A furious Florida resident has revealed how he has twice been ‘spied on’ by home insurers and had his premium hiked or his coverage cut.
Despite living near hurricane-prone Daytona Beach, Mike Arman had not made a home insurance claim in 52 years.
So he was shocked when, two years ago, his company said it did not want to renew his policy, and then later dropped his cover, claiming there were problems with his roof.
Arman, the economic development director for the city of Oak Hill, found replacement coverage, but this then soared in price, he said.
In both cases the insurers had taken aerial photographs of his roof, and used these to change the coverage.
In comes amid increasing claims of insurance companies ‘spying’ on customers with drones, resulting in homeowners losing coverage without knowing their properties were being watched from above.
Insurance companies flying drones is a growing tactic in the industry
According to Arman’s broker, the first insurer had taken a satellite image of his roof and decided it ‘looked deteriorated,’ Realtor.com reported.
‘The photo looked like it was taken in 1936,’ Arman told the outlet, despite the roof only being six years into a typical 20 to 30-year shelf life.
When he asked for someone from the insurance company to come and look at the roof in person, he was told that a house call was not an option.
This was despite the head office being located just three miles away, Arman told DailyMail.com.
Three months later, Arman’s policy was dropped – even though he had given proof of the roof’s age.
‘At one point, I presented Google Earth photos which actually showed the roofers replacing the roof,’ Arman told DailyMail.com.
‘Their response was that their satellites were better than Google’s.’
He found a replacement policy with Citizens, a state-run insurer of last resort, and hired a home inspector who said his roof was in good shape.
But when his policy came up for renewal, Arman learnt that Citizens had also taken photographs of the roof.
‘Citizens didn’t use a satellite – they used a drone,’ he said. ‘And the pictures were taken from way up and not even close to the roof.’
Arman, who is a pilot, said he estimated the photos were taken from at least 400 feet above.
He said that the company demanded a $250 inspection, and did eventually renew his policy, but with a 25 percent price increase.
Mike Arman revealed how he has twice been ‘spied on’ by home insurers and had his premium hiked or his coverage cut
Despite living near hurricane-prone Daytona Beach, Mike Arman had not made a home insurance claim in 52 years
‘Policy holders in Florida have no protection from any predatory, arbitrary or capricious decisions of insurance companies,’ Arman told DailyMail.com.
‘Part of the problem is that the insurance companies really don’t know much about houses or construction. They rate homes primarily on location, not on how well it was built or what it was built out of.’
They also do not appear to look at historical losses, he claimed, other than denying people if they have ever had a loss of any kind.
And Arman is by no means alone. Satellite footage and drones are increasingly being used by insurers to keep tabs on homes.
A California woman last month claimed her home insurance company spied on her with drones while she was doing renovations then used the footage of ‘clutter’ to sever her coverage.
Joan Van Kuren said she was stunned when CSAA, her insurer for almost 40 years, made the drastic move to drop her as a client due to ‘hazardous’ construction clutter they spotted in her yard.
The Modesto, California resident had been renovating her home for over three years, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to remodel her kitchen, bathrooms, and driveway, she told CBS News.
But she said that once almost all of the work was completed, CSAA sent her a letter citing ‘hazards’ and unsanitary conditions on her property that were a liability.
‘(The company) said they flew a drone over the home,’ she claimed. ‘It almost feels like someone’s looking in your windows, you know, when they tell you that they flew a drone over your home and looked at it.’
California homeowner Joan Van Kuren said she was stunned when her home insurance was axed after the insurer took aerial images of her home without her knowledge
Van Kuren said she was shocked by the insurance company flying overhead, saying it ‘almost feels like someone’s looking in your windows’
CBS News said that after contacting CSAA, the company claimed it does not fly drones specifically, but does use aerial imagery captured by satellites and third-party, fixed-wing aircrafts.
Cindy Picos, from Auburn, California, also said she was dropped by CSAA Insurance, after it obtained aerial photos of her roof.
Nichole Brink, a former Farmers Insurance agent who quit the company in protest over its surveillance policies, told The Wall Street Journal in April that the insurer was dropping customers over aerial images that were two or three years old.
She claimed the agency was sending nonrenewal notices for everything from trampolines to moss on the side of a home.
‘It’s like they’re using anything as an excuse to get people off their books,’ Brink told the outlet.
Some argue that the insurance industry needs better regulation in order to control the level of surveillance companies are able to carry out.
‘There’s a need for updated insurance regulations,’ Albert Fox Cahn, founder of privacy think tank the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, told Realtor.com.
‘State law hasn’t caught up with the technology.’
Experts said homeowners have certain rights if their homes are surveyed by drones, including requesting the images taken to scan for errors or misunderstandings
Cindy Picos, a resident of Auburn, California, said she was dropped by her home insurer, CSAA Insurance, after they obtained aerial photos of her roof
Nichole Brink, a former Farmers Insurance agent, quit the company in protest over its surveillance policies
Cahn advises Americans fight back if they find themselves facing nonrenewal from their insurer over aerial surveillance footage.
Ask to see the aerial photos, demand to know exactly what the issue is, and request a chance to remedy it, he said.
Mark Friedlander, from the Insurance Information Institute, an insurance-funded research group, disagrees that aerial surveillance constitutes ‘spying.’
He told Realtor.com: ‘It’s a much less intrusive way to inspect your home than sending an individual to your property.’
Aerial photography is more accurate and safer than human inspection, he said.
He insisted that most insurers will let customers know what day surveillance is scheduled, and give them a chance to remedy issues and appeal nonrenewals.
‘Talk to your insurance agent,’ he added. ‘Tell them, «I understand that my insurance company might be doing an aerial inspection. What can I do to avoid problems, and what are they looking for?»
‘Be proactive. Don’t wait until you get a letter saying that your policy won’t be renewed.’
