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Four months after completing an inspection, a home inspector received a series of text messages from his clients, the home buyers. In the texts, the inspection clients alleged that their home inspector had failed to report wood rot and subsequent leaks in seven windows on the property. The clients did not provide any information regarding…
Read MoreDuring a recent home inspection, you missed the polybutylene pipes in the attic. When your clients, the home buyers, discovered your error, they were furious. They didn’t just sue you; they sued everyone involved in the home’s sale. That included the real estate agent that referred the job to you. What is referring party indemnification?…
Read MoreThree months after completing an inspection, a home inspector received a letter from his client’s attorney demanding that he pay to repair “the failed septic system” and a number of other defects his clients had found in their new home. The letter ordered the inspector to inform his insurance company, so he did. But, since…
Read MoreDid you know that not all insurance policies are created equal? Or that policies can exclude some business practices? If you don’t know the ins and outs of your policy, you could end up buying less coverage than you need. In this article, we go over three of the most common insurance policy pitfalls plaguing…
Read MoreEarlier this year, one of our insured home inspectors sent his radon monitor in for calibration. When the servicing was complete, the manufacturer shipped the monitor back to the home inspector. But, when the inspector returned home, the radon monitor was nowhere to be found. The inspector put in a claim with the radon monitor…
Read MoreFour months after his inspection of an older home, a home inspector received a letter in the mail from his former clients, who, due to concerns about the age of their newly purchased and first home, had a licensed electrician assess the property’s wiring after the initial home inspection. According to the electrician, there were…
Read MoreSeveral months ago, we were reviewing a home inspector’s workers’ compensation policy. Unbeknownst to that home inspector, their insurance carrier wasn’t familiar with the property inspection industry. Despite their lack of experience in the inspection space, the carrier didn’t want to turn the home inspector away. Instead, the insurance company categorized (or grouped) the home…
Read MoreDuring a routine home inspection, one of our inspectors performed a visual inspection of the property’s furnace. In his report, he noted signs of condensation and a lack of proper maintenance. However, the furnace was functioning properly. A few days after the inspection, the inspector’s client—an attorney—claimed that the furnace had stopped working. As a…
Read MoreLet’s face it: Insurance companies have a bad reputation. Most people don’t trust insurance carriers (let alone like them). And, while many people learn this distrust from others, some learn it from bad experiences with the insurance companies themselves. With a culture of skepticism surrounding insurers, it isn’t surprising why home inspectors don’t want to…
Read MoreFrom our decade of claims data, we know that the majority of home inspectors receive at least one claim in their career. And, when they do, it never feels great—particularly when that claim is meritless as about 80 percent of home inspection claims are. In his recent article, home inspector Randy Sipe described the feeling…
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