Posted by John Coyle on Tue, Jun 16, 2009
In June of 2009 a severe storm produced a series of tornadoes in Flower Mound, TX as it swept across Denton County. Fortunately, the damage confined itself to buildings, fences, trees, and homes and left people safe from harm. However, it is unsettling when violent weather strikes nearby.
If a tornado struck your community are you confident you have enough insurance to cover damage to your home, garage, personal contents and fences?
Straight line Winds Are Often Confused With Tornadoes
A straight line wind refers to wind that comes down out of a thunderstorm. Straight line winds mimic tornadoes in many ways: they can be as large as a tornado, from 20-65 miles wide and 100+ miles long; they produce a lot of rain; and winds can gust up to 150 m.p.h. One way to tell the difference between the two is by studying the direction that debris has scattered following a storm.
Straight line winds push debris in the same direction that the wind is blowing. Tornadoes, on the other hand, scatter debris in every direction because the funnel is rotating violently.
Are you protected from sustained high winds?
Downbursts and Derechos
These are two types of straight line winds. Downbursts occur when rapidly descending rain and rain-cooled air develop underneath a thunderstorm. Wind speeds can range from 100 – 150 m.p.h. on the forward side of the downburst.
Derechos are violent winds that are created by merging thunderstorm cells. They form a wind wall that can extend for many miles and can spawn tornadoes.
Protect Your Most Valuable Asset From Wind Damage
Regardless of whether a severe thunderstorm brings tornadoes or straight line winds, homeowners need to be prepared. Spring and summer are the seasons with the most dangerous tornado threats. Here are a few tips get you prepared:
- Prior to tornado season trim trees. A lot of property damage results from flying debris.
- Keep alert to weather changes in your area. Dark, greenish skies, a cloud wall or storms with large hail are clues that tornado conditions may be present.
- Know the difference between “watch” and “warning”. A tornado watch means that the conditions are right for a tornado to develop. A tornado warning is issued when a tornado has been spotted in your area.
- Keep a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio nearby. It will keep you updated on potentially destructive weather.
- When severe weather is approaching, secure outdoor furniture and equipment against strong winds.
- Be sure you are properly insured.
For more information, contact John Coyle at jcoyle@tristarins.com or call 214-387-0600
Posted by John Coyle on Sun, Jun 14, 2009
You may be paying higher homeowners insurance premiums than you need for the amount of coverage you have. Why? Because insurance companies that offer homeowner's coverage vary in what types of risks they want to write over the course of time. For instance, if they have over-saturated the home owner's market in one region, they may raise rates to balance the amount of exposure they have undertaken.
Are you paying too much?
If you have been with the same company for several years, we will help you discover how your rates compare with the rates of other reputable companies.
Are your rates climbing annually? Are you paying too much?
Some Insurance Companies Offer Less Coverage For The Same Amount of Premium
Since the Texas mold crisis a few years ago, many insurance companies are no longer offering an “all peril” policy for homeowners. This type of policy gives the broadest insurance coverage to homeowners. Some companies offer this policy, also called an HOB, because it gives homeowners coverage from all perils except ones specifically excluded, such as flood, nuclear war or hurricanes. Others offer “named peril” policies (called either an HOA or a broader form of it called an HOA+) that insure against losses from specific incidents, such as lightning, fire, explosion and so on. While the “named peril” policy may save you money, you are also losing a great deal of coverage.
Do you have an HOB policy? Are you paying too much premium for too little coverage?
Do You Have An Insurance Agent Working For You?
At TriStar, we are independent agents that work for you, the consumer. An independent agent sells insurance for more than one company. We are licensed to sell homeowners policies from a wide variety of companies with several types of policies.
How Does That Help You???
We save you the time and hassle of shopping around from company to company.
Here’s what we promise to you:
- We will shop the policy for you.
- We will find the best policy with a premium that fits your budget.
- We will write the policy and handle all the paperwork. All you do is sign.
Are you paying too much for insurance? Do you have time to peruse the insurance market to know?
Contact John Coyle at jcoyle@tristarins.com or call 214-387-0600 and let us at Tri-Star help you find a better solution for your insurance.
Posted by John Coyle on Sun, Jun 14, 2009
The first tropical depression of 2009 occurred in the Atlantic on May 29 and finally dissipated before hitting land. Yes, folks, hurricane season has arrived and it is time to be sure your homeowners insurance is adequate. Memories of Hurricanes Ike and Dolly from the 2008 season are vivid reminders to Texas homeowners of the importance of being properly insured.
Do you have enough insurance coverage?
How Much Home Insurance Coverage Do I Need?
You will want to be sure that you have a replacement cost policy with dwelling limits high enough to rebuild your home in the event of a total loss.
In other words, if you have a custom home, you may want to figure about $125 per square foot of your home to determine replacement cost. If your home is not a custom-built home, use $90 per square foot to calculate.
For instance, let’s say you have a custom-built home with 2500 square feet. You will want to purchase at least $312,500 dwelling coverage.
2,500 square feet x $125 = $312,500
This is an approximation based on average homebuilding prices, but we can get you an accurate figure right now. Just fill in the form below and we’ll calculate replacement cost and how much you can expect to pay for your insurance.
Why Is Replacement Cost So Much Higher Than My Appraisal?
Replacement cost is figured based upon the features of your home. Insurance companies use square footage, special amenities, your location, number of baths and half baths, type of exterior and other factors to help determine replacement cost. They want you to have enough insurance coverage to completely rebuild your home if destroyed. Otherwise, you may have to come out of pocket or downgrade custom features when replacing your home.
Do you have enough home insurance to fully replace the interior and exterior features?
Do You Have Any Tips To Help Dallas/Fort Worth Homeowners Prepare For The 2009 Hurricane Season?
Absolutely. Homeowners can begin making preparations now. Here are "7 Tips To Get Ready For The Hurricane Season Even If You Don't Live On The Coast!"
Tip one: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends that every home have a National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) weather radio receiver. For best results, purchase one with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology that will activate both an audible and/or visual alarm when the National Weather Service issues watches and warnings. Receivers should also have “tone alert capability, battery back-up and ability to receive all seven frequencies, according to the NWS.
You can purchase a NOAA weather radio at stores that sell electronics.
Tip two: Plan an emergency escape route ahead of time. Determine your final destination and map out two or three ways of getting there in order to avoid traffic jams.
Tip three: Put together a disaster supply kit. You can find a list at this website.
Tip four: Get your kids involved in the preparations. Children love to help. And if that isn’t reason enough, remember that helping develops confidence and security in kids during a time when they need extra assurance that everything will be okay.
Tip five: Individuals with special needs should make extra arrangements that will give them the extra support needed to be safe. Knowing about public disaster assistance ahead of time may prevent unwelcome surprises during a crisis.
Tip six: Make a plan for your pet. In order to leave a pet at a kennel, their shots must be up-to-date. Kennels may require proof that the animal is fully vaccinated before accepting them. Also, be sure to get an appropriate crate to transport the pet safely.
TIP SEVEN: Keep all your current insurance declarations pages in a folder together in a handy place. We recommend you keep them in a waterproof container while transporting for extra safety.
For more information contact John Coyle at jcoyle@tristarins.com or call 214-387-0600.
Posted by John Coyle on Sun, Jun 14, 2009
Yes, it’s true. Flood is not a covered peril even if you have an “all perils” (or HOB) homeowner’s policy. In order to be covered from floodwaters, you must purchase a separate flood policy written through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Many homeowners believe that if they do not live in a flood zone they don’t need flood insurance.
Texas Preferred Flood Insurance Is Inexpensive
If you currently live in a low or moderate flood zone (B, C or X), your flood insurance rates are very affordable. The NFIP offers rate packages that you may purchase to protect your home and contents.
|
Building Coverage
$ 30,000
$ 50,000
$ 75,000
$ 100,000
$ 125,000
$ 150,000
$ 200,000
$ 250,000
|
Contents Coverage
$ 12,000
$ 20,000
$ 30,000
$ 40,000
$ 50,000
$ 60,000
$ 80,000
$ 100,000
|
Premium
$ 148,000
$ 196,000
$ 230,000
$ 257,000
$ 277,000
$ 296,000
$ 326,000
$ 348,000
|
f you are renting or if you live in a condominium or town home, you may purchase a contents only policy that runs from $80.00 for $12,000 of coverage up to $201.00 for $100,000 coverage per year. Contact our agents right now for a free quote.
Texas Flood Insurance Costs Less Than A Federal Disaster Loan
Uninsured individuals that suffer water damage from flooding may be forced to take out a loan in order to pay for the destruction to their property. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gives assistance to uninsured homeowners through the purchase of a Small Business Administration loan. This is typically a loan that must be paid back with interest. *For a $50,000 loan at 4% interest, your monthly payment would be around $240 a month ($2,880 a year) for 30 years. Compare that to a $100,000 flood insurance premium, which is about $400 a year ($33 a month).
A Texas Flooding Loss is More Probable Than a Fire Loss
Yes, it’s true. *According to the NFIP Flood Facts as of March 2010, Everyone lives in a flood zone. In a high-risk area, your home is more than twice as likely to be damaged by flood than by fire. The average annual U.S. flood losses in the past 10 years (1994-2004) were more than $2.4 billion. Last year, about 25% of all claims paid by the NFIP were for policies in moderate-to-low risk communities. Since 1978, the NFIP has paid over $36 billion for flood insurance claims and related costs (as of 3/22/10). You can read these and many more flood facts at http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/flood_facts.jsp
In fact, Texas has a long history of surviving major disasters. Since 2000, four hurricanes impacted Texans along with two tropical storms. During this same time, FEMA made eight other major disaster declarations. Flooding occurred in six of those eight severe storms. Altogether, it took more than $3,181,000,000 in disaster assistance to help pay for the damages sustained in only eight years’ time.
You May Pay for a Flood Insurance Policy and Not Be Insured When a Storm Hits
How can that be? Unlike most other lines of insurance business, a flood insurance policy does not go into effect for thirty days following its purchase. That means that by the time a storm is in the Atlantic Ocean and on it’s way toward the United States, it’s already too late for Texans to be insured when it makes landfall. The only exception is when purchasing a home. Your flood insurance goes into effect immediately when you pay your annual premium at your home closing.
Our Agents Keep Homeowners Afloat
When rising water comes your way, your flood policy will keep you financially afloat. Get yours today. Contact John Coyle at jcoyle@tristarins.com or call 214-387-0600.