The short answer is yes! The next question is why is that plane taking photos of my house and who told them to do it?
Let’s answer the second part of that question first. Your Insurance Company sent that plane to get aerial pictures of your home…well, not really, but they are purchasing the images from them. These aerial photography companies are flying over your home annually to get photos of your home that they can then sell to a variety of companies including Insurance Companies.
The hard truth is that Insurance Companies are losing money. They are not immune to rising costs of inflation and labor shortages. Claims are more expensive than predicted and are taking longer to repair. As most people have seen, Insurance Companies are raising their rates to work back to profitability, but rates are regulated by each State and some States are not allowing the Insurance Companies to take the full premium increase that they are requesting.
Insurance Companies are doing what they can to reduce their costs and operate more efficiently, but they are also reviewing their homeowner’s policies to see if they can identify homes that might be more susceptible to future claims. One way they are doing this is by purchasing photos from these aerial photography companies to identify homes that roofs may be in poor condition, missing shingles, covered in moss, or covered in tarps. They are also looking for tree branches that may be overhanging the home that could cause potential damage during a storm and for undisclosed pools.
This is good news for insureds, unless you are one of the insureds identified with issues. Hopefully by identifying higher risk properties and reducing future claims. Insurance companies will work themselves back to profitability reducing the need to increase people’s premiums.
I know Insurance Companies rank right up there with internet and utility providers on companies that people dislike, but you want your Insurance Company to be profitable. If you have a major claim, you want to work with a company that is profitable, so they don’t feel the need to short you on your claim to save themselves money.
If you have a home that is in excellent condition and would like us to provide you with a no-obligation quote, give us a call 585-663-2004.
