I don't know if it's standard but I've had it happen twice now.

Looking at the outside? Yep, I'd say that's fairly standard.

If you mean that he came inside to check things out then I think that would be odd unless maybe there was something specific on the disclosure form that they wanted to check out.

My agent came herself, but only walked around outside. I'd have welcomed her in, but we hadn't moved in yet and I wasn't here ;0) She took a few photos, made some notes for her files.

Sometimes yes and sometimes no and we have had the same agency each time we moved to a different location.

We had the USAA rep come by to check out a problem with the neighbor's trees ... the next thing we knew, the neighbor's insurance and USAA paid to have the trees removed!

They might check out a building new to them (as a company) to make sure the square footage was right, the roof was correctly described, etc.

I bought a new house in May, and yes, my insurance agent (or one of her people) went to the house and took pictures.

Yep, we have had insurance people out to the house walking around(outside) on all of our house purchases.

Yes.

We've used Chubb Insurance for a number of historic homes. They have always sent an insurance appraiser. It's part of the deal. They create a custom report including interior floorplans that details the level of finishes and specific historic material details. We get a copy of the report. If the house ever burns down, we'll all be on the same page as to the cost to replicate, rebuild or call it a day. They are unique in that if it were to be destroyed, we would have the choice of not rebuilding and being bought out.

I think it 's becoming increasingly common to hear about an insurance visit in some form.

We've been in the same house since 1982. Changed our Homeowner's policy this year. After being 'accepted' and paying our premium, the Insurance Company sent out a guy to take photos. We now have to add a handrail on seldom used steps (4 steps) that lead up to our patio. Same steps that were built without a handrail when the house was built in 1968. Florida, never had a claim filled.

Gosh, I've used USAA for 39 years and no one has ever come out - or at least that we knew came out.

Anglophilia ... we called them about the trees (huge pine things that were leaning and swaying and getting ready to fall on the house) just to get it on record that the trees were a hazard.

They apparently called the other insurance agent and they decided to prevent stuff.

Agents have been coming around since the market collapse in 2008. Too many mortgages, home values and insured amounts that were overstated from before 2008.

Yes, we had to trim back some branches on pine trees that were hitting the roof.

He took pics of the house and of the swans swimming near by!

My experience was the same as Homechef's - we had Firemen's Fund insurance and they came and inspected the home before issuing the policy. They also made recommendations that would reduce risk and gave a small fire extinguisher to keep under the kitchen sink.

We now have PURE insurance and they sent inspectors to both our primary home and our vacation home and prepared a detailed report with photos and they too made suggestions to reduce risk. They also verified the item that gave us a discount of our policy - monitored central station, whole house generator, security lights etc.

Yes and the walked around the outside of our home, and to our dock as it was being insured as well.

Our agent came to our new build and did a quick inspection before he prepared out quote. That's the first time I've ever seen it.

Interesting. I'm in S Florida and the insurance agents require a wind mitigation (Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form) report done by a certified wind mitigation inspector before they will even quote the insurance. The report is 6 pages long with photos of specific areas of the roof and exterior + many details. If the home is older than 30 years than a 4-point inspection is required. All of this prior to even getting a quote for insurance. Once you have the insurance, then the insurance agent comes out too!

I thought the answer was no, but after just having moved into a new construction house with an unrecognized address, I got a call asking for directions to take pictures. They were exterior only pictures and this was in addition to the wind mitigation paperwork referenced by Denita. This was after this policy was in effect.

USAA agent came and looked at interior and exterior shortly after we moved in.

I'm a Realtor and Homeowner in Vancouver, Canada. I often refer my clients to insurance agents and firms to help them on their new purchase. All insurance questionnaires are done over the phone or via email. I never had an agent come to check out the property. The only time we see someone from the insurance company is when we make a large claim. It's often the adjuster who shows up. This could be a US only thing, or areas where they have a higher number of claims.

Yes and it worked to our advantage. We had an appraiser from the insurance company come to our house, note the finishes, etc. They then determined the replacement cost was much higher than the policy was originally insured for and this was a true custom home with high end finishes. Our replacement cost and premium went up. It worked to our advantage when we had a whole house flood and had to rebuild. The report they had made detailed the level of finishes we had prior and they had to replace.

The folks on the east coast pay a line item relating to storm, hurricane and water damage. On the Westcoast, including me, we pay a for earthquake damage. The premium varies based on geographical location, crime, climate, type of dwelling and environmental science.

This could be a US only thing,

Still flying the Maple Leaf in TO! And on-site inspections of at least the exterior are standard. For high-end customs, I've had interior inspections too, so they could note the finishes in detail. If they don't visit, it's a good idea for the homeowner to take photos and store them offsite just in case.