T avele s
I su a ce
told
Ga te ma
that
because
of
the
photo
the
compa y
would
ot
e ew
he
policy.
(Pictu es:
KUT
News)
Fo
yea s,
T acy
Ga te ma
had
i su ed
he
Austi
home
agai st
wildfi es,
hailsto ms
a d
high
wi ds.
The ,
i
Ja ua y,
she
eceived
a
email
telli g
he
that
he
i su a ce
would
ot
be
e ewed.The
easo
was
visible
i
two
photog aphs
attached
to
the
message
that
showed
t ees
ea
he
oof,
photog aphed
f om
high
above
he
house.“I
thought
it
was
a
scam,”
Ga te ma
told
KUT
News.
Afte
she
ealised
the
email
was
ge ui e,
she
felt
like
a
i f i geme t
o
he
ights.Ga te ma ’s
case
is
o ly
o e
of
the
wide
use
of
ae ial
images
by
i su a ce
compa ies
i
Texas.
Official
eco ds
epo tedly
show
hu d eds
of
pages
of
complai ts
a d
state
fili gs.
I su e s
a e
widely
usi g
images
take
by
satellites
a d
ai c aft
to
assess
homes
a d
decide
whethe
they
wa t
to
co ti ue
p ovidi g
cove age.T avele s
gave
Ga te ma
two
mo ths
to
cut
back
the
t ees
o
isk
losi g
he
i su a ce.
Without
i su a ce,
she
could
face
the
cost
of
ebuildi g
afte
a
sto m,
while
mo tgage
le de s
could
also
pe alise
homeow e s
who
do
ot
have
cove age.Ga te ma
paid
a
la dscapi g
compa y
$3,000
to
p u e
the
t ees.
She
the
se t
T avele s
photog aphs
showi g
the
b a ches
had
bee
cut
back.
Aco di g
to
he ,
the
compa y
ag eed
to
e ew
he
policy
o ly
days
befo e
it
was
due
to
expi e.
Watchi g
f om
above
Acco di g
to
eco ds
f om
the
Texas
Depa tme t
of
I su a ce,
homeow e s
i
Sa
A to io,
Housto
a d
Austi
have
epo ted
that
i su e s
th eate ed
ot
to
e ew
thei
policies
because
of
ae ial
photog aphs.
Mea while,
homeow e s
i
Flo ida,
No th
Ca oli a
a d
Pe sylva ia
have
also
epo ted
o e ewals
li ked
to
ae ial
images.
The
Wall
St eet
Jou al
epo ted
a
simila
case
i
Califo ia
last
yea .At
least
a
doze
complai ts
have
bee
filed
with
the
Texas
Depa tme t
of
I su a ce
si ce
2023.
Some
homeow e s
complai ed
they
we e
su p ised
that
i su e s
we e
mo ito i g
thei
p ope ties
f om
above.
I
some
cases,
they
said
policies
we e
ot
e ewed
because
of
images
they
believed
we e
poo ,
outdated
o
i accu ate.
Some
homeow e s
also
st uggled
to
see
the
images
i su e s
we e
usi g
to
make
decisio s.I
2023,
State
Fa m
told
a
homeow e
outside
Galvesto
that
the
policy
would
ot
be
e ewed
u less
the
oof
was
eplaced.
The
homeow e
hi ed
a
oofi g
compa y,
which
said
the
oof
o ly
eeded
a
tho ough
clea i g.The
homeow e
the
asked
State
Fa m
fo
the
epo t
a d
images
used
by
its
u de w iti g
team.
“I
have
asked
o
ume ous
occasio s
fo
the
epo t
&
d o e
pictu es
f om
u de w iti g
to
suppo t
thei
so
called
decisio ,”
the
homeow e
said
i
a
complai t.State
Fa m
espo ded
that
it
had
the
ight
to
su vey
a
home
at
a y
time
a d
was
ot
equi ed
to
p ovide
i spectio
epo ts.
O ly,
afte
the
state
became
i volved,
State
Fa m
ag eed
to
e ew
the
policy.David
Bolduc,
who
heads
the
Texas
Office
of
Public
I su a ce
Cou sel,
said
i su e s
have
the
ight
to
i spect
homes.
“They
have
the
ight
to
come
out
a d
look
at
you
house.
They,
I
guess,
have
a
ight
to
look
at
it
o
a
satellite,”
Bolduc
said.
How
i su e s
use
ae ial
images
The
use
of
ae ial
image y
is
g owi g
as
i su e s
deal
with
mo e
ext eme
weathe
a d
highe
costs
f om
damage
to
homes.
Betwee
2020
a d
2023,
the
ate
at
which
i su e s
i
Texas
chose
ot
to
e ew
home
i su a ce
policies
had
almost
doubled.I su a ce
g oups
say
ae ial
photog aphs
ca
help
compa ies
i spect
ma y
p ope ties
mo e
efficie tly
tha
se di g
wo ke s
f om
house
to
house.
Co sume
g oups,
howeve ,
wa
that
the
images
ca
esult
i
i accu ate
decisio s
that
homeow e s
may
fi d
difficult
to
challe ge.Wa e
We dell,
executive
di ecto
of
co sume
advocacy
g oup
Texas
Watch,
said
the
use
of
such
tech ology
was
educi g
the
huma
eleme t
i
i su a ce.“We
a e
eally
losi g
the
huma
touch
whe
it
comes
to
the
pu chasi g
a d
se vici g
a d
adjusti g
of
i su a ce
policies,”
We dell
said.
“A d
I
thi k
that’s
a
bad
thi g
fo
policyholde s.”I su a ce
compa ies
ca
obtai
ae ial
photog aphs
th ough
thi d-pa ty
tech ology
p ovide s.
State
Fa m,
which
has
policies
ac oss
Texas,
said
i
state
fili gs
that
it
uses
CAPE
A alytics
to
obtai
a d
assess
ae ial
images
of
homes.Acco di g
to
state
data,
CAPE’s
tech ology
is
used
by
i su e s
that
ep ese t
at
least
20%
of
the
Texas
home
i su a ce
ma ket.
