Lava zone 1 and 2 Insurance in Action

[StillHope]

As far as I know HPIA and Lloyd's are the well known and established home insurers in zone 1 & 2.
Lloyd's to my understanding is not affordable by the most people in Puna.
I have this "cheap" American Western Home insurance and have serious doubts about it ( not a final conclusion , but there are some serious red flags).

Anyway,since AWH is not that much cheaper to take a big risk,I am thinking to get HPIA next year.

So the question is - has anyone seen it in action?


Any story of how they actually act when they have to pay for the loss?
Was there any people whose hose was destroyed by the fire caused by lava flow who actually got help from HIPA?

I would appreciate the information.


___________________________
Whatever you assume,please
just ask a question first.

[EightFingers]

I thought it was HPIA (Hawaii Property Insurance Association)?

[StillHope]

Yes,you are right .I corrected the spelling.

___________________________
Whatever you assume,please
just ask a question first.

[Frankie Stapleton]

HPIA was established AFTER Kalapana and other communities were overrun with lava. When Kalapana was being threatened, some people moved their homes. They got no insurance help for that. The only people who were reimbursed for their losses, from all the info I'm aware of, were those whose homes were insured for fire. Those like the Kaawaloa family whose homes were surrounded by lava but never burned were helped by Red Cross.

[StillHope]

Thank you,Frankie.
It was helpful to know the history.

Anyway,any information on how HPIA handled non-lava related claims?

___________________________
Whatever you assume,please
just ask a question first.

[Dan De Soto]

LLoyds and American Western Home are out of State insurers but that has no affect on the quality of the policy. You may pay more for a HPIA policy but that does not mean you are getting more. HPIA uses a DP2 and HO2 policy form. Standard policy forms are a DP3 and HO3 such as those with American Western Home, LLoyds and Universal Poperty and Casualty.

I have not seen any claims made under AMW since I only started writing these polciies with them a year or so ago. I don't doubt that they will pay claims as stated in the policy. I have seen HPIA claims paid several times.

Anyway, I am rewriting my American Western Home policies on renewal to save premium. We now have a special LLoyds of London offering in lava zone 2 with better rates than those previously offered. Please call or email me for quotes.

Mahalo,

Dan De Soto
Mutual Underwriters
Insurance Agent
www.insurancehi.com
dan@mutualunderwriters.com
Tel: 808-961-3207
Fax: 808-969-1120
275 Ponahawai St., Ste#105
Hilo, HI 96720

[StillHope]

My concern with AWH is the statement on my policy that as out of state company they don't have to pay if they become bankrupt.
________________________________________________________________

About "in action" thing .
Dan,as an agent,can you obtain some facts on how the companies you deal with handle their claims?
Or this information is available only for the agent in each case and an agent with 30 years experience would know?

___________________________
Whatever you assume,please
just ask a question first.

[Dan De Soto]

Correct, a lot of people are caught by that statment about the insurer being out of state. Insurers admitted in the state of Hawaii and licensed by the State are covered by the State Guaruntee fund. For this reason it is very important to consider the insurers financial rating whenever you buy a policy from an insurer not licesed in Hawaii. As a rule our agency is only allowed to use out of state insurers with a financial rating of A of a certain size. These insurers are very large. The rating company reviews the insurers financial status annualy and will either downgrade or upgrade the rating. For admitted insurers we can be less strict. AIG's bankrutcy created some doubt with consumers about the validity of financial ratings but I have not seen any out of state insurers that I have polciies with go bankrupt. Even in the case of AIG Hawaii they were quickly purchased by Farmers Insurance and consumers had no break in coverage.
As far as claims handling there are some consumer reports about insurers reputation for paying claims and overall consumer satisfaction. I don't endorse this publication but it was an intersting read: http://www.justice.org/docs/TenWorstInsu...panies.pdf
The Hawaii Insurance Commisioner's website used to have a customer satisfaction survey for most admitted Hawaii Insurers posted online but I don't see it anymore. You may be able to contact them for a copy.
When lava hit Kalapana the lava zones were not used in insurance underwriting so most all insures were offering policies in Kalapana. I don't know if anyone even had a HPIA policy at that time.
Generally on an HO3 policy there has to be specific exclusion listed in the policy for a claim to be denied. In your case I assure you that fire by lava is covered. If your home is surrounded by lava and does not burn that is another story. Usually the problems happen when a customer assumes something is covered. There is no substitute for reading a policy.

Dan De Soto
Mutual Underwriters
Insurance Agent
www.insurancehi.com
dan@mutualunderwriters.com
Tel: 808-961-3207
Fax: 808-969-1120
275 Ponahawai St., Ste#105
Hilo, HI 96720

[mrjerry]

I think all companies and policies have their pros and cons. I don't think that AWH will go bankrupt but nevertheless it's not the thing you want to read on a policy. I know that my aunt has a policy for home insurance from HPIA and fortunately she didn't need any insurane so far. Good to read that HPIA paid the claims, you can never know with insurance companies, some of them are not really caring much for their clients.

[eigoya]

Can we get up to date on this topic? Has anyone been covered on HIPA for lava, with or without fire? I was told and looked into numerous agencies about "lava" coverage and was told it did not exist. Only fire. My policy will not pay for loss of use. And the verdict is out whether they would pay for fire within three days of lava approach ( I asked on Friday and never heard back). Has anyone got experience in this area?