Frequently Asked Questions
Homeowner’s Insurance FAQs
How much homeowners insurance is enough?
Most people find that “enough” means a sufficient amount to rebuild their home. Remember that the foundation and the land are not covered under the policy and therefore will not figure into an insurance settlement. When determining the replacement cost of your home, do not use the sales price, the tax assessment or the value the mortgage company calculated. All these can vary greatly from the construction costs.
You should also evaluate your personal belongings and ask us about the options for covering these items. Most homeowners’ policies include personal liability protection. Be sure to speak with your agent concerning your liability coverage needs.
What will affect the price of my homeowner’s insurance?
There are several factors that go into the cost of homeowner’s insurance. An example is the type of construction, where frame houses usually cost more to insure than brick. The age of the house is also a factor. Since newer homes should have fewer problems, they generally qualify for a discount. Does your neighborhood have adequate fire protection, fire hydrants, etc. If not, this will cost you a bit more.
How quickly will my possessions be replaced if I file a claim?
Each insurance carrier has a different policy on filing claims but the nature of the claim has the greatest effect on how quickly it is processed. Also, the specific article that was lost and your insurance carrier’s policy affect the turn around rate. We only represent strong, reputable insurance carriers that have a high rating on customer service.
What is covered in a Basic Homeowner’s Insurance Policy?
Property Damage Coverage
“Property Damage” coverage is designed to help pay for damage to your home and personal property. “Other Structures” coverage will help protect your detached garage, tool shed, and other unattached structures. Generally, the coverage is 10% of the amount for which your home is insured.
“Personal Property” coverage helps pay for a loss of your personal possessions, such as clothing, furniture, TV, stereo and other unattached personal items. You may want to review this coverage with us, to make sure you are adequately protected in this area.
If you need additional coverage for higher valued items, please ask us.
Personal Property Floater
A homeowners insurance policy normally provides limited coverage for collectibles, jewelry, furs, etc. It may be necessary to insure your valuables with a Personal Property Floater. A Personal Property Floater itemizes each item, gives a description of the item insured, and lists excluded perils. It normally provides coverage that is broader than the coverage in your standard homeowners insurance policy. Please ask us if you need an evaluation of your risk in this area.
Personal Liability Coverage
Your homeowners policy provides Personal Liability coverage to help protect you against a non-auto claim in which you were at fault. Liability coverage in your homeowners insurance policy covers both the cost of defending you and damages the court orders you must pay. Liability insurance does not have a deductible that you must meet before the insurer begins to pay losses. We can review your current limits of coverage, and help make sure you have enough protection in this area.
Medical Payments Coverage
Medical Payments coverage is designed to pay for an injury to someone OUTSIDE your family. It can often help settle “small” injuries outside of court before they become BIG claims in court. This is not medical coverage for you and your family.
Additional Living Expenses
Where will you live if your home is badly damaged? If you have to move into a hotel or apartment for a while because of damage caused by a covered loss, your homeowners insurance policy will normally cover the stay, subject to policy limits.
Business Insurance FAQs
My business is just starting out. Do I need to get insurance right away?
You have to assess if you have liabilities right away. Generally the answer is yes, especially if you have a physical location. If you are renting a space, landlords will require that you have insurance, insuring your Business Personal Property and General Liability. The proof of insurance is usually forwarded by us to your landlord via a Certificate of Insurance. Workers Compensation is required as well.
What do I need to know about Business insurance?
Business insurance is designed to help protect many of the risks your business can face. This includes things like damage or destruction to your business vehicles, office equipment, and inventory. It also includes loss of income in case you have to close-up shop temporarily because of a covered loss as well as crime coverage including robbery, burglary, even employee dishonesty.
Life Insurance FAQs
What Types of Life Insurance are Available?
Term Life Insurance – provides coverage, in the event of the insured person’s death, for a set number of years (a set term). At the end of the term, your past policy can be renewed or sometimes re-written depending on changes in circumstance. Term life insurance is to fill a specific need for a specific period of time.
Permanent Life Insurance – a life insurance policy with a guaranteed payout structure effective so long as the insured person continues paying a fixed annual premium. Depending on the amount of time before benefits are needed, the cost of permanent life insurance may be comparable to or less than that of term life insurance.
What You Need to Know About Insurance in Brazoria and the Texas Gulf Coast
There are many instances that require you to get some form of insurance in the Texas Gulf Coast area. This may be in the form of homeowners insurance, car insurance, or health insurance. Insurance payments can be quite expensive, but there are many affordable options that you can go for if you take time and search well. There are also measures that you can take as an individual to reduce the premium payments that you are required to make.
The type of insurance policy that you get should be affordable while providing you with adequate coverage. There are many insurance companies and agencies that you can buy coverage from. These companies and agencies have ways of determining the premiums that they are going to charge you for the type of coverage that you want. If you wantauto insurance, they will consider your age, type of car and driving record amongst other things. Having a good driving record will help you avoid paying high premiums on yourauto insurance in Friendswood, for instance.
There are some insurance companies that specialize on one type of coverage, while others offer a variety. Some of them offer discounts and other incentives if you buy more than one type of coverage with them. If you have more than one type of car in the family, insuring all of them with the same company might qualify you for some form of discounts on the premiums. In the same way, your home insurance provider may also give you lower premiums if you take a different coverage with them, for example health insurance. These are details you should ask about so that you take full advantage of them.
You should be concerned about how the insurance company that you are considering handles claims from its clients. After an accident, you will need the insurance payments to take care of your repair or medical expenses, or to get started again, depending on what happened. This stage is very important in determining a good or bad Houston insurance company. Look for a company that is usually willing to pay genuine claims without looking for excuses to deny the clients money. The insurance payments also need to be made as soon as possible so that you can move on with your life. It is always good to get the views of previous clients that have dealt with the insurance company before. This will give you a clear idea of what to expect.
