Posted by John Coyle on Fri, Mar 30, 2012
Congratulations to our newest TV Winner… Shawn Call
Shawn Call is our fourth winner of our Big Screen TV Give-a-Way from our
Customer Appreciation Referral Service contest.
Lori Price and Roger Harkins from Tri-Star Insurance Professionals presented Shawn with her 43 inch Samsung Plasma Flat Screen TV at her office at Highland Loan source in Plano.
You could be our next winner!
Just refer someone to Tri-Star Insurance for a Quote on their home and/or Car insurance & you could be our next winner.
Who can you refer? Anybody!
Friends
Family
Neighbors
Clients
Co-Workers
Church Members
Anybody!
Tri-Star Insurance Professionals would like to quote your referrals insurance needs. In the process we hope to save them money, give them better coverage and enter you in the drawing for the next Big Screen TV.
You get entered each time your referral gets a quote. The more you refer, the better your chances are to win.
Click on the TV to enter your referrals
Tri-Star Insurance Professionals is a full service independent agency. As an Independent Agent, we represent many insurance companies. We are able to "Shop" the market to find the Best Coverage's at the Best prices.
We do the Shopping for you!
Call us at 214-387-0600 for your Quote or to refer someone to us.
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Posted by John Coyle on Fri, Mar 09, 2012
Tips You Can Use:
This "Tips you can use" blog comes from our friends at International Risk Management institute, Inc. (IRMI). Tri-Star Insurance Professionals are active members of several professional organizations so we can stay informed on many issues that affect our customers. We periodically will post interesting articles that we feel will benefit our customers and friends.
Do you know your homes "Replacement Cost"? Most Homeowners make the mistake of thinking it's the same as Market Value. Market Value is the amount you can expect to sell your home. Market value takes into consideration of sale amounts of similar homes in your area. Replacement cost is not related to Market Value. Replacement cost is the actual costs of materials and labor to rebuild your home. The cost associated with tear out and removal should be considered when determining the Replacement Cost of your home. As an example, a home destroyed by a fire will require extensive professional services to help secure, extract and prep the site before the rebuild process can begin. The cost associated with these services needs to be included in the replacement cost.
Verify That Your Dwelling Limits Are Adequate
One of the painful aftermaths of fires and tornadoes that decimate homes may be the crushing realization that the home is dramatically underinsured. According to one of the largest residential building cost data companies, Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, 64 percent of U.S. homes are undervalued by an average of 19 percent. If this figure is applied to a home with a replacement cost of $400,000, it might be insured for only $324,000, a shortfall of $76,000.
This underinsurance results in a potentially huge coverage gap, particularly if the home is not insured with a guaranteed replacement cost provision. A survey by United Policyholders, a consumer advocacy group, said 75 percent of California home owners affected by the 2007 San Diego wildfires were underinsured by an average of $240,000.
Here are some general tips to consider to reduce the likelihood of your home being underinsured:
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Make sure your home has been physically inspected. This will increase the likelihood that it is insured for its replacement cost value. Ask for periodic reinspections of your home (particularly high-end ones) to ascertain whether the dwelling limits are adequate.
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Consider guaranteed replacement cost (or guaranteed rebuild) coverage; an alternative would be to procure coverage that offers a 30 to 50 percent cushion above the dwelling limit (extended replacement cost coverage).
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Increase the ordinance or law coverage (10 percent of dwelling limit for many homeowners policies) to a higher percentage of coverage. Note that this recommendation is particularly important if you have an older home.
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Keep the insurance company informed about any remodeling at your home, since remodeling can dramatically increase the need for higher dwelling limits. Americans spend more than $170 million annually on home improvement projects, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.
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If building costs are rising rapidly, an inflation guard endorsement is worthy of consideration. This endorsement increases the dwelling limit of insurance (along with other coverages) to reflect increases in values due to inflation.
Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.
Copyright 2012
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.
Did you remodel any part of your home? Did you notify your insurance agent of these updates? Many homeowners are underinsured after major home renovations.
Call Tri-Star Insurance Professionals to discuss your homes replacement cost:
214-387-0600
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