AIUA recently announced significant changes to their homeowners insurance policies which will become affective June 1, 2016. AIUA has typically been seen as the “insurer of last resort” due to the majority of their lower premium programs being offered having an Actual Cash Value, or ACV, settlement method. An ACV settlement method means the insurance company will pay you the depreciated value of your property (home, contents) in the event of a claim. That means that many property owners would not be able to afford to pay to rebuild or repair their homes in the event of a storm because the depreciated value is so much lower than the actual cost to repair or replace. Alabama Department of Insurance Commissioner, Jim Ridling, was quoted as saying: “If you drive from here to New Orleans, you get a good view of what happens when people cannot afford to rebuild. There are still abandoned homes, slabs, blue tarps and abandoned businesses from the Mississippi border to New Orleans. I do not want that to happen in the state of Alabama when we have a storm.”
The more favorable settlement method, and that used most often sold by SSIA is the Replacement Cost Value, or RCV, settlement method. This settlement type pays you for the cost to replace your property with items of like kind in the event of a claim. Check out our quick, 2-minute video which describes the two settlement types.
The policy changes which AIUA has just announced will provide policyholders with the option of purchasing the RCV settlement method for a smaller fee than previously offered, however the coverage the AIUA policies offer is still very limited as compared the policies that can obtained through the many carriers writing coverage along the coast. SSIA’s experienced agents can walk you through the benefits of obtaining better coverage while also finding you the best rates available with an RCV settlement method. Don’t let your property go under-protected, as the cost savings you see now may come back to haunt you in the form of high deductibles or inadequate settlement payment after a storm.
Why wait until June to look at changes? Obtain a fast, free, real-time insurance quote in just 5 minutes or less with no personal information via our online quote portal: www.ssiaquote.com.