A carrier always has valid reasons for denying insurance. But the scenarios and circumstances for homeowners can be as diverse as the homes and properties they own.

Most agents are aware of the most common reasons for homeowners insurance denials: weeds are too tall, junk’s in the yard, trees are too big, trees hang over the roof, a fence is poorly built. 

Then, of course, there are the memorable reasons. An insurer denied coverage to one of my customers for having a refrigerator on the back porch. For another, it was a dilapidated shed despite an immaculate home. In one case that involved a ladder leaning against the house, my customer was forced to store the ladder inside or face non-renewal of coverage.

As an independent insurance agent for more than 30 years, here’s my roundup of some of the strangest reasons insurers can deny customers homeowners coverage:

Too Many Chickens

I never even asked homeowners about chickens until recently. For several of our customers, chickens are a good investment as an egg shortage begins to affect the nation. But how many is too many? Some companies decline coverage if a homeowner has more than two chickens—regardless of the size of the family.

The reason? Eggs for your own family are fine in most cases, but if you have a surplus, you might sell the excess to a neighbor. That gives your client potential liability to their neighbor over the risk of food sickness.

Trampoline Parts

Trampolines make for some of the biggest lies we experience when quoting homeowners policies. It’s easy enough for an agent or inspector to discover whether a client is lying about owning a trampoline if they are required to take pictures of a backyard, but either way, many major insurers refuse to issue homeowners policies if a trampoline is in the picture due to the terrible injury and death statistics associated with them.

A recent customer took down their trampoline and stored some of the pieces neatly along their fence after the bed split. The customer threw away the bed, but even though the trampoline was broken, laying in pieces along the fence and unrepairable, the homeowner’s insurer still threatened cancellation. The homeowner’s only option was to completely remove any remnants of the trampoline from the premises.

‘Tiny’ the Dog

Years ago, a farm and ranch client was seeking a new policy. I arrived at the ranch to take pictures of the house, turned to open my car door and was greeted by a dog named Tiny. “Tiny” was so large he was able to look me in the face while stranding on all fours.

Tiny changed my mind about saying “hi” to the client. Since I still needed to take photos, I drove out to the end of the lane and stood through my sunroof snapping photos of the ranch. Meanwhile, Tiny the dog charged the car and jumped up against the vehicle.

Tiny nearly caused cancellation issues later on when the customer’s housekeeper tripped over his droppings and sued for workers compensation and/or liability coverage (she wavered between declaring herself an “employee” or a “guest”). I dissuaded the underwriter from cancelling by pointing out that the half dozen horses left much bigger droppings around the property. This was a working ranch, after all. 

How can you secure coverage for your more challenging homeowners clients? In my experience, it helps to be an independent agent with multiple carriers. An insurer’s reasons for coverage denial vary significantly, so backup options make your job much easier.

Education is also critically important. As an insurance agent, you’re your customer’s biggest advocate. They count on you to help them find the best policy at the best price. Sometimes, it just requires a little research to get your clients what they need.

Ron Hettler is a certified insurance counselor and president of Hettler Insurance Agency in Lubbock, Texas.