Three weeks ago, I was outlining a post for Monday’s blog when I discovered my website had been hacked. My familiar main page featuring my latest two posts along with links to pages on home, car, life, and business insurance had been replaced by someone claiming to be a jihadist and that they now held all my previous posts. There was no request for ransom, just the smug comment they’d done this to me.
There are 20 homes in Carrollton, Texas on Barclay Drive which back up to Dudley Branch Creek. The retaining wall behind the homes is failing causing the lots to sink as the soil begins to move downhill toward the creek. Some of the residents have filed a lawsuit against the city of Carrollton saying it’s responsible for repairing the retaining wall while the city contends it’s the homeowners’ responsibility to repair the wall. The estimated cost to repair the wall is $3 million. Home insurance won’t help the homeowners either.
I’ve started a conversation with Sheri and my sons. We haven’t completed the discussion nor arrived at any decisions yet, but the questions we’re working through has provided some interesting initial dialogue. The questions are what do they, and myself, want to have happen with my digital assets, and who to name as my digital heir?
A friend of mine called me a couple of weeks ago. She and her husband recently bought their first home together in east Dallas and are remodeling it. They smelled gas and called Atmos Energy who discovered a leak in the gas line between the meter and their home. She wanted to know whether her home insurance policy covered the repair of the gas line.
In January, MetLife, the largest insurance company by assets, was deemed as systemically important, or “too big to fail,” by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. In other words, regulators believe MetLife is so big (over $902 billion in assets) and entwined with the financial system that it could threaten the economy if it collapsed similar to what we saw happen with AIG in 2008.
Sheri and I met up at a friend’s home in Carrollton Sunday night to watch the Super Bowl. It was an enjoyable time with good food, great conversation, and one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. Throw in the commercials for some laughter and it was a great time with everyone staying until the clock ran out.
I was reviewing a car insurance quote with a woman from Richardson last week, and she asked me a question after I confirmed her claims history. She had one claim for an accident that wasn’t her fault. Her question was, does an accident that wasn’t her fault still count against her?
I helped a new Dallas client with her car insurance this week. We were able to save her $300 a year over what she’s paying now and give her better coverage. One of the ways we added coverage and kept the price lower is by offering her a discount for agreeing to let the new car insurance company monitor her driving for up to 4 months.
Texas home insurance policies, like policies in most other states, are divided into sections. The first section outlines the core property coverage, which I introduced last week (see http://50.87.248.161/~wiseinsu/home-insurance-core-property-coverage/). The second section outlines the policy’s liability coverage which is designed to protect the homeowner financially if something happens in the home or on the property.
Dallas and the North Central Texas Council of Governments, like many municipalities, are working through the task of creating a consistent car for hire policy. The goal is to create a seamless regional approach for cabs, limos, and app based companies like Uber and Lyft. If successful, we can avoid a patchwork approach of different rules and regulations for Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Grapevine, Richardson, Keller, etc.
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