Farm also shared the damage information with the CLUE database. When the Garders applied for coverage elsewhere, the other insurers cited State Farm’s damage report as the reason they wouldn’t write a policy...

The Garders say they finally secured bare-bones fire coverage for about $1,000 a year, more than three times what they paid previously for full homeowners coverage...

Also, homeowners could run into problems trying to sell houses that are rejected by insurers.

According to the California Department of Insurance:

Choicepoint, the company that owns and manages the CLUE database is quick to compare CLUE to a credit report. Consumers are at a serious information disadvantage because they do not know the database exists, may not be told by insurers that their denial of coverage is due to a CLUE report, and do not know how to obtain a copy of their report to review it and dispute errors.

Already had a pretty low opinion of Choicepoint, but I must have missed the memo on this home insurance thing.

(Edited for clarity)

[soup]

1. They're into everything

Just got notified by our car insurance company that we owe another almost $300 for this 6 month period (after already paying the $2,100+ we were quoted)(coverage for our 16 year-old son is killing us).

Can't remember exact wording right now, but this was based on information received from ChoicePoint, and if we have any questions to call our insurance agent. (haven't done that yet. sigh.)

Didn't know that about homowner's, but it doesn't surprise me.

[SoCalDem]

2. We were cancelled by our insurer (actually they closed up)

and the people who took them over,made us pay almost 3 times higher premiums, because they sent out "representatives" to "update" all their newfound customers..

We had 2 elderly labradors, who were either inside or in a double fenced yard..

These dogs had never bitten anyone, nor were they likely to, yet we were penalized severely.

When they died, we got our premiums "reduced" but , were told that we were on the "dog" list and they might send someone around to "
verify that we were dogless..

We have never filed a claim on any homeowners policy EVER.. and we have owned homes since 1977..

[KamaAina]

5. The "dog list"?!

Ah yes, Orwell's 1984 reconsidered as farce... absolutely brilliant!

I know! Let's get the house at 1600 Penn. Ave. NW -- you know, the one that's being illegally squatted -- put on the "chimp list"!

[JailForBush]

3. "The private life is dead." Dr. Zhivago

Prospective employers probably know about your health problems and therefore won't hire you because you might actually use your health insurance. If you're politically active, they could retaliate against your children in many ways, if they attend public schools.

Big Brother is here, and we need to kick his ass.

[geniph]

4. Ever wonder why half the new stadiums

(stadia?) in this country have the name of insurance companies on them? Because they have all the f***ing money. Insurance is the biggest shell game going - get people scared about things that *might* go wrong and make them pay enormous yearly sums, then refuse to cover them any more if they make one claim totalling less than 1% of the total premiums they've paid over the years.

Vegas hasn't got a patch on the insurance companies when it comes to weaseling people out of money.

:mad:

[Mountainman]

6. I wonder what the purpose of insurance is since they drop you if you need

them to pay for a claim.

You should get a rebate if you don't have a claim for a number of years.

[KT2000]

7. Extortion

Hmmmm - you will lose everything in a catastrophe so you better get insurance. Then, if you even ask about the possibility of filing a claim, you are canceled. Dual extortion, and it should be against the law - why do we have insurance commissioners anyway?Utilizing a central database such as this should be grounds for using RICO.

[geniph]

8. The worst thing is that it's all but compulsory

You can't finance a house without it. I can understand the lender needing to protect their investment, but have you ever tried to buy insurance that only covered the mortgaged value of the property? HAHAHA. They'll more or less cram liability, personal property coverage, etc., down your throat for hundreds more a year, despite your being a person who's never made a homeowner's claim in your life.