Expert: Bennie719 - 4/5/2009

Question
Last 4th of July, our daughter and some of her neighbors were setting off fireworks in her driveway. There was a tragic accident when one  of the bottle rockets split and part of it went up and part of it went sideways and exploded in one of the neighbor's eyes. She is a teen and has had four surgeries which totaled $80,000
She has not been able to see out of that eye since the accident. Recently there was a $300,000 settlement paid by our daughter's insurance company and they told her they would not renew her homeowner's policy, but this did not effect her automobile insurance with the company. So, our daughter began calling and every company asked if there had been a claim filed against her and when she told them
yes, no one would give her homeowner's insurance. Finally, she found a company that is charging her and her husband over $2,000.00 a year with their cars included. They were paying only $900.00 a year for homeowners and auto insurance before this happened.  This insurance company also told our daughter that she had to tell this
high school girl who has been through so much and lost the sight in one eye that she cannot come on their property any more. The girl started to cry when my daughter told her. The girl babysat in the summers for our granddaugher and she has been very close to my daugher's famly for some years now.  Also, our daughter has to get rid of their trampoline which she has had for some years.  They can keep their swimming pool, but cannot have a diving board or a slide and there are 10 breeds of dogs they cannot have, even if this breed is mixed in the dog. Before they told our daughter that she had to  tell the girl that she could not come on their property anymore, they asked if the girl was a relative? Would that have made a diffence?  I understand why the insurance company is dropping our daugher's homeowner's insurance.  And I understand that she is considered a high risk now and will be paying a thousand dollars more a year for insurance, I don't understand why this teenager who has lost the sight in one eye and who loves our daughter, granddaughter and family cannot come on their property anymore. (there were other
stipulations too) My heart breaks for the girl who is a senior in high school and a sweetheart. She is the victim in all of this and has been through so much and is now being persecuted by the new insurance company, plus she thinks my daughter and granddaughter don't like her anymore. Is this the way the insurance companies do things now?

Answer
Hi Connie,
I'm sorry to learn of the loss of eyesight to the young girl.  It's
saddening for this type of loss to occur to anyone, especially a young person.

Most preferred insurance companies don't have a method in their underwriting rules to increase a client's premium for only one loss, so the majority would simply cancel after a loss this large.  It then does become difficult and expensive to find a new carrier, especially for the next three years.

The majority if limitations imposed by the new company are somewhat of a standard step to help reduce their risk of a future loss since your daughter has already shown her irresponsibility by allowing the use of fireworks around children.

This is the very first case in my 45 years in the insurance business where I have seen a company demand that a specific person not be allowed on the property.  Like you, I feel that it is unfair to the young girl and her neighbor friends and and puts a "Scarlet Letter" on the young girl that she is a person of risk pertaining to future lawsuits.

Unfortunately, your daughter has no choice but to accept these conditions or continue shopping and trying to find a company whose conditions for issuing a policy would not be quiet as strict.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.  If you have any follow up questions, please feel free to write again.

Your feedback by rating my response to this question will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area