Stephanie Jaynes
Marketing Director Stephanie Jaynes simplifies complex insurance and legal concepts to help home inspectors protect their livelihood and avoid unnecessary risk. Her articles have appeared in publications like the ASHI Reporter, CREIA Inspector Magazine, and the InspectorPro Blog. She’s been a guest on NACHI TV, Spectora Spotlight, The ASHI Online Learning Center, The Successful Home Inspector Podcast, Today’s Home Inspector, and the Home Inspection Authority Podcast. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Arts from Mills College with a major in creative writing and a minor in journalism. She has also earned her Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation from The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys trying new recipes and taking walks with her husband and sons.
Six months after an inspection, the client calls. During some remodeling, they found issues in the home that they think your inspection should have caught. They haven’t asked for you to pay for any repairs, but they sound upset and they’re looking to you for answers. How can you respond? You want to keep a…
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In our Inspector Spotlight series, we take a closer look at individual inspectors making an impact on the inspection industry. Being a home inspector requires a breadth of technical expertise. When starting his business in 2001, Joe Cook, Owner and Operator of House Call North Shore in Louisiana, understood the importance of being mechanically minded.…
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The following is a real home inspection insurance pre-claim from our archives. To protect the insured’s identity, all identifiable characteristics—including names, associations, and locations—have been omitted or removed. The Complaint While on a cruise just two months after the original inspection date, James Johnson received a call from not the home inspection client but the client’s…
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The following is a real home inspection insurance pre-claim from our insurance claim archives. In order to protect the insured’s identity, all identifiable characteristics—including names, associations, and locations—have been omitted or removed. A year after their inspection, a client began to perform renovations to their recently purchased property. Upon removing some exterior siding by the…
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If you’ve followed our series on the top claims against home inspectors, you know that most industry allegations involve errors or omissions, which mean they are filed against inspectors’ E&O coverage. (For those of you who’ve missed them, check our articles on the industry’s top claims here. We recommend starting with the Top 5 Claims.)…
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Four months after completing an inspection, a home inspector received a series of text messages from his clients, the home buyers. In the texts, the inspection clients alleged that their home inspector had failed to report wood rot and subsequent leaks in seven windows on the property. The clients did not provide any information regarding…
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During a recent home inspection, you missed the polybutylene pipes in the attic. When your clients, the home buyers, discovered your error, they were furious. They didn’t just sue you; they sued everyone involved in the home’s sale. That included the real estate agent that referred the job to you. What is referring party indemnification?…
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Three months after completing an inspection, a home inspector received a letter from his client’s attorney demanding that he pay to repair “the failed septic system” and a number of other defects his clients had found in their new home. The letter ordered the inspector to inform his insurance company, so he did. But, since…
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Did you know that not all home inspector insurance policies are created equal? Or that policies can exclude some business practices? If you don’t know the ins and outs of your policy, you could end up buying less coverage than you need. In this article, we go over three of the most common insurance policy…
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Earlier this year, one of our insured home inspectors sent his radon monitor in for calibration. When the servicing was complete, the manufacturer shipped the monitor back to the home inspector. But, when the inspector returned home, the radon monitor was nowhere to be found. The inspector put in a claim with the radon monitor…
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Four months after his inspection of an older home, a home inspector received a letter in the mail from his former clients, who, due to concerns about the age of their newly purchased and first home, had a licensed electrician assess the property’s wiring after the initial home inspection. According to the electrician, there were…
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During a routine home inspection, one of our inspectors performed a visual inspection of the property’s furnace. In his report, he noted signs of condensation and a lack of proper maintenance. However, the furnace was functioning properly. A few days after the inspection, the inspector’s client—an attorney—claimed that the furnace had stopped working. As a…
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