Dear editor,
You’ve just paid your homeowner’s insurance in full and on time. You’ve done so every year since you bought the property and had no claims on your policy. Nevertheless, if you refuse to pay the premium on someone else’s property, your policy will be cancelled.
Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Well, your insurance broker will tell you it’s all legal. Here’s how it works.
You own one side of a duplex. Your insurance is all paid up but the owner of the other side doesn’t pay. The insurance company gives him 15 days’ grace. He still doesn’t pay and the company starts adding late fees. Thirty days after the initial deadline, he still hasn’t paid and the company now gives you the option of paying your neighbour’s premium or having your fully paid policy cancelled. Justice,eh?
Quite properly, you refuse to pay any part of your neighbour’s premium and your policy is cancelled. Check the facts, folks. Recourse is small claims court, a very expensive issue if you’re a delinquent neighbour.
Leith Stewart,
Comox