I wrote a condo insurance policy last week for a new client. He’d started out with an offer for a single family home in the Dallas area which fell apart after the home didn’t appraise for the amount he offered. As he thought through what he desired in his next home, he decided to look at condos in the area. It turns out, he found the perfect home, but since it was the first condo he’s ever purchased, he had a lot of questions about condo insurance.
I work with several builders in the Dallas area of differing sizes. Some remodel homes, some build new and custom homes, while others finish out commercial office space. Regardless of the differences in the work they do, they all share several things in common when it comes to their commercial insurance.
One of the questions testers, legislators, and even insurance companies are asking is who or what is at fault when a self-driving car crashes? Will it be the other driver, the autonomous car, or some combination? In addition, what testing procedures will the automaker need to follow when testing the vehicle, and whose insurance covers an accident if the self-driving technology is to blame for the accident?
The 2015 hurricane season has started. It runs from June 1 through the end of November. Accuweather is forecasting another below normal year for hurricanes. They predict 8 tropical storms, 4 hurricanes, 1 major hurricane, and 2 to 3 that will make landfall. This year’s number is slightly lower than last year’s predictions. Like last year, the reason for the below normal storms predicted is attributed to El Nino wind patterns that tilt the spinning air which inhibits the formation of storms, as well as drier than normal air and cooler water temperatures in the Atlantic.
Before the data breaches at Anthem, Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, and Target, there was Sony. In 2011, the Sony Playstation Network was hacked resulting in the theft of customer data. Sony pushed to have their insurer, Zurich, cover the losses resulting from the data breach, but Zurich denied the claim. Sony had a general liability policy, but not a cyber liability policy with Zurich.
The gavel has sounded and the 84th session of the Texas Legislature has come to a close. All bills approved by both houses of the legislature have been presented to Governor Abbott and will either be signed into law or vetoed. I had high hopes for several driver and car insurance related bills that were introduced this session, however it appears none will be passed. Here’s a rundown on what was introduced but didn’t make it to Governor Abbott.
The Dallas / Fort Worth area recorded the wettest May on record with 16.97 inches of rain. We also survived the second wettest spring on record with 25.04 inches of rain from March through May. According to the National Weather Service, parts of D/FW have received between 16 and 24 inches over the past 180 days.
I believe it’s important to talk with every client we serve about life insurance. This discussion is not designed to sell something to them, though many begin to put up an emotional wall when I raise the subject. My motivation is simply to confirm they have something in place. If at all possible, I want to avoid telling a surviving spouse I never talked about it with their wife, husband, or partner after a funeral.
When it comes to a Texas car insurance policy, everything other than liability coverage is considered optional coverage, however, most people don’t think that way. With that in mine, last week, I outlined four car insurance options worth considering (see https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/texas-car-insurance-options-part-1/). Here are four more that may be of interest to you.
Last week, I wrote a post about Dallas area homeowners receiving notices from the mortgage companies regarding their monthly mortgage payments are increasing. This is due to their home insurance rate increasing, or an increase in property taxes, or some combination of both (see https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/home-insurance-property-taxes-and-escrow-accounts/). It turns out they aren’t the only ones receiving these notes!
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