InspectorPro Insurance: Pioneers for Home Inspector Insurance
Last Updated June 17, 2024
As a home inspector, you’re used to being the scapegoat. If defects are discovered after your inspection, if a property sale falls through, or if a subcontractor’s bill is too high, you often receive the blame (and the claim). In fact, at Inspectorpro Insurance, we estimate that over half of all home inspectors receive at least one claim during their careers.
Of those claims, about 80 percent are highly exaggerated or without merit. Even so, how your insurance company handles your claim can spell the difference between celebratory cheers and a negative outcome.
In 2009, Citadel Insurance Services, LC saw a need in the insurance industry. Across the nation, there were tens of thousands of house inspectors protecting the millions buying and selling homes every year. As they do today, these inspectors were catching dangerous defects to safeguard American families. They were crawling under homes, traversing roofs, and testing appliances to help their clients make educated buying and selling decisions.
But who was looking out for them? What do home inspectors do when they need customized insurance services and risk management for home inspectors?
InspectorPro Insurance: Revolutionizing Home Inspection Insurance Companies
Back in 2009 (and even now), there were not many home inspector insurance companies catering to your industry. Sure, lots of agencies offer cookie-cutter professional and general liability insurance policies. But if you asked them, “What is the purpose of a home inspection,” they wouldn’t know—nor would they know the unique risks house inspectors face.
Home inspectors were looking for a custom insurance solution. That’s when InspectorPro Insurance was born.
Utilizing a construction draw inspection policy as their template, Citadel created a professional and general liability policy for home inspectors. Founding Partner Anthony Eardley used his rich history of developing niche insurance products to create the program. Brokers Will Colton and Aaron Menlove joined soon after. Together, they began steadily forming lasting relationships with inspectors from around the country— many of whom were InterNACHI members.
“We have always been a relationship-based company. We were never just selling insurance. We took the time to have quality conversations,” Colton said. “We learned very early that we needed to understand what inspectors’ needs were, and we needed to constantly adapt to meet those needs.”
In our first year, InspectorPro insured a few hundred inspectors. By our second year, we insured over a thousand. Meanwhile, Inspectors appreciated InspectorPro’s industry-focused, customized insurance plans.
Later, in 2012, InspectorPro Insurance created a new, custom policy that defined inspection services and agreements. We offered more endorsements for add-on inspections, like pool and spa and sewer scope. Furthermore, to give inspectors the best possible experience, we began to take a hard look at claims management.
Getting Claims Into Expert Hands
No one wants to use their insurance. But if you must, you want a provider that has your back.
Many insurers share the same problem: They don’t know inspectors. It’s not that they don’t want to handle cases in a way that benefits your clients. They just don’t know how.
By comparison, InspectorPro Insurance knew that offering specialized claims handling was the key to transforming okay service into great service. Great service quickly grew from a goal to our standard. Our goal from day one was to become the best insurance company for home inspectors.
To bring this vision to life, InspectorPro hired our own claims team. Unlike other adjusters who flit between different industries and claims types, InspectorPro’s claims team only works with home inspectors. Our team’s focus on the field has made us experts in the industry. We know what works (and doesn’t) in attorney letters, phone calls, courtrooms, and contract provisions. We have their shortlist of lawyers and arbiters who get the best outcomes for inspectors.
In the last decade, we’ve faced thousands of home inspector claims across all 50 states. And those claims have taught them a lot.
Today, InspectorPro Insurance’s claims team is so efficient that most of our claims close for less than the cost of the inspector’s deductible–often no cost at all. With a reputation built on superior claims handling, InspectorPro gives clients peace of mind.
“A client bought a house that was poorly maintained and, some months later, wanted $10,000 from me,” said InterNACHI CPI Paul Cummins of No Surprises Home Inspection NOVA-DC. “InspectorPro spent weeks preparing a point-by-point rebuttal at no cost to me. In addition to being a very nice testament to the quality of my work, I felt like my big brother had just shooed away a bully.”
Stifling Complaints Before They Turn Into Claims
Not everyone was a fan of InspectorPro Insurance’s growing success.
Lawyers were an unlikely antagonist. Aiming to win inspectors, some spread false information about risk management for home inspectors. They claimed home inspection insurance companies were eager to settle or accumulate legal fees, charge deductibles, and increase premiums. They said insurance makes inspectors targets.
These lawyers also discouraged inspectors from reporting claims, putting them in violation of their policies’ reporting requirements. And when inspectors employed these attorneys, they paid hundreds of additional dollars for boilerplate template letters that exacerbated conflicts, rather than resolving them. Claimants’ attorneys even caught “home inspector lawyers” responding to claims in states where they weren’t licensed, leading many claimants to increase their demands.
Many such claims crossed our desks after the naysaying lawyers had failed. In response, we developed one of the first and best pre-claims assistance programs in the inspection industry. Pre-claims assistance gives home inspectors free help responding to unhappy clients to prevent them from demanding money or contacting an attorney. When inspectors submit qualifying pre-claims to InspectorPro, they receive personalized guidance and tools to de-escalate clients’ complaints–without paying their deductible, a higher premium, and other extra fees.
“The pre-claims team really helps deal with those silly complaints that have no merit. They have always been friendly and helpful,” said InterNACHI CMI Jim Troth of Habitation Investigation in Ohio.
Since offering this service in 2014, we’ve stifled 85 percent of complaints before they’ve turned into claims. The other 15 percent still qualify for up to 50 percent of their deductible for reporting the problem early.
Today, we handle close to 200 pre-claims every month. By nipping complaints in the bud, InspectorPro Insurance saves clients precious time, emotion, and money–all without the need to pay for a separate complaint handling service.
Giving Inspectors the Power to Prevent Claims
Many of the claims and complaints we received had striking similarities. Claimants weren’t reading reports. They were finding out-of-scope defects and trying to pin them on their inspectors. There were even trends in the types of claims home inspectors filed each year.
In 2016, InspectorPro Insurance began publishing blog posts with risk management advice for home inspectors. That November, we published our first article utilizing claims data trends: Top 5 Claims Against Home Inspectors. In it, we revealed that water damage, roof issues, foundation defects, mold, and plumbing problems were the five most common types of claims home inspection organizations experience year over year.
Thousands of inspectors read and discussed the article. Its facts and tips were featured in numerous convention presentations and on industry podcasts, including the InterNACHI Home Inspector Podcast.
“InspectorPro does an outstanding job educating their clients to avoid claims. They consistently relay information about establishing expectations, preparing solid inspection agreements, and reporting procedures. The monthly newsletters offer valuable tips on protecting inspectors from physical harm as well as frivolous claims,” said InterNACHI CPI Thomas Wells of Home Sweet Home Inspection Services, LLC in Florida. “The best protection from potential claims is preparation before the inspection even begins. InspectorPro offers us that peace of mind.”
Today, InspectorPro Insurance’s risk management tools work to change the litigious culture plaguing home inspection organizations. Our blog includes over 200 articles on wide-ranging industry topics, like:
- Preliminary buyer walkthroughs.
- Real estate agents signing pre-inspection agreements.
- Stolen inspection equipment.
- Animal-related inspection injuries.
- Using body cams to disprove theft accusations.
- The efficacy of garage door pressure testing.
All articles are free on InspectorPro’s blog, with new articles published on the first and fifteenth of each month. To never miss a new blog post, subscribe to InspectorPro’s newsletter.
Growing the InspectorPro Insurance Team
As more turned to InspectorPro for risk management for home inspectors and customized insurance services, the original team realized it was time to grow.
What started as a handful of brokers and support staff grew into a strong unit of 28 licensed insurance professionals. That’s over five times the staff size of competing brokerages, and it doesn’t even include the separate claims team mentioned earlier. We perform most underwriting in house, which allows us to send quotes, adjust coverage, create certificates, and answer calls and emails quickly and efficiently.
“I called and emailed several companies for quotes. InspectorPro was in touch immediately. I had a quote but decided to wait and see what the others had. … Still waiting to hear back. I can only imagine how responsive they will be when I need something. InspectorPro has my business,” said InterNACHI CPI Kevin Shonkwiler of Pinnacle Home Inspections in North Carolina and Virginia.
While InterNACHI CPI Manuel Martinez of Big River Property Inspections in Iowa didn’t start with InspectorPro Insurance, he made the switch to get better customer service.
“I had a horrible experience with my former insurance company. Actually from the day I got a quote, I was basically worried about being talked to like I was an idiot any time that I would call or email. … The final straw was when my agent didn’t change my banking information for my policy and my insurance was canceled,” Martinez said. “I called InspectorPro to quickly get a quote and got wonderful treatment. They were able to set me up quicker than it took my former agent to return my call and explain what happened.”
A Valuable Partnership
In 2020, we partnered with Bob Pearson, who developed one of the first reasonably priced and comprehensive inspector insurance programs in the late 80s. Having performed 10,000 home inspections himself before becoming an insurance broker, Pearson has an unparallelled understanding of home inspectors’ pain points.
“InspectorPro has revolutionized home inspector insurance–especially with pre-claims assistance. There’s not another insurance company–homeowners’, automobile, whatever–in the marketplace today that is so proactive and so ready to take care of its customers,” Pearson said. “When you call us, you’re going to get your questions answered. When you have a claim, we’re going to take care of you all the way. It’s absolutely superior service.”
Developing State-Specific Contracts
Back at claims, InspectorPro Insurance identified another important trend: Inspectors’ contracts could make or break their defense. With the right provisions and information, home inspectors could strike down and even dodge claims. On the other hand, without these essential protections in their agreements, inspectors faced more claims, more refunds, and more expensive lawsuits. For this reason, InspectorPro decided to level the playing field with their own contract.
Backed by 15 years of claims handling experience, we released our model pre-inspection agreements in 2021. By applying wisdom from recent claims, case law, and legislation, we crafted state-specific pre-inspection agreements proven to succeed. We’re so confident in their agreements, we’ll even give $1,000 deductible discounts to our insureds who adopt them.
“Before working with InspectorPro, I had to instigate my defense myself. I had to ask what was going to defend me in court and put it into my agreement,” said InterNACHI CMI Jerry Hardisty of Bluegrass Inspections in Texas. “With InspectorPro, I didn’t need to ask. They just gave me a contract they can defend me on. Having an agreement that I can trust and have confidence in is so vital. It’s peace of mind.”
InspectorPro Insurance: The Gold Standard for Home Inspection Insurance Companies
While you do all you can to manage your risk, even a perfect inspection isn’t immune to a lawsuit. Don’t settle for insurance coverage that doesn’t meet your needs. Instead, protect yourself with the best insurance company for home inspectors.
“Insurance is not all the same, and the time to find out you’re NOT covered is when you’re getting sued,” said InterNACHI CMI Russell Hensel of Comprehensive Building Consultants in Florida. “Give InspectorPro a call. It’s free. What do you really have to lose? You might just end up getting educated on why your present policy is cheaper. (It’s because it sucks!)”
Apply with InspectorPro Insurance today for a no-obligation quote for errors and omissions and general liability coverage.
A version of this story appears in the June 2024 issue of THINK Magazine.
A version of this story appeared on HomeInspectology.com in 2020.
