The countdown to Christmas is in full swing even as Black Friday and Cyber Monday appear in the rearview mirror. Shoppers do have 4 more weeks before Christmas arrives, so if you haven’t found that perfect gift for the love of your life, you have time! If you’re planning on popping the question to the person you want to share your life with, take a few minutes to think about scheduled jewelry insurance for the ring that says, “I love you!”
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.
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.
In July of this year, news agencies announced Wells Fargo forced unwanted car insurance on 500,000 to over 800,000 of its car loan customers, most of whom had valid car insurance. The type of insurance used is referred to as forced place or lenders insurance. The results of this practice were devastating; 274,000 of Wells Fargo’s customers were forced into delinquency and 25,000 vehicles were wrongfully repossessed. Wells Fargo reaped millions in revenue and fees from this practice.
Does your college student need property or liability insurance? I’m asked this question by clients who have a son or daughter headed off to college each August, and it is that time again. The answer is it depends more on where they’ll live; whether it’s in a dorm room on campus or off campus in an apartment, condo, or home. Let’s review both scenarios.
Summer’s here and while our hail storms are probably behind us, its impact continues to unfold for homeowners in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex and San Antonio. Home insurance companies paid an unprecedented amount in claims and tallied up losses from the storms. The impact goes beyond insurance companies balance sheets, it’s being felt by homeowners and buyers in both north and central Texas as insurance companies consider their options. The responses include moratoriums, increased deductibles, increased rates, and coverage shifts.
I was talking with a prospective client the other day who’s asked us to review her home and car insurance. She’s been with the same carrier for over 10 years and wants a second opinion on whether she’s paying more for her insurance than she should. After asking questions about her home, car, and driving habits, I asked her if her annual income was more than $125,000. That, combined with a few details she shared indicated she should probably consider an umbrella policy. Let’s review what one is, the additional coverage it provides, and who should consider such a policy.
My email has been bombarded with notices since Monday from most of the insurance companies and brokers I work with. Each one has announced they are issuing a binding moratorium due to Tropical Storm Cindy. I thought this provided a good time to understand what an insurance moratorium is and how it impacts individuals and businesses when they occur.
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