Homeowners dropped by insurance companies

Yesterday we told you that a new study shows more and more people are being dropped by their insurance companies. We wanted to know if this is affecting residents of our hurricane-prone area.

Although the numbers show nationally there is an increase of people getting dropped by their insurance companies, those we spoke with today said that it hasn’t been a problem for them.

Valerie Wiegman has lived in her Wrightsville Beach home for five years. Her home has had no more than some water damage.

Wiegman said, “I just think that so far we’ve been lucky and I hope it continues to be that way and we don’t experience any devastating losses or storms.”

Doris Weeks and her husband have owned their Shell Island home since the late sixties.
She says they’ve made about three insurance claims over the years.

Weeks said, “Water mostly. Some wind damage. We had to have the roof replaced completely once. Had a lot of water in the house after Fran. A lot of sand, a lot of just dirt.”

With that damage to their home Dorris says they’ve never had a problem with their coverage.

Weeks said, “In the early years I don’t think it was all that difficult to get. We’ve never had any stumbling blocks.”

Insurance is becoming more expensive.

Many local people say they are paying more for their coverage these days.

While these Wrightsville Beach residents aren’t caught in the national trend of being dropped by their agencies, they’re aware of the possibility.

Wiegman said, “When you live in a high-risk area like this you have to be aware that that does happen. The insurance company that we’re with, I feel like we’ve been good customers and had a good relationship with them for quite a while.”

If you’ve been dropped by your insurance company or are paying higher rates than in the past, we’d like to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.