Insurance Quotes  >  Home Owners Insurance  > Iowa

Iowa like others of its climactic ilk is prone to tornadoes and thunderstorms. While state regulation governing the insurance laws here and the types of insurance policies available are primarily the same as those operational in the rest of the country, one thing Iowans are coming to terms with are the numbers of Insurance scams. These strike particularly in the wake of natural disasters.

Insurance and Scams

1. The importance of having insurance and keeping it up to date strikes one only when disaster has occurred. If you are in the process of buying a house, check for whether it is insured. Do not wait until a storm has ripped the building apart to consider insurance.
2. Most importantly as part of the post storm activities of cleaning up and repairing, ensure that you have a list of reputable local contractors who were there before the storm and will be there after. Get several written estimates; get a written contract with all details and costs. Ask if the contractor is registered with the Labor Services Division of Iowa Workforce Development (800-562-4692, ext. 25871), or check it out online at: www.iowaworkforce.org/labor/contractor.html. Ask for locals to refer contractors to you and check them out. Call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division to see if it has any complaints.
3. There are increasing cases in Iowa, which deal with con men offering to repair homes. They are seen to move in after a disaster because the conditions give them an edge. There are many people who in their eagerness to get cleaned-up or finish with repairs opt for the services of these fly by night operators. This may also be attributed to the shortage of local contractors to do all the work or the fact that there may be money around because of disaster or insurance payments, and people may be in a rush to get back to normal. Never pay large sums in advance to a contractor you don't know. Those are the cardinal rules to avoid being cheated.
4. Many insurance agents in Iowa offer consumer tips on avoiding storm-related scams. There is also the Consumer Protection Division, which can be reached by calling 515-281-5926. This cell deals with consumer complaints about questionable contractors, or about price gouging. This is not unknown and refers to exorbitant and unjustified prices being charged for products or services that are necessary for disaster victims.
   Iowa regulations declare price gouging to be an illegal activity in times when a disaster declaration has been issued.
5. Be aware of other scams that crop up in connection with natural disasters - charity scams (this involves fraudulent soliciting of money and donations for non existent charities purportedly to help disaster victims), advance-fee loan scams (taking money in advance supposedly to arrange a 'guaranteed' loan but never providing the loan), and con-artists presenting themselves as utility or government officials to get into people's homes for purposes of theft or other scams.