Every year, I like to review the current state of personal insurance for Texas. Personal insurance is what most individuals and families concern themselves with. It includes car, home (condo & town homes), renters, and umbrella insurance policies. The goal is to help most people keep their finger on the pulse of what’s happening. An informed consumer is a powerful force!
I’ve worked with several people over the past few days quoting their car insurance. Ultimately we’re hoping to provide equal or better coverage for them for less money than they’re currently paying. I’ve been able to save several of them anywhere from $100 to $1,000 a year. There were two we couldn’t help. For them, it would have cost them more to have me write their car insurance than to stay with their current insurance company. I told them to stay with their current insurance company. The reason was ticket activity.
?Texas funds two insurance related agencies through our property taxes and other taxes that are levied on individuals and businesses; The Texas Department of Insurance and The Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel. The roles of these two agencies differ in some key areas and converge where most Texans are concerned.
?Think your car policy covers everything? It may or it may not. Most car insurance policies have exclusions written into them, however I can probably count on one hand the number of clients I have who read their policies. Your policy is typically mailed or emailed to you when you get a new policy or when your policy renews.
It’s tax season! If you haven’t already filed, you have 38 more days before it’s due. For most filers, this is a busy time. I’m pulling my information together and organizing it for my CPA to make his job a little easier when we meet next week. This is also a busy time for identity thieves. While they never rest, they love this time of year. The amount of data on our returns is truly amazing.
?My first car was a 1972 Ford Maverick. It had crank windows, an in-line 4 cylinder engine, and a push button radio. It was a medium blue and had been repaired after being in a wreck. Paint could be seen in the wheel wells where it hadn’t been taped off well. The dashboard was as basic as the car. It only had a speedometer, gas gauge, and temperature gauge.
Most weeks don’t pass without some article, news item or blog post on distracted driving. Most of these articles tend to focus on texting and driving. I’ve even written a couple of posts on texting and driving too. But let’s face it, there’s more to driving distracted than just texting. We can be distracted by a number of things including
?I’ve had clients who’ve experienced a lapse in coverage on their car insurance policy. The reasons include job loss, an unexpected expense like a car repair, forgetting about a bill, juggling the outflow with the income, and even a medical problem. Most recently I had a Dallas client who experienced a stroke…
?My personal home and car insurance renews in March. Every February I receive several letters from other Dallas area agents offering to save me money on my car and home insurance. None of them know I’m an independent agent. The savings they offer are tantalizing. There’s only one small catch: none of the offers I’ve ever received were real.
Have a son or daughter in college? If so, then you probably feel like someone took an axe to your wallet and money’s draining out faster than you can put it in. Most parents of college students are looking for any kind of savings they can get when one of their kids goes to school.
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.
