Thanksgiving is almost here, and this year seems to have flown by more quickly than last year. Whether you’re headed somewhere to be with people, preparing for an influx of relatives, or spending a relaxing and quiet day on the couch watching football, I hope this year has been a good one for you too!
One of my clients recently sold her home in McKinney and moved into an apartment. The decision for her was easy, she’d rather pay rent than deal with the cost of a home’s upkeep. The big question we needed to work through was how much renters insurance does she need? She is, after all, downsizing and won’t have as much stuff, or personal property, as she has in her home. Here’s how we approached.
I wrote a car insurance policy for a friend’s son last year. It’s an interesting story that’s worth retelling because most people aren’t aware that many car insurance companies won’t write a policy if you or one of your kids does this. You may surprised by this too!
While Dallas is renowned for tearing down old homes and replacing them with new ones that are “bigger and better,” there are some areas in east Dallas, Lakewood, the Park Cities and parts of Fort Worth near TCU that have some beautiful, stately homes built at the turn of the past century. Some of the homes appear on National and Texas historic home registries and more reside in historic districts. How does writing a home insurance policy for a home in a historic district or on a registry differ appear from writing one built in the 1950’s or that was just finished?
Sheri and I had dinner Saturday night with a friend. It was a delightful evening as we caught up with what has happened in each other’s lives. Our friend had a couple of questions about her home and car insurance and was concerned her home may not have enough coverage to cover a total loss. After all, prices for homes in her part of the metroplex have risen sharply in the past few years.
The value of a totaled vehicle is one of the most contested car insurance claims. Is it too low, is it fair, or is it more than you expected? It doesn’t have to be, based on a recent article in the Dallas Morning News by Jerry Reynolds. His article, “How to Negotiate with Insurers,” suggests, if you’re willing to do a little homework, you’ll know whether the offer you receive for your totaled or stolen vehicle is fair or not.
In early October, Equifax announced another 2.5 million consumers’ data was stolen bringing the total to 145.5 million people. The data stolen includes names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and in some cases driver’s license numbers. Chances are, most adult Americans were victimized by this data theft. Let’s look at what’s changed, what to do, and how this relates to your home and car insurance.
A friend of mine who’s in the water, fire, and smoke damage servicing business asked me to talk with one of his client’s last week. The client was a first-time home buyer and needed some advice on how to deal with a home insurance claim for 6 leaks beneath his slab foundation. His homeowner’s insurance policy was woefully inadequate to deal with the claim as it didn’t have the right coverage added to it.
A client texted me early Monday morning letting me know his car was broken into overnight. The good news was his car wasn’t stolen. What was stolen, though, was his wallet, watch, possibly his passport, a ring, and a few other items. His question was, did his car insurance policy cover this? He has “full” coverage policy on his car which results in a yes and no answer. Let’s look at the reasoning behind the two answers.
The National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, was already in deep debt, to the tune of $24.6 billion, before Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and Tropical Storm Nate hit our shores. Further complicating matters, the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, is projecting a budgetary shortfall of $1.4 billion. Let’s examine what’s causing the budgetary shortfall and what the future implications are for the flood insurance program.
Subscribe to my newsletter by filling the form below.
A confirmation email will be sent to your mailbox: please read the instructions to complete the subscription.
