I was reminded this week how much certain types of home insurance claims can impact your rate. I was working with a prospective client’s insurance quotes for a new home a couple is buying. In order to confirm which company would provide the best rate, I ran the CLUE report which shows me claims the sellers may have filed on the home being purchased, as well as the buyer’s previous claims.
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.
Texas home insurance rates continue to climb and remain the highest in the country. The two reasons most insurance companies give for Texas having the highest rates are weather and the cost of claims. The top four types of home insurance claims as reported in a Texas Department of Insurance study are hail, water damage, hurricane winds, and fire. The combined total insurance companies paid out in claims was over $25 billion. Individually, hail claims accounted for $7.6 billion, water damage was $7.3 billion, hurricane winds was $6.2 billion and the amount paid for fire claims was $4.3 billion.
Winter’s here, and in north Texas, that means some cool to moderate temperatures with some hard freezes thrown in, and just maybe, some snow or an ice storm. With that in mind, let’s examine what you can do to avoid a home insurance claim this winter, which will keep your rates down for years to come.
Last week, I helped a family in Allen, Texas change their home and car insurance from the carrier they were with to one of the insurance companies we work with. The wife and I were reviewing what the new home insurance policy covered and she asked an excellent question: does the new policy cover the air conditioning unit? Instead of simply answering her question, I wanted to confirm what she meant by the policy covering the air conditioning unit. It turns out, she wanted to know if the home insurance policy will replace their A/C unit when it wears out.
I’m currently working with several Dallas area families on their home insurance. These families include three families who are wanting me to evaluate their current insurance and see if we can provide them with lower cost insurance options than they currently have. The other two are first time home buyers that were referred to me. They want me to find the right level of insurance for them, save them money, and educate them in the process.
North Texas spent last weekend digging out from the previous week’s ice storm. The sun finally came out and we got above freezing allowing the ice to melt. By the middle of the week, power was restored to most people, schools were in session, people were working, and the roads were clear.
Winter came early to north Texas last week when the rain turned into sleet and the temperatures plummeted 50 degrees from Wednesday’s high of 80. The ice built up on all surfaces including tree limbs and power lines. Some of the power lines snapped and others were ripped from poles when ice laden limbs broke off from trees and fell onto the already strained lines.
??When it comes to water leaks, most insurance companies and their policies classify leaks into two categories;
Sudden & accidental
Slow drip or slow leak
Sudden & accidental: This type of leak is characterized as being sudden; it quickly materialized or occurred and it was unintentional.
The Texas Department of Insurance presented a report to a state Senate committee on Tuesday, July 10th. The report showed home insurance increased 21% since
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