Clandestine Insurance

[TheWire]

Assume a person "theoretically"  built a cabin that was so deep in the woods no goverment authority was aware of it and the cabin builder previously had liability insurance for the property.  Does anyone have any thoughts on whether pursusing insurance on the cabin would require some verification that the cabin was permitted or if it might trigger interaction between the insurance company and the county?


Thanx,

Jerry

[glenn kangiser]

Jerry, that question reminds me of the question,

" If a man goes out into the forest and speaks, and no woman hears, is he still wrong?" hmm

Actually Sassy takes care of our insurance and anything that needs intellligence, so I'm not sure but I think ours is covered as additional land in addition to other policies we have.  May not be well covered pon the cabin. 

Hermits can limit their exposure by hiding under bridges and scaring outsiders away.  No public access - no liability.  That said -- we have quite a few drop ins.

[Minicup28]

I just insured our shed in the woods. The company sent a local rep.to take photos and verify its existence and didn't want to see the plans, permit or anything other than to verify the insured value was correct.

[Jackson Landers]

No, you'd be in good shape there. I'm a wholesale insurance broker, licensed as an agent and have been writing homeowners business for the last 9 years. There is no system whereby insurance companies announce to local governments that they have insured a particular structure within their jurisdiction.  You could get property or liability coverage (preferably both) and that would never cause the County to know that the cabin was there without a permit.

Of course, if there was a fire that trashed the cabin and you filed a property claim, the company would then want a copy of the fire chief's report on it. They always check that stuff to make sure it wasn't arson. And at that point, whether or not the fire department had responded to the fire in the first place, the county government is probably going to get tipped off that you'd been fudging the rules. It's very likely that the whomever investigates the fire would ask the building department for a copy of the plans, find they weren't there, and one thing would lead to another. Maybe in some counties with volunteer departments nobody would bother following up. But it could happen.

The company still has to pay the claim even if the building was there illegally. If it's a total loss, then the problem becomes moot since the county can't make you get rid of a building that has already burned down. But if it's a partial loss, then maybe you get a check from the insurance company for $30,000 worth of damage, but then the county shows up with a bulldozer and knocks down the remaining $70,000 worth of house that didn't burn and you're out of luck.

[glenn kangiser]

In a study by Ken Kern, the county seldom destroyed the owner built home -- In one case a person decided to defy them and invited dozens of his friends to build on his land along with his unpermitted structure.  They did come in and destroy the friends places who had no title to the land but they left the unpermitted house of the land owner.  It seems there really are constitutional/owner rights issues they have to deal with.

[desdawg]

I have zero permits and insurance on my little house on the mountain. The insurance company will take your money no sweat. I have never filed a claim to see how that part works out. Mine is a park model mobile home registered with the state as an RV travel trailer wwith a current license plate so I assume it doesn't matter where I park it.