When It Does Hurt to Ask
Leaky roof? Stolen bike? Broken gutter?
You may want to think twice before even calling your insurance company.
Many home insurers count inquiry calls -- calls in which homeowners simply ask informally whether their policy will cover certain damages and are told that it won't -- as unpaid losses.
Most insurance companies file loss information, paid or unpaid, into a centralized database called the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, better known as Clue.
Even if a policyholder just makes a phone call and doesn't report any damage, there's still a possibility the call will get logged into the Clue report as an unpaid loss. The information stays on the record for five years, and can mar homeowners' chances of getting a standard policy next time they apply for insurance.
When a homeowner applies for a new policy, the insurance company usually orders a copy of his or her Clue report. Two or more reported losses, depending on severity, can cause an applicant to be charged a double or triple premium or to be denied coverage altogether.
Dropped Policy
That's what happened to 77-year-old Frances Alessi of Tucson, Ariz., when she bought a new home in March. Ms. Alessi, a longtime Allstate Corp. customer, applied for homeowners' insurance at State Farm Mutual. An agent signed her up for an attractive $298-a-year policy, even adding a discount on her auto policy, says her daughter, Diane Arnold. But a week later, State Farm sent a letter saying it was canceling her new policy due to two unpaid water "losses" in the past few years on her previous home. A State Farm spokesman confirms that the company dropped Ms. Alessi's policy.
Ms. Arnold said the reported losses were inquiry calls by her mother, asking whether two small water leaks -- one in the kitchen sink and another in a bathroom shower -- were covered. In both instances, the insurance company said the damage was not covered. These were "innocent phone calls that...you should be able to make to your insurer," Ms. Arnold says.
Innocent or not, many companies still report inquiry calls as losses -- sometimes even when it's just policyholders calling with basic questions about their coverage. And in California, it's required by law that all inquiries get reported.
Many insurance companies say they report all loss information and inquiries because multiple calls and losses can point out problematic homeowners.
"Some insurers do that because they look for a pattern that you're not maintaining your house," says Jeanne Salvatore, vice president of consumer affairs for the Insurance Information Institute. "They do have a right to assess risk differently."
Closing the Gap
It's the inconsistencies in how insurers use the information, however, that can be frustrating to consumers. So many homeowners have encountered problems with information on their Clue reports that the National Association of Realtors set up a task force to examine how the Clue database could be improved.
"We don't believe that inquiries should be counted in any insurance or credit-scoring model," says Marcia Salkin, NAR's senior policy representative.
Even ChoicePoint Inc., the company that operates Clue, sent a memo to insurance companies in June, asking them to report only calls in which an actual loss is revealed -- not simple inquiries.
"Each carrier has its own set of rules," says James E. Lee, ChoicePoint's chief marketing officer. "Some companies log every call."
While lawmakers in several states are trying to rein in insurers over this issue, there's not much consumers can do to fight back. But homeowners can take basic steps to protect their Clue reports:
1. Know the specifics of your insurance policy and the deductible. Refrain from calling your insurance company to ask basic coverage questions that can be answered elsewhere.
2. Avoid preliminary calls. It's not necessary to get in touch with the insurance company unless you plan to file a claim and know the damage will be covered.
3. If you do need to call the insurance company, don't mention actual damage unless filing a claim. Any mention of damage will likely be recorded as a loss, regardless of whether it's covered.
4. When in doubt, call a professional repairman first to get an estimate. Insurance companies often will send out a repairman to estimate damages before committing to coverage anyway.
5. Report only major damage. Reporting small damages can put an abundance of unnecessary claims on your report.
6. Check your Clue report. All consumers affected by their reports can ask for a free copy. ChoicePoint sells reports for $9 by mail, $12.95 for Web delivery. Residents in several states can get a free or discounted copy annually. Anything in the report can be disputed, and ChoicePoint has 30 days to settle it.
少给保险公司打电话
屋顶漏了？自行车被盗了？下水道坏了？
在你打电话给保险公司之前，请三思而后行。
不少家庭财产保险公司统计客户打来的电话。有些业主咨询某些财产损失是否属于保单赔偿范围等简单问题，并被告知不属于保险责任，但这类信息可能被视为未获赔偿的赔案。
大多数保险公司收集保险财产的损失记录－－不管是已赔偿或是未赔偿的，并将信息汇总到一个叫做综合损失承保交易系统（Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange,简称Clue)的中央数据库。
即使被保险人只是打个电话而未索赔，但仍有可能这个电话被Clue系统所记录，作为一个未获赔偿的赔案。这个信息将在数据库里保留五年时间，并有可能降低业主下次购买保险时得到标准保单的机会。
业主申请购买新保险时，保险公司一般会从Clue系统中调出一份其投保记录。根据损失严重程度不同，如果记录中有两个或两个以上的赔案报告，保险公司就可能向投保人征收两到三倍的保费，甚至不予承保。
注销保单
美国亚利桑那州Tucson市的弗朗茜斯?爱莉西(Frances Alessi)就遇到了这样的情况。77岁的爱莉西于2003年3月买了栋新居，她是Allstate Corp.的老客户，在State Farm Mutual公司投保了家庭财产保险。爱莉西的女儿黛安娜?阿诺德(Diane Arnold)说，一个保险代理向她提供了一个很有吸引力的保单，年保费298美元，而且投保后汽车保险还可以打折。但一个星期后，State Farm给爱莉西发来一封信，说要取消她的新保单，因为她原来房子的保单在近几年发生了两次未获赔偿的水渍“赔案”。State Farm的发言人证实公司已经注销了爱莉西的保单。
黛安娜说，向保险公司报告的两起损失都是她母亲打的电话，问两个漏水的小事故－－一个在厨房洗手池，一个在浴室淋浴区－－能否得到赔偿。保险公司答复说这两个案子都不在赔偿范围。黛安娜认为，这种电话“根本就是问问情况，打给保险公司是很正常的。”
无论是咨询还是索赔，不少保险公司还是把涉及损失的咨询电话作为赔案处理──即使有时被保险人只是打电话问问保单的责任范围。在加州，有关法律规定，所有咨询电话都必须作记录。
许多保险公司说，他们记录所有的损失信息和咨询是因为这些电话和损失能帮他们发现存在风险隐患的业主。
保险信息学会(Insurance Information Institute)客户事务部的副总裁珍妮?萨尔瓦多(Jeanne Salvatore)说：“有些保险公司这么做是因为他们想了解你是否注重房屋的维护工作，保险公司确实有权对不同风险区别对待。”
采取措施
不过，保险公司在信息使用方式上缺乏一致性的做法会令消费者感到困惑。那么多业主在Clue系统的信息报告上遇到问题，以至于美国房地产经纪人协会(National Association of Realtors，简称NAR)专门成立了一个工作组来评估如何改进Clue数据库。
NAR的资深保险代表玛茜亚?萨尔金(Marcia Salkin)说：“我们认为有关损失的咨询电话不应算做保险损失或纳入任何信用考核模型，”
即使运营Clue系统的公司ChoicePoint Inc.也在2003年7月向各保险公司发了一份备忘录，让其只向系统报告那些确实有损失发生的报案电话──而非简单的咨询电话。
ChoicePoint公司的市场总监詹姆斯?李(James E. Lee)说：“每家保险公司都有自己的一套规则，有些公司对每个电话都做记录。”
虽然有几个州的立法者正在试图在这个问题上对保险公司加以限制，但消费者对此却无法进行什么回击。不过，业主可以通过几个简单的方法好好维护他们的Clue报告。
1、了解自己保单及免赔额的细节，不要给保险公司打电话询问一些从别处也能轻易找到答案的简单问题。
2、避免打一些不必要的电话。除非你知道损失可由保单赔偿并打算索赔，否则不要随便和保险公司联系。
3、如果需要打电话给保险公司，在索赔前不要提及实际损失情况。一提到损失情况，就可能被保险公司记录为一个赔案，无论该损失是否属于保障范围。
4、在不了解损失程度的情况下，先请一个专业修理人员来评估一下损失金额，因为保险公司在决定理赔前经常也要派修理人员估计损失情况。
5、只向保险公司索赔那些较大的损失。报告小赔案会让你的保险记录上写满一些不必要的损失信息。
6、查看一下自己的Clue报告。所有投保的消费者都可以要求免费得到一份Clue报告。ChoicePoint公司也销售其报告，通过邮寄方式每份为9美元，网上发送每份12.95美元。有几个州的居民每年都能得到一份免费或优惠价出售的报告。你对报告中的每个细节都可以提出反对意见，ChoicePoint会在30天之内给予答复。
