# Insurance



## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

Sitting eating dinner with DW tonight and the topic of insurance came up. DW shared a story from her friend that she talked to last night at the Girl Scout meeting. Seems the friend was not allowed to renew her home owner's insurance since she had a trampoline in her backyard. How do you know I have a trampoline, she asked?? Agent advised her that the corporate office used the street level view of Google maps to view her house and saw the trampoline!! They then flagged her account with a contingency that she had to get rid of the trampoline in order to renew her insurance!

Anyone have any thoughts or comments? Be careful, Big Brother is watching.

DAN


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

Yes I have heard of people getting threatning letters for having trampolines,diving boards and slides on pools. Yes some satillite views are getting a little to close.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Trampolines are the worst. Someone will always get hurt. They should be removed from the general publics ability to purchase. IMHO of course...


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

Yikes, what next Keystone using google earth to see if we do roof maintenance on our OB's, before they consider any warranty claims.









Brad


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Trampolines are the worst. Someone will always get hurt. They should be removed from the general publics ability to purchase. IMHO of course...


I have to agree Jim, our kids think we are the worst parents when we say they can't jump on a friends trampoline. Those things scare the you know what out of me.

Brad


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## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

Soon we will have to call the insurance companies and ask them where we can live and what we can drive and God forbid you have any hobbies like scuba diving or racing! Then we can ask them if we can pay them for the privilege of having nothing but attitude for their services and hoping we never have to use them?

Oh wait that's what we have now!!


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Trampolines are the worst. Someone will always get hurt. They should be removed from the general publics ability to purchase. IMHO of course...


I agree Jim,

I would never own a trampoline. My kids have no interest in having one. My post is more in regard to the fact that the corporate office of an insurance company is now using things like Google Earth to spy on you. This is a bit concerning to me. You think about things like cell phones, GPS, EasyPass. etc..... Where does it end? If you eat at McDonald's often, does your health insurance premium go up? GPS indicates you speed, maybe run a stop sign or two, your auto insurance is canceled? Seems we are not too far from this.

DAN


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Many insurance companies require you to disclose if you have a pool, of any type and a trampoline. Most don't do that though. So the companies are using the resources they can to find out. In the past you would have your agent drop by and inspect your house. If you want lower rates you're going to have to play by their rules. I'm sure a company will write their policy, but they are going to pay.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ouch! Never thought of using satellites for that!!!

As for trampolines, we have neightbors with one. Last week a bunch of the neighborhood boys were jumping on it WITH plastic light sabers. It was an epic battle going on with them all swinging at each other while jumping.








DS was VERY jealous and was upset when I told him he couldn't join in the fun.


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

They are dangerous.
Goggle earth is scary but "legal" although our 4 fathers would question the constitutionality of it I'm sure.

Insurance, in a word, USAA.


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## GoodTimes (Mar 9, 2009)

bradnjess said:


> Trampolines are the worst. Someone will always get hurt. They should be removed from the general publics ability to purchase. IMHO of course...


I have to agree Jim, our kids think we are the worst parents when we say they can't jump on a friends trampoline. Those things scare the you know what out of me.

Brad
[/quote]

We too are horrible parents - our kids are banned from trampolines. Not worth the risk.

As for Big Brother/Insurance - SCARY!


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## KosinTrouble (Jul 18, 2005)

I have no problem with trampolines as long as they are used/set up properly. But that is a different argument/discussion.

I have no problem with the insurance company using google maps. I see it as being no different that some agent coming to my house to do a yearly inspection. Although I dont think they should just blanket deny anyone insurance because of a trampoline, I dont see why they cant exclude any coverage from something that happens on the trampoline. Again just my opionons.

Hopefully your wifes friend can get it all worked out.

Kos


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## JerseyGirl86 (Mar 30, 2009)

This is a great one for me to answer since I was on both sides of the fence! I DID buy my kids a trampoline (I know, bad mommy!) and I then had 20 other kids jumping on it...even when we weren't home!!!!! My daughter , 3 then, fell head first on the ground and had to go to ER...just a bump thank God. My youngest one just about got shaken baby syndrome from his brother and sister jumping. Then my oldest son broke his foot on it a year later and out that damn thing went!!!!! Fast forward to 4 years ago and my daughter is over my cousins house...who BTW has 3 boys and they have 10 friends over. She actually let them set their basketball court above the trampoline! My daughter gets on there and the force of the big boys jumping down made her fly up in the air and split her head open on the rim!!!!!

Long story short, she got 3 stitches on her head, they had to shave off a section of her long beautiful hair, and I still fight with my cousin over this issue. Totally irresponsible to let a 7 year old girl bounce on a trampoline with ten 15 year old boys.

They are so much fun for these kids, but the ones who get hurt or the parents who get sued don't think so.

But I do think it's YOUR business if you have one and the insurance company has a lot of nerve to spy on your house. I thought those were only things the government did?!?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Remember, Insurance companies are private entities that get to make up their own rules (as long as they aren't violating laws). In the case of any of this stuff(trampolines, diving boards, etc), I'm sure they have plenty of data to support their decision not to offer insurance. They give fits for smaller things than that. I remember when DW and I moved in together, we were only engaged







. The insurance company I was with at the time made no bones about the fact that they would not cover her stuff since we weren't married (Apparently, they were focused on family values or something....







). Anyway, no hard feelings from me, I just called around and found an agency with looser morals







. (We've been with State Farm ever since)

My point is, yes, they can set those restrictions, and yes they can check to make sure you comply, but it's a free country so it's usually easy to find someone else wanting to sell you insurance.


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

We have friends that were almost denied homeowners insurance because of their dog, who was a pit bull/lab mix. At the time the dog was almost 10 years old and spent more time couch surfing that chasing. Insurance companies have a "list" of dogs they consider potentially dangerous. Its based on peoples fears, not on actual "attack" or "bite" data.... if it was, the toy poodle would be at the top of the list - the last time I looked there were more bites from small, toy breeds than the large dogs they "list"

We have a Neapolitan Mastiff (aka: Couch Surfer). She is a big girl (140 lbs). When we purchased our home owners insurance we had to prove that she was not a Cane Corso, which was the breed of dog that attacked and killed a lady in San Francisco. Because of this attack, these dogs have been "listed" even though the dogs that attacked this lady were trained attack dogs. The Cane Corso is a big burly dog, but mostly of big couch surfers.


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Remember, Insurance companies are private entities that get to make up their own rules (as long as they aren't violating laws). In the case of any of this stuff(trampolines, diving boards, etc), I'm sure they have plenty of data to support their decision not to offer insurance. They give fits for smaller things than that. I remember when DW and I moved in together, we were only engaged
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can't believe a private entity would bring morality into play! That should be left up to the government


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

TexanThompsons said:


> Remember, Insurance companies are private entities that get to make up their own rules (as long as they aren't violating laws). In the case of any of this stuff(trampolines, diving boards, etc), I'm sure they have plenty of data to support their decision not to offer insurance. They give fits for smaller things than that. I remember when DW and I moved in together, we were only engaged
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can't believe a private entity would bring morality into play! That should be left up to the government








[/quote]

Whatever their reason, they had it (I'm sure it wasn't really morality







). Regardless, that's their choice and we made ours. State Farm has since collected over $20k in premiums (between houses and cars and trailers....) for no claims other than 1 broken windshield.


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Yup, been with state Farm now for 15 years and have no complaints. Well, except their coverage for my TT was inadequate so we went with Geico.


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## Ridgway-Rangers (Apr 18, 2008)

Insurance companies are just in it for the money. Trampolines are a great way for them to say you weren't covered if someone gets hurt.
I was listening to a comedian who hit this home. 
Remember lawn darts!,







wood burning kits!







, home chemistry sets!,







riding bikes without helmets,







Skateboards with hard clay wheels, your parents chain smoking while on a long road trip! How did we survive childhood?
I don't have a trampoline but know people who do. I let my son play on them. I remember how fun they were. We can't deprive our kids of everything for the sake of safety. How will they learn to be cautious if they don't get skinned up once in a while?
Ya, my son broke both his arms jumping off a baseball back stop,







but who didn't?


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

The insurance company was using the Street View feature of Google Maps. They could have done the same thing by driving down the street and looking at your property; in fact they used to and probably still do. One day I got to say hello to my insurance agent who was standing across the street taking a picture of the house "for my file". The trouble with using Google Maps (either street view or arial view) for purposes like this is that you don't know the date the photo was taken; it could have been of the house under previous ownership.

Google Earth and Goggle Maps "Satellite View" don't always use satellite views, by the way. Many of the photos are from aerial surveys, some of which are in the public domain anyway, Google just packaged them up in an easy-to-use fashion. The data is usually 1-3 years old; no real-time photos (yet).

Ed


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

What Ridgeway days is true, life went on lesson learned. Now they sue, its got to be someone elses fault. Some actually win, which brings on more cases. Usually we only here in the news the first trial and the award. the second one which throws out the oruginal award is never mentioned.....The McDonalds coffee was too hot, comes to mind


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

There are a lot of insurance cheats out there, so I can't blame an insurance company for some of their practices. I'm sure that the homeowner would be plenty upset if there were an accident to a neighbor kid on that trampoline, and when they get sued, they THEN found out that they were not covered. Swimming pools and other dangerous activities fall into the same category. (Although most will cover these things if is disclosed, and then they get to pay a higher premium.)

Our street dead-ends, with a gravel drive going back to a very nice home that sits in the middle of 10 acres. Their teenage son, and about a dozen of his closest friends ride their dirt bikes in the woods behind their house. One day, one of the kids had a rather nasty accident, and guess what - their homeowners policy didn't cover it - nor their $1,000,000 umbrella policy. Since they didn't disclose this activity to their insurance company, the company was well within their legal rights to deny coverage. I'm sure that anybody in the insurance industry would land the same way.

The trampoline falls into that same category - neighborhood kids participating in a potentially dangerous activity on their insured's property.

Just my $.02.

Mike


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## ALASKA PFLOCK (Jun 24, 2007)

bradnjess said:


> Trampolines are the worst. Someone will always get hurt. They should be removed from the general publics ability to purchase. IMHO of course...


I have to agree Jim, our kids think we are the worst parents when we say they can't jump on a friends trampoline. Those things scare the you know what out of me.

Brad
[/quote]

Brad- Your doing the right thing by not letting your kids jump on their friends trampoline. I am speaking from expirience. My son asked to jump on the neibors behind us and for so long we said NO, but one day last summer we said ok. Only if they jumped in the middle.







They did fine for the first 1 1/2 hours...then their judgment lapsed. My son bounced off and broke his arm and required 2 titanium rods to set the bones. Thank the Lord that his arm healed without any issues.







Well I think we all learned our lesson on that one, he didn't enjoy his summer vacation in a full arm cast. Our medical insurance wanted to know the neibors info but we explained it as not any different than a kid crashing on his bike. They were happy with that explanation. Besides, we didn't hold our neibors at fault for our decision to let him on the trampoline. That is the first and last time for any of our children and trampolines.


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## SoCalOutback (Dec 18, 2005)

About 88,000 kids a year are injured on trampolines, about 77,000 kids a year are injured in auto accidents (data taken from emergency room visits nationwide in 2005). I guess I should not let my kids in a car either


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## ALASKA PFLOCK (Jun 24, 2007)

The doctor that my son saw for his arm said that my son was fortunate. She has seen children paralized, both full and partial. No thanks, not for our children.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Not a big fan of the trampolines. They look fun and im sure the kids love them. Luckily we have not had our kids ask to play on one yet. The time is coming, im sure. How well do those wrap-around enclosures work?

BTW - I noticed some of you really need to cut your lawns.... geesh....

ooops, sorry, didnt mean to say that.


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Uh oh. My 9 month old is trying to walk and has fallen a couple of times and started crying. Better not let her try that anymore or the insurance company will raise my rates!









We let our kids jump on them if we're at a house that has one. We all draw the line for what we think is safe for our kiddos. The thing is most insurance companies don't trust the line we draw. So, being a private company they have to do what is needed to maintain profitability. Can't say I blame them as long as their within the law and decide not to trespass on my property. (don't tell my agent cause he's also a good friend of the family).


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

The kiddies and I watch America's Funniest Videos (AFV) every Sunday night. If you've seen the show then you know what I'm getting at in regards to a trampoline.

So all I have to do when we're in Toys R Us is point to the trampoline and say "lets get one of those!" and the kids scream "NOOOOOO!" and run away. Even they have enough sense to stay away from that corpse maker. No offense to the owner.

Bummer about the insurance company though. I think that they are waaaaaay to far into your business and this is a very slippery slope. I would drop them like a bad habit and campaign this information to everyone who will listen or read a web page and email. Then send periodic updates about your campaign to the company President. What a Schmuck.


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## JEFFNROA (Aug 25, 2008)

Can't really blame insurance companies, but I do blame parents who own the trampolines. We have one for our 7 year old but they can be very dangerous. Rules that MUST be followed - Only 1 person on it at a time, enclosure ALWAYS zipped up, no other objects in it (balls, swords etc.), and only under adult supervision. They hate the rules but we enforce them and so far (knock on wood) no accidents. ( except when I pulled a muscle doing a swan tom bomb) Oh yeah- No wrestling moves.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

SoCalOutback said:


> About 88,000 kids a year are injured on trampolines, about 77,000 kids a year are injured in auto accidents (data taken from emergency room visits nationwide in 2005). I guess I should not let my kids in a car either


Fair enough on the raw numbers but take the number of hours on the trampoline and divide by the number of hours in a car and you have a better multiple for comparison.







It goes from almost equal to not even in the same ball park.


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## FlashG (Jun 23, 2007)

Our insurance company forced me to remove our trampoline or lose coverage. We gave the trampoline to the neighbors - now they have two trampolines. LOL

The insurance company also asked if we had any dogs. Fortunately Cocker Spaniels are not on their vicious dog list.


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

bradnjess said:


> Yikes, what next Keystone using google earth to see if we do roof maintenance on our OB's, before they consider any warranty claims.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Uhhhhhhh your roof looks bad.........better clean it


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

My mother in law bought our kids a trampoline cause we wouldnt. I got home one day and its all set up in our back yard. Our kids were like 7 and 10 and just having a ball on it..

I was very P/O'd... Kept my mouth shut though..

About 3 months later our son flipped off of the thing and cracked his head pretty bad.. Had a mild concussion..

I was so mad, that I got my sawz all out and cut the thing exactly in two pieces..

I then delivered it to her front yard and left it there...

Needless to say she was very mad.. She left a message on my phone that at least I could have just taken it apart so she could sell it..

Its been a good 6-8 years and she still brings up what a mean guy I was for cutting her gift for her grandchildren in two..
















Carey


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

TwoElkhounds said:


> Sitting eating dinner with DW tonight and the topic of insurance came up. DW shared a story from her friend that she talked to last night at the Girl Scout meeting. Seems the friend was not allowed to renew her home owner's insurance since she had a trampoline in her backyard. How do you know I have a trampoline, she asked?? Agent advised her that the corporate office used the street level view of Google maps to view her house and saw the trampoline!! They then flagged her account with a contingency that she had to get rid of the trampoline in order to renew her insurance!
> 
> Anyone have any thoughts or comments? Be careful, Big Brother is watching.
> 
> DAN


Danny they are very dangerous;hard to moniter,your own kids or some next door kids.
My neighbor lost one of her twin boys when he was 5.He somehow got on the thing and fell through the springs.
Both the parents are teachers . Very painful for them. They where visiting a family members home for a party.


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