The Virginian-Pilot
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A bill to prevent home insurers from canceling policies or raising rates on homeowners because their properties were built with Chinese-made drywall passed the Virginia Senate on Monday.
The bill was introduced by State Sen. John C. Miller, D-Newport News. A similar bill, introduced in the House by Del. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News, is still being reviewed by the House committee on Commerce and Labor.
Those bills are among several introduced in General Assembly this year. Another bill introduced by Oder seeks to ensure individuals can file a claim with their home insurer on property damage caused by the tainted drywall. It too is waiting for action by the House committee.
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Amazing . . .
It is amazing this actually got passed. We've got friends who had an addition built onto their home with Chinese drywall. Since it cleared inspection with the city and the trouble didn't start showing up until a month after construction was finished, they thought they were out of luck. As it is, their homeowners' insurance did cover for it under a 'dangerous materials' clause. Their insurance did pay out to have the rebuilt - this time with plywood instead of sheetrock.
With all the power the insurance companies have in politics, I'm surprised this got passed. This is another case of where it pays to carefully read one's insurance policy and make certain you're getting the coverage you figure you'll need.
Bill without a cause
Is this just something someone made up because they were bored? It doesn't even make sense because homeowners insurance doesn't cover such things.
Yes
I thought it was the home warranty that you can purchase if you want that would cover (only for a couple years) defects that exist in the house when purchased but homeowners insurance covers perils that happen during ownership. Bad drywall happened before purchase thus would probably not be covered like a preexisting conditions in medical insurance. Auto insurance does not cover you from purchasing a car with mechanical or body problems, only accidents.
And up goes the house
And up goes the house insurance rates...
Our government is not
Our government is not protecting it's citizens by allowing these toxic products into our country. The CPSC is still not able to tell us what is in this Drywall from China that is causing these extreme conditions to happening in our homes. Until the government can answer these questions they need to have everything that has to do with our homes put on hold: mortgage, taxes, and insurance.
When the CPSC, HUD, EPA or Congress can let us know:
1) What in this drywall is causing such extreme conditions in our homes.
2) How we remedy these homes to return them to their original value.
3) That they can certify that these homes are safe for our families to live in.
then our mortgages, insurance and taxes can pick up from where we left off! Until then assistance is needed from all branches of our government. We have been ignored for a year and it is time to acknowledge this disaster that has happened to American Citizens and take care of our own! Many families are still sick living in these toxic environments because the above issues have not been put in place for them to be able to make a safe and financially secure exit from their toxic homes, their once safe haven!
Bill Intro
A Democrat introduced the Bill. This is more about the Chinese than the insurance industry.
What does it matter who introduced it?
Maybe I'm stupid and don't understand... what does it matter who introduced this bill to protect homeowners from being dropped by their insurance? You pay for insurance for your home, in fact, in most cases, you are REQUIRED to have insurance, but at the very thought of actually having to "pay up" the insurance companies bail out. This isn't a matter of partisan politics, it's a matter of insurance companies doing their job and insurering their customers.
Republican confusion;
Doesn’t this bill go against everything Republicans stand for. Isn’t it the insurers right to drop policies that represent a potential loss for his/her company. Health insurance companies do it all the time.
That's conservative
That's conservative philosophy which many Republicans do not subscribe to.