Category: Property Insurance

Named Storm Endorsement

Named Storm Deductible Endorsement can be added at the insurance carrier’s discretion to property coverage policies. The application of the Named Storm Deductible Endorsement is used in conjuction with wind coverage deductibles. Typically in wind prone areas insurance carriers will use a percentage amount of the insured value instead of a spedific or flat dollar amount for damage caused by wind.

Because these percentage deductibles leave the insured with a much greater portion of the first dollar coverage amount, some carriers will offer the Named Storm Deductible to cover only named storms like the recent ones in Texas, ie. Hurricane Ike. This then means that wind damage from wind that was not named is then at the specific dollar amount deductible which is normally much better and in the insured’s favor.

Having the Named Storm Deductible Endorsement is becoming more of challenge to have as the projected losses from wind have become greater. Therefore, if an insured already has this endorsement it is in their favor to keep it, even when other insurance quotes may be considerably less. The best way to determine the degree of value of the Named Storm Deductible Endorsement is to calculate your specific values with both proposed deductibles and then decide which is more beneficial.

Keep in mind that this endorsement is being offered less and less so take this into consideration in your final decision.

How does wind coverage affect my insurance premium?

Depending on which part of the country you live in wind coverage can vary greatly on rates. This of course is due to the regions loss history as a result of wind damage.

Areas along the Gulf Coast tend to historically have much more wind and hurricane claims than anywhere else in the nation. This therefore leads to higher deductibles on wind damage claims. What used to be a flat dollar amount for wind damage is now typically a percentage of the insured value.

Although deductibles were once negotiable depending on what the customers needs were this is fast becoming a by gone. Presently in 2012 due to the RMS 11 report, often having carriers quote wind coverage is becoming increasingly more difficult. Therefore the carriers are taking more of a “take it or leave it” attitude.

Factors that will play into getting property wind quotes are; the age of the building, construction type, specific location, and loss history experiences. Once the insurance carrier has considered these factors then they will determine if they will offer a quote and if so at what deductible.

Deductibles for those in wind prone areas such as Houston, New Orleans, Miami and other coastal states normally will see wind deductibles from 1% to 5% of the property insured value. Of course the percentage can be much higher depending on the insurance company.

Without a doubt covering wind and hurricane damage is becoming more and more of a challenging. Therefore, property insurance should be considered when making real estate decisions going forward as many new property owners are shell shocked when they receive their insurance quotes.

Commercial Insurance in Houston Texas

Commercial Insurance in Houston Texas offers a vast array of Insurance Brokers and Direct Writers alike in addition to a good number of Insurance Companies that are present. To begin with companies will typically need to engage a few brokers and/or direct writers and submit their information pertaining to their line of work. Once this happens and underwriting questions have been answered, either a quote will be offered or declined.

However, obtaining General Liability quotes is usually not the problem in Houston. The greater challenge lies in obtaining property quotes. With the rise of natural disasters and the severity of which they have recently occured has caused many Insurance companies to back out of writing the property portion in areas close to the coast. This has left a void in the insurance programs that once used to include the property and were readily available.

This has left a number of companies in a quandrey as to whether or not to cover their buildings should they have the freedom to decide either way. In many cases if there is a mortgage involved this is not even a question but a requirement. As a result, surplus lines are typically quoted which normally can mean higher premiums than what companies were once accustomed too.

In closing, commercial insurance in Houston, Texas although readily available through a number or resources can be tricky due to property risks that require coverage. As usual it is good to make sure that you have multiple quotes and have shopped the available insurance companies.

How Do I Find A Good Insurance Company?

Finding a good insurance company is very important as during the time of a loss finding out your insurance company is poor would be extremly frustrating. Typically during the event of a loss home owners or business owners want to know that their insurance company is there for them and will indemnify them quickly.

Some ways to find a good insurnace company is talking to other home or business owners and find out which carriers they are using and their experience with them if they have had a loss. Here in Houston after Hurricane Ike there were many stories from those who suffered loss concerning their home insurance companies. Stories ranged from extremely satisfied customers to absolutely irate policy owners due to either service and/or payment.

As far as the financial condition of an insurance company, this can be reviewed at A.M. Best and other similar websites. Of course you want to make sure the carrier is A rated with a positive and/or stable outlook.

One note on the side is to not let the name recogntion of an insurance company affect your decision one way or another. Just because one insurance company advertises more than another doesn’t impact either way of it being a good insurance company or bad.

With these few tips finding a good insurance company that will be there for you in the unfortuante event of a loss will help you later on down the road.

Hope this helps and be prepared!

How do I Insure My House for Hurricanes?

Insuring a private residence during hurricane season only requires attention to your existing home owners policy. You want to make sure that your building and content limits are correct and understand your deductibles as some policies will have a seperate wind/hail deductible. The deductible can range from a flat $500 upto 5% of the total insured building value.

Another coverage that can be beneficial should you be affected by a hurricane are the limits to stay in a hotel if the home becomes uninhabital. This is something that should be covered with your insurance agent.

Of course flood is rarely covered under any home owner’s policy and therefore should be purchased seperately, usually through FEMA via your insurance agent. It is extremely important to have this in place before a disaster strikes as there usually is a 30 day waiting period before the policy takes effect.

These are only a few hurricane considerations in regards to having insurance during hurricane season and it is always best to call your home insurance company to discuss further options and details.

Thanks for the question.

Custom Home Insurance

Just like most insurance risks that are unique custom homes too require some specific coverages. Unlike “spec” homes which typically are standard in many ways, custom homes may have some extra risks associated with it. Such risks may range from imported marble to stained glass imported from Germany.

Some things to consider when purchasing insurance for a custom home is to accurately set limits. By this I mean to include the value of not just the materials but also to import the materials and the specialized labor that may be necessary to install the materials.

Some items may be best to schedule with specific values and replacement costs instead of just lumping it in all together with the building structure. The reason being that in the event of a loss unique and special items should be spelled out and not just assumed they were properly covered.

Also specific coverage for “Mechanical Breakdown” should be addressed as custom homes tend to have more complex mechanical workings from multiple air conditioning units to elevators. These items should be considered when purchasing custom home insurance. In the event of a loss as in all cases coverage needs to be specific and not ambiguous.

Often “Inland Marine” coverage is also bought to cover expensive jewelry and other items that are considered mobile. It is never a good idea to just hope that your contents coverage will protect all contents. From expensive crystal to Rolex watches, an Inland Marine policy is necessary to address these specific risks.

In the end as the name implies custom homes requires custom home insurance to fit the specific risk. By talking to your insurance agent and or insurance carrier this will aid in determining what types of coverage will best meet your needs.

Property Insurance Values

Property Insurance values always can be a struggle to determine since real estate and economic factors influence values. To make things more challenging values are also based on rebuild costs which are always subject to markets. As a result determining what a building may be worth can be somewhat tricky.

An important thing to note is that Property Insurance includes typically both the building and contents. However for the sake of this blog we are only considering the building value.

To help ease the error of margin insurance companies have built into policies a percentage in which the insured value needs to be in relation to the actual rebuild value. Often eighty percent is used and some cases ninety percent. In other instances there can be a 100%, however in this scenario there really isn’t any room for error. Of course the premium is usually more when the room for error is greater and typically less when there is no fudge room at all.

For this reason it is always best to update values and have appraised values regularly. When it comes to Property Insurance and more specifically Building Values, in some policies an Agreed Value can be used between the insured and the insurer.

So, never under insure the value to save premium as a strategy to save money as you will be penalized with something called the co-insurance clause. The co-insurance clause will be discussed in a separate blog so until then be sure to check your policies and values.

Property Insurance Basics

When it comes to property insurance the number one thing to keep in mind are your values. Afterall, values are the purpose of this insurance since the General Liability covers the “other” risks for all intensive purposes.

Why then do so many individuals under-value their property and contents? For the most part it seems that people think that their premium will be so much lower, although it will be lower, the rate in most cases stays the same. For this reason you’re best off to insure the value of your building(s) and content(s) for the correct amounts as it will not significantly be that much higher.

A very critical concern for those who under value their Property Insurance coverage is something called the “co-insurnace” clause. What this simply means is that your going to be assessed a percentage deduction in your claim payment in the event of a partial loss in relation to the percentage amount that you under-insured for. Suffice it to say that this is never a “good-deal”.

Another important concept of Property Insurance is that of “Actual Cash Value” (ACV) versus “Replacement Cost Value” (RCV). They simply mean exactly what they imply. ACV will only replace lost and/or damaged goods based on what they were worth at the time of loss, in essence the ebay or re-sale shop value or price. This then means that RCV will replace the loss of contents at the value it would cost to purchase the items to be replaced with new like kind and quality.

After these things it is important to choose a deductible that you can afford to pay should a claim arise. How insurance companies apply the deductible is based on state and carrier regulations. However, suffice it to say that you need to be able to afford the deductible amount.

One last point to make is that in some regions deductibles are a “take it or leave it” type of scenario. For example, those in Hurricane prone areas usually are offered a percentage deductible such as a 1% or 2% of their building and/or contents value. This then can be much more than a $1000 or $2500 flat deductible.

Of course it is always important to discuss these issues with a licensed insurance agent to determine what insurance strategy would be best for you.