Rising home prices in the Dallas / Fort Worth area mean larger mortgages in most cases which raises an interesting question, “How much home insurance is needed when you buy a home?” Stated another way, should the amount of home insurance be equal to the purchase price, the loan value, or some other number?
The 2017 Texas Legislature is well underway with over 8,000 bills introduced for consideration. The hot topics are the bathroom bill, immigration enforcement, equal parenting, medical cannabis, educational savings accounts, abortion, handguns, and parole of certain inmates. Sounds like a typical Texas Legislative session! There are two insurance related bills I want to address in this post – texting while driving and restrictions on lawsuits against insurance companies.
2015 ended with a bang as tornados swept across north Texas damaging or destroying over 1,000 homes and damaging vehicles and commercial properties. Spring of 2016 was not to be outdone either. Last March and April, north Texas was struck by 3 hail storms and San Antonio suffered the worst hail storm in Texas history. The four hail storms combined claims totaled about $1.3 billion in damages to cars, homes, and businesses. Let’s examine how home insurance is being impacted this year.
State Farm reported a loss on car insurance of $7 billion in 2016. It’s a staggering number, and they aren’t alone either. Allstate, Geico, The Hartford, and Travelers also experienced losses last year. One of my carriers shared with me for every $1.00 they took in for car insurance premium, they paid out $!.10 in claim losses, and that didn’t include the catastrophic car losses caused by our recent tornadoes and hail storms.
The spring buying season started early this year. February felt as busy as any April, May, or June, I’ve ever experienced, and it should only grow as we move into the prime spring buying season. I believe it’s a perfect time to look at how home insurance can impact home buyers when purchasing a new home.
Small business is alive and well! I’m working with three new business owners who’ve decided to go out on their own and know they need business insurance to help protect their dream. The new owners include a therapist, a civil engineer, and a new retail store which will sell mattresses. I can’t imagine three more diverse businesses, but surprisingly, there are common themes about their needs. There are many different types of business insurance, however, most small businesses will benefit from two broad categories – general liability and professional liability.
