When you buy a home, you’re told you’re “covered.” But what happens when you’re not? This is the truth behind what too many homeowners discover too late: coverage is a concept, not a guarantee.
This is not just a story about insurance. It’s a mirror held up to a system built more to protect itself than the people who fund it. And it begins with a collapse.
The Collapse That Started It All
A friend called me about a collapsed front porch. Not from a storm. Not from an earthquake. From time.
The home was built in 1999. The porch was load-bearing—supporting the front structural wall of the home. But the blocks beneath it were turned horizontally, cores facing out. That orientation is structurally incorrect. These CMUs (cinder blocks) were designed to carry load vertically. Laying them sideways created a ticking time bomb.
Add to that: there was no proper footer or support wall. The slab floated, unsupported, for over two decades. And beneath it? Construction debris. Trapped moisture. Hidden weakness.
Eventually, the inevitable happened. It cracked. It sagged. It fell.
The homeowner had no idea this space existed. The area was sealed off during the original build. It wasn’t visible, even to a home inspector.
He filed an insurance claim. The first answer was no. The second was: prove it.
He brought in someone. Then someone else. Eventually, the issue got escalated high enough to be considered for full replacement. And only then did I get involved—advising a structural engineer be brought in immediately.
What the Evidence Shows
Structural Misuse of CMU (Cinder Blocks)
The blocks were laid horizontally (cores facing out), which is incorrect for load-bearing support. This reduces their ability to distribute weight and makes them prone to failure over time—especially with no reinforcement.
Lack of Footer or Substructure Support
There was no visible evidence of a proper footing or secondary support wall beneath the slab. A floating slab without support will shift, sink, or fail entirely. That’s exactly what happened.
Concealed Construction Debris
The void beneath the slab was filled with leftover debris from the original construction—a moisture trap that led to rot, fungus, and accelerated material failure.
Brick Veneer Separation
Photos showed bulging and shear cracking of the brick veneer—a clear indicator of differential settlement and structural instability.
Insurance: Designed for Delay?
Here’s what makes this worse: this homeowner had paid for insurance, faithfully. He had never made a claim. But when the need finally came, he had to jump through hoops just to be heard.
This isn’t rare. It’s increasingly the norm.
The system seems designed for denial first. Delay second. Maybe payout third. Maybe.
“We think we’re paying for protection, but often we’re just funding someone else’s risk calculations.”
What if you had put that same money in a personal account? Let it gain interest? Let it serve you, not someone else’s shareholders?
That’s not insurance. That’s financial clarity. But most people aren’t taught that option exists.
The Real Game: Be the House
When I first heard the phrase “be the house,” I thought of casinos. The house always wins.
And then I realized: that’s insurance. That’s why they litigate. Stall. Obfuscate. It isn’t personal. It’s probability. The system is rigged to favor the one setting the rules.
If you aren’t the house, you’re the bet.
“If you’re not the house, you lose.”
That doesn’t mean everyone working in insurance is corrupt. But it does mean the system itself isn’t built to say yes easily. And that needs to change.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness. The collapse of that porch wasn’t caused by bad luck. It was caused by a series of shortcuts, cover-ups, and blind spots that eventually reached their limit.
Insurance failed. Construction failed. Visibility failed.
And that failure could have been deadly.
So what’s the solution?
Better construction oversight.
Structural transparency.
A new consumer model of accountability.
This is just the beginning of Consumer Clarity. And we’re just getting started.
Next Up: Home Warranties: The Promises That Expire Before the Appliance Does.