Homeowner’s in Frisco finds themselves caught between a rock and a hard place as they wait for their homeowners association and neighborhood developer to decide who’s responsible for the collapsing slope behind his home. It also raises a question of what their home insurance policy covers and doesn’t cover.
Sheri’s and my home insurance renews in March. Over the past few weeks, we’ve received a number of offer letters from insurance agents with a variety of companies. All of them offer what appears to be huge savings. If I were not an insurance agent, I would be very interested, however, I am an insurance agent and I know what I’m looking at when I read these offer letters. The savings they promise really is too good to be true!
Over the past five weeks, I’ve written about home insurance topics related to the tornadoes that hit north Texas on December 26th including picking the right roofer or contractor, claim steps, important coverage in the event of a total loss, how claims are paid and why a home inventory is invaluable after a major claim. I felt it appropriate to end this series with a look at two things home insurance covers which are factored into the home’s dwelling value that most homeowners don’t think about, demolition and debris removal.
On Saturday, December 26, the temperatures were unseasonably warm, due to the warm air flowing up from the Gulf. A cold front rolled in from the west late that afternoon to collide with the warm Gulf air and set off 11 tornadoes across north Texas which killed 11 people and damaged or destroyed over 1,200 homes and businesses in Red Oak, Garland, and Rowlett.
I had an interesting question last week from a prospective client. I was explaining personal property coverage on the home insurance quote I’d prepared for them when they asked, “If my house burned down, the insurance company will write me a check for $X to replace all my personal property?”
Do you have enough coverage in your home insurance policy to cover a total loss? Do you have the right coverage? The answer to these two questions may never be known until you experience a situation like over 100 homeowners did after Christmas when tornadoes rumbled through Red Oak, Garland, and Rowlett. Over 1,200 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by 11 tornadoes which ransacked parts of north Texas on December 26th.
Changing our calendars to a fresh new year can cause us to reflect on what has transpired over the past twelve months. Many who do that resolve to initiate changes and renew a commitment or promise to themselves to do some things different. Along with people filling up the local gyms with a regenerated desire to get their bodies in shape, many take a look at their finances to consider ways they can improve their financial bottom line.
Sheri and I headed to join friends over the New Year’s holiday after checking in with all our clients located in and around where the tornadoes struck Garland, Rowlett, and the surrounding areas last week. We drove out I-30 toward where the twister struck near where the George Bush tollway and I-30 intersect. The damage sustained by the apartment buildings on the south side of the freeway was incredible; starting with rubble and progressing along the buildings to lost roofs and major damage.
This past Saturday was a warm day, shorts and t-shirt weather for most of the day. The weather report called for a cool front to move in that afternoon and evening. It did and the collision of the cool front with the warm air moving up from the Gulf set off a chain of thunderstorms and up to 9 reported tornadoes that ranged from Waxahachie, through Garland, Rowlett, and past Lake Lavon in Collin County. The extent of damage wasn’t known until Sunday.
Christmas will arrive in a few days. The phone is a little quieter and there aren’t as many emails as clients, friends, and business associates prepare for Christmas. Sheri and I attended our last holiday party Sunday and we’re now finalizing our preparations to spend time with our kids and 7 grandchildren. It promises to be a wonderfully noisy time filled with plenty of hugs, laughter, stories, gifts, and too much food.
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