Alfa Homeowners Insurance

When my older brother was setting up the insurance, it was over the telephone and he was never asked this question. My older brother couldn’t stay in Alabama to sign the application form, so my younger brother signed the form early the next week. When my younger brother signed, Alfa insurance placed the policy in his name. At this point, neither brother had read the application. About six weeks ago the house burned down. It caught fire somewhere in the ceiling and burned completely to the ground. My younger brother barely escaped the fire, wearing just a pair of blue jeans (no shirt nor shoes) and a cell phone. He got his car out of the garage, to the end of the driveway, then the house exploded. The house burned for hours then went full blaze again a couple of hours after the firetrucks left.

Upon filing a claim, ALFA used a fraud investigator that claimed my younger brother lied on the application because the conviction question was marked ‘No’ (it was printed “no" from Alfa), and my brother signed the form, but he had a serious arrest record from a decade ago before he moved in with my mother. The question was actually marked “no” from answers from my mother’s policy. When attempting to file, Alfa needed information from me and both brothers because we are all three on the deed. Alfa has rescinded the policy because they said they would have never issued the policy but never told us why. I asked for a copy of the signed policy application that my younger brother signed but Alfa refused to give one and none of their staff id online. This company refuses to give my brother a copy of the legal document he signed with them. I’d like anyone that is interested to join me in a Class Action lawsuit against Alfa.

Fortunately we had money in our saving to cover all damages. ALFA would not send another adjuster out. I asked for copy, I did receive... ALFA adjuster wanted us to just paint over all the buckled ceiling with Kilz paint, no mention of replacing soaked insulation, soaked carpet, no labor cost, no removal cost, nothing. Second claim 10 years later, 5 wheel parked adjacent to the home Open Range. The 5th wheel had an electrical malfunction that ignited a fire. The fire leaped the distance to my house 6-8 ft. Completely destroyed both 5th wheel and home. ALFA insured both units, what a nightmare. Alfa sent a large loss adjuster from Georgia. The adjuster was not experienced, had no knowledge of dwelling construction, only ALFA estimating program. Estimated total loss at 50k.

I have to admit, it was difficult to listen to such an inexperience person. My policy that I was paying for 15 years was for 175k. Alfa had now stretched me out for four months with nothing but investigators and tarps to cover damage. I still am paying a house note, trailer note, finding a place to stay, purchasing new everything, clothes, etc. Alfa meanwhile are still dragging their feet offering their version of "Cash Value". This is a number that only ALFA can determine. I didn't have a copy of my for policy,(Lost in Fire). The adjuster had a copy, he told me he could not give me a copy, but if I asked a question he would try to answer it. I wrote several e-mails and made several phone calls.

Eventually Alfa decided to start moving forward. I recommended getting a quote to rebuild. They agreed. I organized a contracts from Angie's list. His estimate was 205k. The inexperienced Alfa adjuster, said that the estimate was way off, extremely high. I asked them to use one of their contractors, they agreed. He came out and estimate 195k, minus the security system I had, minus the hardwood flooring we installed, minus the metal roof. The security system is what was on when the fire took place. I actually had video of the fire starting and pinpointed the location, which Alfa is currently using to pursue payment from Open Range.

Eventually ALFA paid the policy house value. However after depreciation on content, we could not replace a lot of the items. Te term replacement does not mean the item will be replaced, it will be adjusted and paid at a discounted rate. I believe we received roughly 40% of the value of our content. We are still going to depositions, and arbitration almost three years later. I would not wish a fire on anyone, but if it does happen, ALFA insurance company is definitely not going to be a shoulder to lean on. If anything, they will be the ones trying to knock the chair out from under you while you figure out how to house, cloth,and feed your family. I have learned a lot.

The local agents are nice, but when it comes to a claim, they send in outsiders to delay for a settlement. Do not count on ALFA insurance company for help. The outsiders they send have no sympathy for someone in this game. These people are out to reduce claims, however they can. Delay, not return calls, underestimate cost, non-cooperative, hold back information. I can't speak for all insurance companies, but I can sure speak about the one that tripped me up a couple of times. I will be changing insurance companies, but have to wait three years as I have a fire claim, even though no fault of my own. I am the one that sees higher premiums and inability to switch companies with this claim hanging over me.

Last thing, our neighbor who called 911 when she saw the fire, was badgered by the ALFA investigator. She said she wouldn't call 911 again if she saw another house on fire. Wow! Alfa not only treated us like a criminal, they were rude to the neighbors. My daughter was in the house at the time of the fire, my wife was notified and called my son to get my daughter out. I was working out of town and was called about 15 minutes after the fire being discovered. You just can't make this stuff up.

My first beef with Alfa came several years ago when our local agent talked my husband into changing the coverage on our home. She came out, made some suggestions, and told my husband we would be saving money, if we tweaked our policy a bit. Well that was a flat out lie! Instead of saving money, our premiums increased. My husband and I were both very upset, but we had been with the company so long, we just let it slide. Then a few years ago when our area was devastated by tornadoes, we heard rumors that Alfa was not wanting to honor their commitment to pay out, in many of the cases. We heard they cancelled a lot of people during that time. That did not sit very well with us.

Fast forward to January of this year when we were very surprised to receive a letter of cancellation from them. It gave no specific reason other than we no longer met their criteria. My husband heard they were no longer wanting to cover homes over 10yrs old, and since we were in one of the tornado-stricken areas (even though our home wasn't damaged), we just assumed that must be the reason.

They mailed a refund check minus the dues we had just recently paid! We ended up having to scramble to find insurance before the cancellation notice took effect. We did so and ended up going with another company, who offered the same coverage for half the price that Alfa was charging. We also changed our vehicles over to another company. After switching, we received a bill from Alfa for around $15. The statement was very generic and did not specifically state what the $15 was for. My husband went in person to the local office and was told it was a late fee for one of the vehicles. He told the representative he was not paying, as we had cancelled our vehicles and no longer had house or car insurance with them.

She agreed to write off the amount. While she was doing so, she looked in their system and told my husband the real reason we had received the cancellation notice was because of our dogs! We own, train and show American Bulldogs. The representative told my husband they no longer provide coverage to homeowners of bully breeds or Rottweilers. My husband told the representative it had never been a problem before. When we signed up with them years ago, the agent was fully aware of the dogs. He stated we have owned these dogs long before we started service with them, and have owned them the whole time. She said it was their policy since 2006.

The kicker is that we insured our 16 ft dog trailer, which we take with us to the shows. It has the name of our kennel and website plastered all over it. The trailer was inspected by an Alfa agent AFTER 2006 and nothing was ever said about it. If they don't want to provide coverage for potential dog bites, why not just state that in the policy and exclude it, instead of unfairly targeting specific breeds.

It appears that Alfa was just looking for any excuse to cancel us, even though we always paid our dues on time, and was a loyal customer for all those years. We also found out that several of our neighbors also received cancellation notices about the same time, which makes me suspicious. I really believe it has more to do with no longer wanting to provide for storm coverage in our area, even though they used the dogs as the reason for our personal cancellation. At any rate, we're now saving money with another company, so thank you and good riddance Alfa!

They have my personal property at almost $60K. There is NO way I have 60k worth of stuff, including clothing in this house! I never made a lot of money before I retired, so it's not like I shopped high dollar stores. I did go in to discuss all of this with my agent, and they offered to raise my deductible to $5K, to lower it about $100 a year. She told me if I didn't have to have the "wind coverage" on my policy due to mortgage, my total would be less than $400 a year (what it was 6 years ago). I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing that! I see why so many elderly drop their insurance now. I just want to know how in the world they get their values from on their computers. Are they going by rebuilding in CA or NY? How are all of these insurance companies getting away with this? I've called, many are not even writing policies in this area anymore. Can't someone put a freeze on homeowners insurance rates? I'm quite sure after writing this, I'll get canceled next year.