Guide One Insurance - Steve Eubanks Agent Refused to buy a claim for hail damage on my roof Midwest City Oklahoma

I am Steve Eubanks, whom Ray has mentioned in his ripoff report. I was, indeed, Ray's agent for several years, and am familiar with this claim. The first thing Ray forgot to report was that I do not settle or deny claims. A claims adjuster does that. I placed the policy on the house, which did include replacement cost coverage on the roof. The second thing Ray forgot to report was that his own inspector noted, at the time of his purchase of the home, that the roof had been damaged. The third thing Ray forgot to report was that the claims history reflected that the roof had been settled with the previous owner, and that the representation to us was that the damage had been repaired. In the process of investigating this claim, we discovered that the previous owner did not repair the damage, but rather took the money and ran, and that the damage found when Ray was selling the house was, in fact, the previous damage. GuideOne appropriately declined to pay for the damage a second time, and the Oklahoma Insurance Department agreed with this position. Ray's issue is actually with the previous owner who took the money without repairing the damage. This is the only rebuttal I will offer to this report.

Sorry, I'm not pissed off at the world just GuideOne and my agent Steve Eubanks. The fact of the matter is GuideOne insured my home which includes the ROOF. They should have verified the roof to be in good condition, how is that my responsiblity. They seem to have the expert knowledge if they are so good to know the hail damage occured in '05.

The people who sold you the home ripped you off.......it's as simple as that and now you're pissed off at the world. The sellers filed a claim on their homeowners policy and instead of replacing the roof like they should have, they used the money for a vacation in Jamaica probably.

This is in no way the responsibility of your insurance company. Contact the sellers and sue them to replace your roof.

Maybe someone such as an insurance agent can chime in on what exactly they do when a person wants to insure a house. I can say I've never had an agent get on the roof of any of my houses that I bought to inspect it. They usually just did a drive by or a quick walk-through, at the most.

What I would suggest doing first, if you don't have your own copy yet, is ordering a CLUE report on the house from Choice Point. Since you own the house you should be able to do this. Once you have the report in your hands then you'll know for sure who is not telling the truth.

Secondly, I would contact your state's insurance regulatory agency - they should be able to advise you on what the agent or insurance company's responsibility was when you applied for home insurance with them. Based on that you could also file a complaint.

3rd, I'd see advice from your real estate agent that represented you for advice on the situation or consult an attorney. It sounds like if the damage was that obvious on the roof that the home inspector you retained did not serve you well nor were the previous owners truthful on the disclosure. You may be able to work something out without having to resort to legal action.

I know when my roof was damaged from hail that my insurance company sent an adjuster and a check was cut to me directly. A year later I received a follow up form that inquired whether I had the roof repaired with supporting documentation. There's definitely opportunity to keep the money in those types of situations.

I'd personally go after the previous owners and your inspector, first, as it's more clear cut - but whichever way you go, best of luck and let us know how it turns out.

Yes, I did have a home inspector out prior to purchasing my home and he wrote that he found the roof to be fine. Also, as an insurance company do they not send an inspector out to inspect the roof and house prior to accepting the insurer? I mean, if not then how would they know if the house and roof is okay to insure? I also have the discloser statement from the previous owners that owned the home during the time the supposed claim was filed and they put on the statement that there was not damage or had any claim to damage on the roof. So yes, I will pursue that avenue after pursing the insurance company's responsibility first. I feel as an insurer that if I call my insurance company and they accept to insure my house it is not my responsibility to do a "claim search" in some database to search for previous claims filed, it is their responsibility. They should have notified me before accepting my premiums that my roof could not be insured until it was repaired.

I don't see that the insurance company you have would be responsible for hail damage that occurred before they insured your house. They probably looked in the CLUE database for prior claims, that all insurers use, on the house, and that's how they found out about the prior owner's claim.

When buying the house did you have a home inspection done? If they checked the roof it would seem negligent that it wasn't caught.

Also, if the previous owner, that you bought it from, was the owner when the damage occurred then they should have disclosed the hail damage and whether or not it was repaired.

If the previous owner did not state it in the disclosure then you may want to consult a real estate attorney on your possible options.

That is common sense. If the damage happened before you paid GuideOne to insure your house, why would you think that GuideOne would be responsible for paying out on the claim?

I don't see that the insurance company you have would be responsible for hail damage that occurred before they insured your house. They probably looked in the CLUE database for prior claims, that all insurers use, on the house, and that's how they found out about the prior owner's claim.

When buying the house did you have a home inspection done? If they checked the roof it would seem negligent that it wasn't caught.

Also, if the previous owner, that you bought it from, was the owner when the damage occurred then they should have disclosed the hail damage and whether or not it was repaired.

If the previous owner did not state it in the disclosure then you may want to consult a real estate attorney on your possible options.

I purchased my house 2/27/06 located in Edmond Oklahoma. I contacted my insurance agent, Steve Eubanks to insure my home. I have had him as my agent for several years. He notified me later that my house for covered and with full replacement for any damage on my roof.

I sold my house in January of 2007. The buyers had their home inspector come out he noted my roof had hail damage and needed to be replaced. I contacted Guide One to put in a claim. They sent their adjuster out and he noted that the hail damage occured in 2005. Steve Eubanks then later contacted me and said not only was the hail damage from 2005 but the previous owners had filed a claim with their insurance company but not repaired. He then went further to say that Guide One would not pay on my claim.

I asked if Guide One had inspected my roof at the time they began insuring me and if so why they didn't advise me then of the damage. Instead they waited until I had a claim then deny it. He said it was not Guide Ones problem but that I as the owner should have inspected the roof for hail damage when I purchased it.

Ray Edmond, Oklahoma
U.S.A.