Consumption and Real Estate
Would a theft claim increase my homeowners insurance premium?
Question : Would a theft claim increase my homeowners insurance premium?
About $ 900 worth of stuff have been stolen from our garage and I would like to file a claim under my homeowners insurance (which covers contents). Do you think that filing a claim for theft would increase my insurance premiums?
homeowners insurance premiums
Best answer:
Answer by rwa000
check your deductible it may not be worth it to file a claim if you have a 500-1000 deductible
-
-
#2 written by mbrcatz 1 year ago
Yes, it will – plus, depending on your deductible and the items stolen, you might not get anything at all. Most homeowners policies have a $ 500 or $ 1000 deductible, so you’re looking at a max payout here of $ 400 – IF you have replacement cost, if none of the items were business related, or car parts.
-
#3 written by curious 1 1 year ago
Depending on which company you are insured thru but honestly it would only be worth filling the claim if your deductible is less then $ 500
what you could do is call the claims department first make sure that you tell them that it is just a general question sometimes even if you don’t file a claim they still noted against you Good luck!! - Comment Feed for this Post
Most likely it will increase your premiums, although not always. It depends on how your insurance company rates policies. Call your agent and check what your deductible would be. If your deductible is more than the value of what was stolen, then don’t even bother filing the claim because you won’t get anything anyway.
For most of my clients that have theft claims under $ 1000 (after deductibles0, I usually recommend they not file a claim unless they absolutely need/want to. Having a theft claim on your claims history report can make companies apprehensive about accepting you as an insured and often times results in larger premiums. I had a client once who told me that it wasn’t fair that the company increase his rate by 30% because he filed a $ 400 theft claim. And I agree with him, but insurance companies often times don’t look at the dollar amount paid (unless it’s a $ 0 paid claim). They look at how many claims you filed.
The same client filed a $ 400 theft claim ($ 1400 total loss – $ 1000 deductible) and when he got his renewal policy in the mail, his rate increased from about $ 1000 a year to $ 1300 a year. Needless to say, he was a bit upset and I don’t blame them.
My recommendation is to use your insurance policy for the major things and not for minor losses. But I would make sure to speak with your agent first and advise him/her. Good luck.