Insurance companies have been accused of canceling coverages after covertly capturing images of homeowners’ properties using drones, high-altitude balloons and even manned aircraft.
Cindy Picos, a resident of Auburn, California, said her home insurer, CSAA Insurance, dropped her after obtaining aerial photos of her roof, it was reported WSJ.
She was even denied access to view the photos, as she said in frustration: “I thought they had the wrong house.” Our roof is in good condition.
Her experience echoed the feelings and anger felt by other homeowners, including Marilyn Smith and CJ Sveen, whose policies were denied after the insurance company monitored their homes using drones.
It’s not uncommon for insurance companies to use technology like drone surveillance and high-altitude balloons to look for risks, sometimes without the owner’s knowledge.
Insurance companies have been accused of canceling coverages after covertly capturing images of homeowners’ properties using drones, high-altitude balloons and even manned aircraft.
Cindy Picos, a resident of Auburn, California, said her home insurer, CSAA Insurance, dropped her after obtaining aerial photos of her roof.
Her experience echoed the feelings and anger of other homeowners, including Marilyn Smith and CJ Sveen, whose policies were rejected after the insurance company monitored their homes using drones.
Geospatial Insurance Consortium, a company that provides aerial imagery and geospatial information to insurers, says its aircraft imaging program covers 99 percent of the U.S. population.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase across the country in reports of consumers being ruled out by their insurers based on an aerial image,” said Amy Bach, executive director of the consumer group United Policyholders.
In Picos’ case, CSAA claimed its roof had met its life expectancy, but according to an independent inspection it had at least ten more years of life left, he said.
The insurer refused to reconsider its decision and Picos never had the opportunity to review the images.
A CSAA spokesperson said the company has updated the policy to allow owners to review images upon request. DailyMail.com has contacted the company for more information.
Other Californians’ policies were canceled under similar circumstances; For example, Smith and her husband drained their pool after her grandchildren grew up and said they no longer used it.
In response, AAA Homeowners Insurance said they noticed “deferred maintenance” on the pool and were unable to renew their insurance.
It’s not uncommon for insurance companies to use technology like drone surveillance and high-altitude balloons to look for risks, sometimes without the owner’s knowledge.
Other Californians’ policies were canceled under similar circumstances, for example, Smith and her husband emptied their pool after their grandchildren were grown and said they no longer used it.
Smith said he spoke to agents after receiving the shocking nonrenewal notice, who told him the rejection was clearly related to the pool in his backyard in Oakley.
“She just flat out said because the pool was empty,” Smith said. ‘I don’t understand what her problem is. Because you empty a pool and save water.’
Another resident, Sveen, said his insurance was not renewed due to the “mess” in his front yard. and a fourth owner was told his roof had “exceeded his normal lifespan.”
“Apparently they have some photos and noticed a mess,” Sveen said. ‘I find it offensive. How dare you judge me for my things!’
Sveen uses his garden as a workshop and said that when he asked to see any photos or videos they had taken, AAA denied his request.
“There was no chance to mitigate, clean up, do anything, you were just fired,” he said.
The rejections come just months after State Farm and Allstate announced they would not draft new policies in California due to wildfire concerns.
Some companies have been accused of using aerial photography to weed out unwanted customers, the WSJ reported.
Sveen, who lives in Oakley, California, was told his policy would not be renewed because photographs and videos had been taken showing debris in his yard.
Sveen uses his garden as a workshop and said that when he asked to see any photos or videos they had taken, AAA denied his request.
Nichole Brink, who quit her job as a Farmers Insurance agent, said, “It’s like they’re using anything as an excuse to get people off their books.”
Others at insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher said their firm has seen “an unprecedented level” of nonrenewals.
DailyMail.com has contacted both companies for more information.
“Technology is far ahead of any consumer protection,” said Douglas Heller, insurance director at the Consumer Federation of America.
“Part of the industry’s strategy is to avoid any situation where consumers have to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to this type of spyware approach to underwriting and qualification,” Heller said.
Neil Pearson, a consultant who works with imaging companies, said the use of aerial images will become more detailed and frequent.
‘It could be interesting from a privacy point of view since… a property could be monitored daily in high resolution. It’s a little Orwellian.”
