I’ve been talking with a young couple this week. We’ll call them Ben and Amy (not their real names). They were referred to me by two of their friends. Ben and Amy are buying their first home in the McKinney / Allen area of Texas and they are excited and a little nervous with all the things that have to be done in order to close. Not only are they first time home buyers, but they are also first time buyers of home insurance.
I got a call a few weeks ago from one of my clients in the Dallas area. I wrote the home insurance for he and his wife’s home two years ago and they wanted me to quote their car insurance too. To help me quote their insurance, his wife sent me a copy of a letter they received from their loan company. The letter simply stated that they needed to provide proof of current insurance or they would provide it for them at the price quoted in the letter. Sounds nice doesn’t it?! The truth is, the “help” they were offering had several “gotchas” in it and it was far from a fair price for the help they were providing.
On April 3, 2012 the Dallas / Fort Worth area was struck by more than a dozen tornados. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed in Arlington, Irving, Lancaster, Dallas, Mesquite, Balch Springs, Forney and Royce City. I will never forget the images of semi-trailers being swirled around in the wind and thrown over 8 lanes of Interstate 20. Thousands of lives were affected by the storm’s which left damages surpassing $1 billion. The good news is no one was killed.
The 2013 Texas Legislature passed two insurance related bills last week. One makes your life easier, and the other one protects you when you talk with your insurance company. The bills the Legislature passed address…
Last week we examined four discounts that lower the cost of home insurance including: A home’s age, Account / multi-policy discount, Alarm / protective devices and Mature homeowner discount. Here are 9 more ways to help reduce the cost of your home insurance.
On December 18th of last year, a New York arbitrator ordered Ex-Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin to pay $5 million in damages to Donald Trump who owns the Miss Universe Organization which includes the Miss USA pageant. Earlier in the year, Trump sued Ms. Monnin for defamation on behalf of the Miss Universe Organization after she claimed the Miss USA pageant outcome was rigged on both Facebook and NBC’s “Today” show.
Everyone loves saving money! After all why should you pay more for something if you don’t have to? With that thought in mind, here are 4 standard home insurance discounts. Many of these discounts are also available on renters and condo policies too!
?There are several insurance related bills before the 2013 Texas Legislative session covering a broad spectrum of issues. There are also a few that aren’t really related to insurance but I’ve included them either because I’ve blogged on them last year or they are related to our overall safety and privacy.
Drought continues to cling to the western states. Mountain snowfall has been thin through much of the winter months and water levels in many lakes and reservoirs have less water than they did a year ago. Parts of Colorado have been declared extreme drought areas. Our neighbors to the north in Oklahoma and Nebraska are facing rainfall deficits of up to 16 inches with 55.8 % of the United States remaining in drought conditions. Unless spring snow and rainfall picks up, it could be a long hot summer.
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!
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