Discharged and SO DEPRESSED. I need Advice

[dneil]

Okay, So we were discharged January 4th of this year, case is now closed.

I got a statement from my mortgage company stating my house payment went up... about 20 dollars, when last month they said it was going down by 20 dollars. So in essence, it is 40 dollars more than I thought it would be last month. Turns out that my mortgage insurance rate went from $695 a year to $1,133.00. I called AAA and asked why. Their reasononing was my "insurance score". And because the change in score, I lost a "discount". One that is costing me $430.00 a year on just the mortgage alone. I told them this was ridiculous. This didn't happen when I was being sued last year, or when I wasn't making any payments nor had filed for bankruptcy relief. So NOW they are charging me more when I paid an attorney to have a fresh start? WTF? How is this right? She couldn't tell me "exactly" what it was that determined their decision other than it is based on my insurance score. I looked at my auto policy which says I have unpaid past due accounts, a large number of outstanding accounts. Poor credit history. Ummmmm, how is this right? All of those accounts were included in bankruptcy? I am in Michigan, and this sucks. I am looking for other insurance, but meanwhile..... has anyone else suffered this situation? Has anyone any advice at all for me?
It just makes you feel like giving up. No matter what we try to do to stabalize our life, some big company puts our their hand, knowing insurance is mandatory, and bends us over expecting us to crap golden bricks. I have had it.

[ValleYum]

I am so very sorry {{{dneil}}}. That just sucks.

BUT... insurance companies are advertising like crazy to get new business - Nationwide with the xylophone guy and Allstate with the Mayhem man are on my television every time I turn around. The increase in bank-owned properties due to foreclosures and folks walking away are killing their profits.

AAA isn't the only fish in the sea. So take their business away and hit them where it hurts.

You mentioned about accounts that should be showing as included in the BK - a lot of the time, it takes going over your credit report and asking the appropriate agency ie: Transunion or Experian or the creditor themselves to make the proper corrections if they are not reporting your account correctly. A PITA for sure - but a necessary evil.

In the meantime: Did you consider raising your deductible? That would help to lower your premiums. Also - check on what they have down for your coverage amount - it may still be at the inflated amount of a few years back. Between raising our deductible from $500 to $1500 and changing the coverage amount to more accurately reflect the current hosing market - our homeowner's premiums dropped over 30%. That was HUGE for us.

Golly, I just hate the way big companies act sometimes. Ugh.

Hang in there!!!! We are here for you!

[AngelinaCatHub]

I would talk to the insurance carrier. What makes them think, just because the economy is in the bucket that you are more risk than before the bk? Did you reaffirm the house? If not, I would tell the bank that they are forcing your hand to give the house back and rent for less.

It is not fair, true. We had similar problems securing new insurance as they would not touch a bk for five years after. I have no earthly reason why for this. If you reason with the mortgage holder that you can pay for the house at the current price not the new additional, that would be fair and you could stay. I would do this in person (if practical).

It's worth a try.

Cheer up, you are hitting the bit of downside of bk, but look how much you have gone through and survived. Try not to be depressed over this as there are worse things in life. I wish I could help more. 'Hub

[tobee43]

me too...sending you BIG hugs.....dneil.....

it happened to us as well........now, so i keep calling around and finally got another policy........maybe you adjust some of the figures....like...ie. when most likely you took out the policy maybe the house was worth 300k......and today...maybe 150k.........lower the coverage on the amount.......we did....just for what we paid for the house and NOT replacement costs like in the old days.

now..i'm not saying "under" insure...but the values here have dropped most likely over 50%.(that's the truth actually here, because i know what this house sold for the time before we purchased it).....and so when i went shopping for insurance i called AAA also, but ended up with another "local" company...it was 1/2 the price ....

good luck...and see if you can get someone else...it will be ok!

[AngelinaCat]

Go to your local independent insurance agent and see what they can do for you. Be prepared to spend several hours in the office so that you can answer questions. Insurance underwriters for the different companies will all have different questions.

You might want to read through this thread: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...rance-after-BK

It contains a rant from me about what we went through trying to get insurance that we could afford. Whatever you do, you don't want to have your insurance lapse so that there is a gap in coverage. THAT will create a whole other can of worms:

Good luck to you and {{{huggs}}} Please keep us posted on how you are doing!

[StrawberrySu]

me too...sending you BIG hugs.....dneil.....

it happened to us as well........now, so i keep calling around and finally got another policy........maybe you adjust some of the figures....like...ie. when most likely you took out the policy maybe the house was worth 300k......and today...maybe 150k.........lower the coverage on the amount.......we did....just for what we paid for the house and NOT replacement costs like in the old days.

now..i'm not saying "under" insure...but the values here have dropped most likely over 50%.(that's the truth actually here, because i know what this house sold for the time before we purchased it).....and so when i went shopping for insurance i called AAA also, but ended up with another "local" company...it was 1/2 the price ....

good luck...and see if you can get someone else...it will be ok!

Dneil, I feel bad for you and for all of us who have to have more pain added on after BK (insurance, getting a car loan, finding a decent place to live). Here is hoping for the best for you! I do want to ask Tobee what insurance company she has found that will let you insure for loan value not replacement value. I can't seem to find one anywhere. The replacement value thing is such a scam! My son has a home in a not so great area, bought for $42k, and must insure it for 180k!

[tobee43]

Dneil, I feel bad for you and for all of us who have to have more pain added on after BK (insurance, getting a car loan, finding a decent place to live). Here is hoping for the best for you! I do want to ask Tobee what insurance company she has found that will let you insure for loan value not replacement value. I can't seem to find one anywhere. The replacement value thing is such a scam! My son has a home in a not so great area, bought for $42k, and must insure it for 180k!

wow, that's terrilbe StrawberrySu......is it because that's the amount of the mortgage????

you're right what a scam this is for us...our punishment ....i guess...

[OhioFiler]

Unfortunately, insurance companies don't just make up the amount they charge for premiums. They pay huge sums of money to actuaries who rate the likely risk of a claim being filed. One of those risk factors is credit worthiness. It is more likely that a person with poor credit will try to make money off an insurance claim. It's not personal.

Most states require insurance carriers to participate in a shared risk pool. That may be something worth looking into.

Here is a link to Michigan's explanation of how credit affects your premium. Michigan Insurance.

Good luck to you.

[df04527]

OMG - don't get me started on homeowners insurance! OMG

i know this isn't much help - but BE VERY THANKFUL your not in Florida! Talk about rape........

[OhioFiler]

OMG - don't get me started on homeowners insurance! OMG

i know this isn't much help - but BE VERY THANKFUL your not in Florida! Talk about rape........

Equating insurance premium costs with violent sexual assault seems excessive to me.

[tobee43]

Unfortunately, insurance companies don't just make up the amount they charge for premiums. They pay huge sums of money to actuaries who rate the likely risk of a claim being filed. One of those risk factors is credit worthiness. It is more likely that a person with poor credit will try to make money off an insurance claim. It's not personal.

Most states require insurance carriers to participate in a shared risk pool. That may be something worth looking into.

Here is a link to Michigan's explanation of how credit affects your premium. Michigan Insurance.

Good luck to you.

the same with auto insurance.......(breath)

i asked the agent and we were fortunate, as coming out of bk our FICO scores were 690 and 685...only because i never stopped paying the CC's until the very end..(on purpose) but that strategy didn't allow tons of late payments to be reflected on our credit report...as a result our car insurance was and is still low....the problem here (fl)...is the huricanes...and weather issues as well as credit issues...so you get a double whammy.

fair..no, life is not fair, but this is what happens. still, some states do no use credit as their criteria, we actually found out here in flordia some companies use it and others do not...same with nj. so, as you point out if in MI they do...well then your SOL.

[Jacey]

Good lord.

[StrawberrySu]

wow, that's terrilbe StrawberrySu......is it because that's the amount of the mortgage????

you're right what a scam this is for us...our punishment ....i guess...

No Tobee the mortgage is 40k .. it's because it has wood floors, wood trim .. yeah, in a nice neighborhood it could be worth $180k ... but not when you are a few houses down from a crack hotel and across the street from a low income health clinic! My son is on SSD, and his choices were pretty limited, because of his income ($800 month).

[tobee43]

No Tobee the mortgage is 40k .. it's because it has wood floors, wood trim .. yeah, in a nice neighborhood it could be worth $180k ... but not when you are a few houses down from a crack hotel and across the street from a low income health clinic! My son is on SSD, and his choices were pretty limited, because of his income ($800 month).

wow.....sorry to hear that...really a shame.

[IamOld]

May I suggest Liberty Mutual? They don't pay much attention to credit scores!! In fact, you may be part of an alumni associations, etc. that'll get you extra discounts. Call them!!!!