I have been trying to find a new home insurance policy, but I keep getting denied because of two old drone insurance claims I had with State Farm. A couple of years ago, I crashed my first expensive drone, and then about a year later, my second one got stolen while I was on a backpacking trip.
Now, I just found out that State Farm categorizes drone claims under ‘fire’ insurance, so it looks like I had two fire-related claims in the last three years, even though I’ve never filed a claim on my house since I bought it in 2006.
I’m currently with Progressive Homelite, but they aren’t renewing my policy. I’ve already tried getting quotes from:
Allstate
USAA
Liberty
State Farm (obviously a no-go)
Progressive (current provider but not renewing)
Farmers
Are there any private companies or independent brokers that might be able to help with this? I’d really appreciate any advice.
You’re probably going to need an insurance agent to help you find coverage. And going forward, you should get a separate policy for drone insurance instead of lumping it in with your home policy.
Masitsa said:
You’re probably going to need an insurance agent to help you find coverage. And going forward, you should get a separate policy for drone insurance instead of lumping it in with your home policy.
I had Allstate for home insurance since 2006 when I bought my house, but I switched to Progressive six months ago because of adding a teen driver. My drone insurance was completely separate with State Farm, and they never mentioned that it would show up as fire-related claims. Now I’m dealing with this mess.
@Quinby
Any time you file an insurance claim, it leaves a record. Insurance companies care more about recent claim history than how long you’ve gone without filing in the past.
Which state are you in? You might need to find a local insurance broker who can work with different providers and find a company willing to insure you.
Brown said:
Which state are you in? You might need to find a local insurance broker who can work with different providers and find a company willing to insure you.
I’m in South Carolina. I’ve already started reaching out to a few local brokers.
An independent insurance agent might be able to find coverage for you. They have access to different companies that don’t always show up in online searches.
Ariana said:
An independent insurance agent might be able to find coverage for you. They have access to different companies that don’t always show up in online searches.
Just got off the phone with one, hoping they can help.
Those drone claims are probably showing up in the system as property losses, and most insurance companies will see them as a risk, especially since they were classified as fire-related. Most companies focus on claims within the last five years, not just your full history.
A local broker might be able to help, but you’ll probably need to go with a non-standard provider, which might mean higher premiums.
Your drone losses are likely showing up on your CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report as property claims, which is why it’s affecting your home insurance. You might want to request loss reports from State Farm and your current provider to show that these weren’t actual home-related claims. That might help with some companies. Do you have any other past home insurance claims?
@Baylen
No, I’ve never had a home insurance claim since I bought my house in 2006. Not even when I replaced my roof eight years ago. State Farm told me the drone claims were categorized under fire losses, which is ridiculous. I really think they should make that clear when selling the policy so people don’t get blindsided like this.
@Quinby
Did you pay a separate premium for the drone insurance, or did they just tell you it was covered under personal property? Some things like mowers or trailers are covered under home insurance by default, but they usually have lower limits.
@pearl
I had Allstate for home and got drone insurance separately through State Farm. They list it as its own policy on their website, but they never mention that claims would show up as home insurance-related.
@Quinby
When looking for new drone coverage, ask if claims get reported to CLUE. If they don’t, that might be a safer option for you. Having two claims in two years could make it harder to find affordable coverage in the future.
Have you tried requesting a Letter of Experience from State Farm? It might help to show that the claims were for drone losses, not actual home insurance claims.