Home prices in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex have steadily risen since 2010. In December, they were up another 8.5% according to a recent Dallas Morning News article. Over the past 4 years, home prices in north Texas have surged more than 40%, and this impacts home buyers in several ways beyond just paying more for a home. The impact is felt with mortgages and even home insurance.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve written about two different underwriting issues that can pop up; trust ownership of a home and buying a home that was foreclosed on (see https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/trust-ownership-home-insurance/ and https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/foreclosures-home-insurance/). I thought I’d add one more post which examines three more issues that may give underwriters heartburn – lead paint, asbestos, and open foundations.
Buying a foreclosed home is not without risk. You could end up getting an amazing deal on a fabulous home or you could end up buying a money pit. One of the other risks associated with buying a foreclosed home is home insurance. Most people don’t realize, but not every home insurance company will write a policy on a home that’s been foreclosed on. Let’s look at why some companies won’t, some might, and for those where it’s not an issue.
Every insurance company has a set of underwriting questions I answer when writing or quoting a home insurance policy. Some of these will preclude a company from writing a home insurance policy such as the presence of certain dog breeds, foundation or roof types, etc. Others use the answers to these questions to confirm how the policy should be structured.
Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans fans are licking their wounds today as both teams were knocked out of contention in the past weekend’s games. It will be interesting to see whether who will play in the Super Bowl. Will it be the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons or Pittsburgh Steelers? But just what is the connection between the Super Bowl and home insurance?
A friend of mine called me last week with one of the most unusual questions I’ve ever been asked as an insurance advisor. It turns out her father passed away before Christmas and she wanted to know how she and her siblings should handle the home and car insurance on their dad’s home and vehicles. The answer depends on many factors.
Sheri and I recently watched a documentary on tiny homes. We enjoyed it and talked about could we live in one, what would it look like, and whether Sheri could build it (she likes power tools). I began thinking about home insurance for tiny homes; which carriers will write a policy for that, what issues may need to be considered, and what underwriters will want to know.
Nobody likes home insurance claims, but they do happen. While we may not be able to avoid claims, we may be able to prevent some of them from happening. This is especially true for the claims that aren’t caused by Mother Nature!
Does your home insurance policy ever change? Many people may be inclined to think policies don’t change, but they do. In fact, home insurance policies change all the time. Coverage is added or removed and underwriters determine that something isn’t a risk or is a huge risk much more frequently than you know.
Want to save money on your home insurance? I haven’t talked with anyone who didn’t want to pay less without weakening the policy or going with a company that doesn’t provide good service. Let’s look at a few more home insurance discounts we didn’t get to last week as well as some rating factors worth knowing about.
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