Tag: dallas home insurance

Expecting? Here are 4 Insurance Items to Review!

On a Sunday in February, Sheri (my wife) and I had breakfast at Cindi’s Deli in Dallas with Jordan & Christine (my son and daughter in law). The two of them were in town and this gave us some nice time together and to catch up. They presented us with a Valentine’s Day card that happened to have a picture of a sonogram showing they were expecting their first child. I was completely caught off guard but incredibly excited for them and us. This is the first Wise grandbaby and I’m thrilled!

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5 Home Gotchas that are Tough to Insure

Every couple of months, I get a call from a realtor, an insurance agent, or a mortgage loan officer. The stories are variations on a theme; they have a client that’s trying to buy a home but there’s one little issue that’s threatening to derail the close. Usually these gotchas present themselves when the home buyer has found their dream home only to discover their current insurer is unable to insure it. This usually is not discovered until two weeks or less before the scheduled close and creates a mad scramble to find insurance for the buyer’s dream home. They call me.

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Insurance Lessons from West, Texas

On Wednesday, April 17, a fire broke out at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, a community of 2,849 about 70 miles south of Dallas. 10 volunteer firemen and two people who joined them responded to the calls that began being fielded by the 911 call center at 7:33. As first responders, they began to assess the massive fire and plan how to begin putting out the blaze. They were killed moments later from the explosion that occurred at 7:51 pm.

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Conversations with a First Time Home Buyer, Part 2

Last week, I introduced Ben and Amy (not their real names) who are first time home buyers in the McKinney / Allen area of north Texas. Because they are buying their first home, this also means they are first time buyers of home insurance, something Ben admitted to me, he knows nothing about.

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What Big Tex Teaches us About Insurance

I love the State Fair of Texas. There’s nothing like walking through the stock pavilion, watching the sheep dogs work the sheep, and the pig races. I enjoy wandering around the new car pavilion as I think about what I’d pick for a new vehicle. Then there are the rides and the cry of barkers tempting people to try their hand at some game to win the giant stuffed animal or some other prize. There’s plenty of food to savor as well; funnel cake, Fletcher’s corny dogs and some new fried delectable. And then there’s the icon of the fair, Big Tex.

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Conversations with a First Time Home Buyer, Part 1

I’ve been talking with a young couple this week. We’ll call them Ben and Amy (not their real names). They were referred to me by two of their friends. Ben and Amy are buying their first home in the McKinney / Allen area of Texas and they are excited and a little nervous with all the things that have to be done in order to close. Not only are they first time home buyers, but they are also first time buyers of home insurance.

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Force Placed Insurance

I got a call a few weeks ago from one of my clients in the Dallas area. I wrote the home insurance for he and his wife’s home two years ago and they wanted me to quote their car insurance too. To help me quote their insurance, his wife sent me a copy of a letter they received from their loan company. The letter simply stated that they needed to provide proof of current insurance or they would provide it for them at the price quoted in the letter. Sounds nice doesn’t it?! The truth is, the “help” they were offering had several “gotchas” in it and it was far from a fair price for the help they were providing.

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What to do When a Tornado Strikes

On April 3, 2012 the Dallas / Fort Worth area was struck by more than a dozen tornados. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed in Arlington, Irving, Lancaster, Dallas, Mesquite, Balch Springs, Forney and Royce City. I will never forget the images of semi-trailers being swirled around in the wind and thrown over 8 lanes of Interstate 20. Thousands of lives were affected by the storm’s which left damages surpassing $1 billion. The good news is no one was killed.

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9 More Ways to Save on Home Insurance

Last week we examined four discounts that lower the cost of home insurance including: A home’s age, Account / multi-policy discount, Alarm / protective devices and Mature homeowner discount. Here are 9 more ways to help reduce the cost of your home insurance.

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