What's with all the worries about insurance companies?

So, I'm just wondering, there's seems to be alot of posts here about people being worried their insurance company is gonna deny them.

Now, before I get flamed, I'm with them, I'm worried to, I went out of my way to make sure my install was as safe as possible and met code...etc...even though there were times when I thought the code was just far overkill (like an R of 2.5 on the hearth extension 24" out, and even if you have that, any "raised" extension underneath for R2.5 must be built from a non-combustible..).

Anyhow, it just seems to me that this is the very reason one has insurance. Otherwise, what's the point? I don't think they can really deny claims for stupidity (like an improperly installed wood stove, for example). Otherwise they would deny the claim from the guy who fell asleep on his couch with a cigarette in his hand, or the woman who placed her kerosene heater 3" from her curtains, or the guy who fell unconscious from running his generator in the basement, or the guy who burnt his garage down because he was BBQ'ing in it because it was a rainy day...or the family who put candles on their Christmas tree because that is what they have always done, or the guy who purposly starts chimney fires because that's what he has always done to clean his flue......and the list could go on forever. Most all fires, if not all, are preventable.

So, can an insurance company deny a claim for stupidity? Does anyone have a direct knowledge of that? So if a guy goes out an installs a woodstove on his own and didn't tell his insurance company about it, and lets say he did it completely wrong and put it right on a combustible floor and and ran single wall flue right thru a combustible wall and ends up burning down his house. Can an insurance company deny that claim? I tend to think not, but I really don't know.

I understand, if your insurance company becomes aware that you have a woodstove or any situation which they don't like (missing stairway railing, not enough steps up the door, unfenced pool...etc..etc..), they can choose to terminate coverage or not underwrite your policy to begin with, but I don't think they can deny a claim after the fact. I could be wrong. Perhaps if you lied about having a wood stove when they asked you.

I dunno...most people with any sense of reality will probably worry about it none-the-less, but is there really a concern to be that worried about insurance denying your claim?

SO what your saying is, I think, every contract is a little bit different but generally they are written in such a manner that if they think they were wronged (for instance some guy putting in his own woodstove and doing it completely wrong and burning down his house, and lets say, god forbid, someone died as well), they will probably deny the claim (save for any direct laws that may prevent them from doing so) and take their chances in court. I could buy that. They can probably point out several points of the policy that would say the homeowner would have to inform them of any changes to the structure or things like that, and then weight their historical statistical chances of winning in court vs. how much that process is going to cost vs. how much the claim would be (in our example, somebody died, so very expensive claim...)...

Would that b a fair assessment?

If there's a such a thing left as a local insurance company, then that may be preferable.

But these days, insurance agents, local or distant, agents themselves have almost zero say in anything. No offense, you may feel comfortable with your agent, but rest assured, unless it's an actual local company, when the claim rolls in, your agent can't decide or do a darn thing. The corporate entity will send out an adjuster (NOT your agent) and the adjuster will make a report and send it to corporate headquarters, where a decision will be rendered.
Agents these days are bill collectors and policy quoters in my experience. The adjusters and some guy in a cubicle in downtown Columbus or NYC has the final say on whether your policy is upheld or not. Agents like to act like they can do things, but they can't. It's sad, because they used to years ago, but not anymore, the big companies have stripped them of most all their powers.

While I've suspected this for some time, my theory was proven correct when I recently moved into a new home, and the deck around the above ground pool did not have a railing on it, or a gate. We were busy with moving and all that, plus above ground pools are not so deluxe and pools, especially in Michigan don't add much value (in fact they can take away value), and pools are a maint. nightmare, so we were contemplating taking out the pool, and wanted some time to think about it.
The "agent", who I had an excellent rapport with and with whom I held my homeowners and all my vehicle policies with for 10+ years (with no claims..and always pay up front), and we still owned the old home (we turned it into a rental home), so he had 2 home policies and 3 cars and a motorcycle, he told me as long as I put a railing up within 6 months, no issue.

Well, the insurance company sent out some lacky to take photos, and he wasn't sent from the agents office, he was sent as a matter of corporate policy and hired locally directly from the corporate entity (I asked him), those photos were sent directly to corporate (not to the agent), and I promptly got a notice in the mail, canceling my policy within 2 weeks and it was complete with a refund check. Nothing saying I need to fix within x months, just a cancellation. So, naturally, I called my agent, somewhat livid, 10 years, 2 homes, 3 cars and I just get canceled....and how come I didn't hear this from you, why is this coming from corporate????.......blah..blah.., he said he'd take care of it. The next week, I got a registered mail from my (new) mortgage carrier saying insurance was about to lapse and I need to take care of it. I called my agent, he said he did take care of it , he reinstated the policy, and would look into it. He called me back within a couple hours to say corporate re-canceled the policy won't let him insure the property at all until the railing and gate are in place.
So, I shopped around and switched (all my policies). I got the same darn run around from the new company. Agent said, no issue , take your time, put one up within 3 months. 2 weeks later, corporate canceled.

The common factor in both cases is, the agent had NO CLUE my policy was even canceled, he was never notified. The corporate entities in both cases completely bypassed the agent on all fronts and hadn't a care in the world about losing all my policies if I switched. The agent was a nobody. All they are is another interface to collect bills and give quotes. The corporate entities keep them around because they know people feel comfortable with their "agents".

So, while your insurance company may vary, I wouldn't get too cozy with your agent, I don't think they can really do much when the time comes.