A little-known inspection is helping homeowners slash their insurance premiums—sometimes by thousands of dollars. Here’s how it works.
NEW ORLEANS — This is a story that could affect your wallet, in a really good way.
Some homeowners have found a way to save hundreds, even thousands of dollars, on their homeowner’s insurance.
Dr. Mike Kiernan remembers when his homeowner’s insurance premium took a big jump up after Hurricane Ida, but his current premium is going down by more than $4,000.
“I really was not expecting. I was hoping we’d save a few hundred dollars at most, but it was much more than that,” said Metairie homeowner Dr. Mike Kiernan.
That’s because he decided to have a home wind mitigation inspection by a professional licensed by the state.
“An hour later, I uploaded it to my insurance company, and I think it was two days later, I got a reply, and it dropped 35 percent, my homeowners I mean. It was huge,” Dr. Kiernan remembers.
“And one of the problems is there’s no awareness. People are not being made aware of it,” said Al Spitale, a licensed and insured wind mitigation inspector, who owns Bella Casa Inspections.
Spitale went through a nearly year-long training course to do wind mitigation inspections. In 2009, the legislature mandated that these inspections should be considered in determining your insurance cost.
“But nobody paid much attention to it because the insurance rates were somewhat stable,” Spitale said.
Now with rates through the roof, slowly people are getting an inspection to see if they can save money.
Al Richard just had an inspection on his Metairie home in April.
“It was a substantially favorable response. I will round it down slightly to 40 percent. It was extremely good news,” said Metairie homeowner Al Richard.
He says that extra $1,700 this, and likely each year going forward, will help pay for the rising flood and car insurance.
Bella Casa Inspections charges $250. There are 14 items they look for. Some of the biggest savings are for double pane windows, reinforced doors, certain types of joists in the attic, and a water shield under the shingles. Some homeowners find no savings. Others save between $500 to $5,000 each year.
Spitale says some people still think this program is a scam.
“I say call your agent. If your agent tells you they could possibly help, then you call me,” said Spitale.
Dr. Kiernan thought he was already getting all the insurance discounts he could. Now he has documentation, and peace of mind, that his house is more wind resistant than he thought, along with big savings.
“It’s going to pay for a nice vacation this summer that we probably would not have done,” he laughed.
The Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council home page:
https://lsuccc.dps.louisiana.gov/
List of the inspectors licensed by Louisiana:
https://lsuccc.dps.louisiana.gov/media/t42mi3eu/approved_wind_mitigation_specialist_updated_9-9-2024.pdf
Click here to report a typo.
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Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.