As an independent insurance agency, we are able to provide multiple HOA, HOA+, HOB and HO3 insurance options for residential properties. Our goal is to provide our customers with the correct information so that they can make the best choices. Contact us today for a free quote.
Frisco Homeowners Insurance
Do you have the correct homeowners insurance for your home?
When it comes to insuring your home, you can’t afford to take chances. With several different types of homeowners insurance, choosing the one that’s right for you can often be complicated and confusing — which is where we come in.
With multiple A-rated companies and a broad knowledge of Texas homeowners insurance, we will provide you with the information needed to select the correct coverage for your home, backed by excellent claims service and competitive rates. The better we know you, the more we can do for you in Frisco TX.
So give us a call today at 972-380-6677, or contact us online so we can get started.
Homeowners Insurance Made Easy
Most homeowners’ policies in Texas combine the following five coverages:
- Dwelling insurance pays you if your home is damaged or destroyed by a covered loss. It also pays for unattached structures and buildings, such as fences, detached garages and storage sheds.
- Personal property insurance pays if the items in your house (such as furniture, clothing and appliances) are stolen, damaged or destroyed by a covered loss.
- Liability insurance provides coverage (up to the limits you purchase) if you are sued and found legally responsible for someone else’s injury or property damage. You may be able to purchase up to $1 million in additional coverage.
- Medical payments insurance pays the medical bills of people hurt on your property. It may also pay for some injuries that happen away from your home — for example, if your dog bites someone at the park. A basic homeowners’ insurance policy pays $500 in medical bills, but you may buy up to $5,000 in medical payments coverage.
- Loss of use insurance pays your additional living expenses (housing, food and other essential expenses) if you are forced to temporarily relocate because of damage to your house from a covered loss. Your policy will pay either a percentage of the amount of your dwelling coverage (typically 10-20%) or for a specific period after the loss (such as 24 months).
There are 2 Types of Homeowners Insurance Policies in Texas
All-Risk Policies (a.k.a. comprehensive coverage or open perils coverage)
These policies offer you broad protection and cover all causes of loss except those specifically excluded in the policy.
Named Perils Policies (a.k.a. specified perils coverage)
These policies offer narrower protection than an all-risk policy and cover only the causes of loss specifically named in the policy.
Understanding Replacement Cost & Actual Cash Value
Replacement Cost is what you would pay a contractor to rebuild or repair your home, based on current construction costs. Replacement cost is different from market value and does not include the value of your land. No matter what you paid for your house, or what you think it is worth, the cost to rebuild is based on the current cost of labor and materials at quantity one pricing. The replacement cost of a house can often be a greater number than the market value, or what the house would sell for.
Actual Cash Value is the replacement cost of your property minus depreciation. If your home is destroyed and you only have actual cash value coverage, you may not be able to completely rebuild without funding part of the construction out of your own pocket.
Most Commonly Used Homeowners Policies in Texas
HOA: Basic Named Perils Policy
The HOA Home Policy is the most basic and simple home insurance protection. The HOA policy will only protect you from 10 specific perils. (A peril is an event or disaster that causes a loss or damage to your home or property. A few of the most common perils are fire, theft, wind and hail).
If something happens to your home other than the ten perils found below, you are not covered under the HOA:
- Fire or Lightning
- Windstorm or Hail
- Explosion
- Riot or Civil Commotion
- Aircraft
- Vehicles (unless caused by the insured)
- Smoke
- Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
- Theft
- Volcanic Eruption
HOA+: Broad Named Perils Policy
The HOA+ Home Policy provides broader coverage than the standard HOA policy. Like the HOA, the HOA+ still lists every peril you are protected from, but the list adds six more perils.
The 16 listed perils are:
- Fire or Lightning
- Windstorm or Hail
- Explosion
- Riot or Civil Commotion
- Aircraft
- Vehicles
- Smoke
- Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
- Theft
- Volcanic Eruption
- Falling Objects
- Weight of Ice, Snow, or Sleet
- Accidental Discharge or Overflow of Water or Stream
- Sudden & Accidental Tearing Apart, Cracking, Burning, or Bulging
- Freezing
- Sudden & Accidental Damage from Artificially Generated Electric Current
HOB: Basic Open Perils Policy
The HOB Home Policy is referred to as an open perils policy. That means instead of specifically listing the only perils you are protected from like the HOA or the HOA+, the HOB lists the perils your policy WON’T cover. If a peril isn’t listed as being excluded, your home is protected. The HOB home policy provides protection that is much broader than an HOA or HOA+ policy. It is most similar to the HO3 policy (see HO3, below) but with a slight advantage: An HOB policy typically includes additional water damage protection, such as damage resulting from slow, repeated leakage and sewer backup, which are things that an HO3 doesn’t automatically include.
With the HOB, your home and possessions are protected from the same 16 perils that are listed in the HOA+ policy, as well as all other perils, excluding the following:
- Earth Movement
- Ordinance or Law (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Water Damage (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Power Failure
- Neglect
- War
- Nuclear Hazard
- Intentional Loss
- Government Action
- Mechanical Breakdown
- Collapse (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Mold, Fungus, or Wet Rot (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Smog, Rust & Corrosion
- Smoke from Agricultural Smudging & Industrial Operations
- Dispersal, Discharge, Seepage of Pollutants
- Animals Own by Insured
- Birds, Vermin, Rodents, Insects
- Wear & Tear, Deterioration
- Settling, Shrinking, Bulging or Expanding (of Bulkheads, Foundations, Pavement, Patios, Footings, Floors, Roofs, Ceilings)
HO3: Basic Open Perils Policy
The HO3 Home Policy is a hybrid of an open perils policy and a named perils policy. Should you have a loss, this policy covers damage to your dwelling, unless the cause of loss is one of the explicitly excluded events listed below. In addition, your personal property will be covered for the same 16 perils covered by the HOA+ policy.
The exclusions to this policy’s dwelling protection are:
- Earth Movement
- Ordinance or Law (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Water Damage Caused by Slow Seepage (Sudden & Accidental Water Damage Is Automatically Included)
- Power Failure
- Neglect
- War
- Nuclear Hazard
- Intentional Loss
- Government Action
- Collapse (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Mold, Fungus, or Wet Rot (Some Coverage May Be Provided)
- Birds, Vermin, Rodents, Insects
- Wear & Tear, Deterioration
The only real difference between the HO3 and the HOB homeowners insurance policy is the type of water protection that comes standard with the policy. As you can see from exclusion 3 above, Water Damage caused by continual & repeated seepage is normally excluded from HO3 homeowners’ insurance policies.
Three types of water damage can be endorsed (added back) to your policy.They are:
- Water Backup: Protects against water damage resulting if there is a sewer system backup and water pours out of your toilets and sinks.
- Foundation Coverage: Repairs your foundation if it has to be destroyed in order to fix a water problem in or under your foundation. This is typically only an important coverage if you would have to tear up the foundation to get to pipes, as you would with a slab foundation.
- Continual & Repeated Seepage: Protects against water damage resulting from a slow leak somewhere in the home.
Most HO3 policies include Sudden & Accidental Discharge of Water coverage automatically, but not water backup, foundation coverage or repeated seepage. Most HOB policies, however, include Sudden & Accidental Discharge of Water, Water Backup and Foundation Coverage automatically. Some even include Continual & Repeated Seepage. Not all HOB policies are equal, so feel free to ask us for clarification on which types of water damage protection are included in your HOB policy.
HOC: Full Open Perils Policy
The HOC Home Policy is full open perils on both the dwelling and contents. The only significant difference between the HOC and the HOB is that the HOC will cover your possessions for open perils, while the HOB covers your possessions for the specific 16 perils listed above in the HOA+ policy.
Important Questions to Ask Us, As Your Insurance Agency
Coverage Questions
Let’s discuss the protection you want on one of your largest investments: your home. Based on definitions we’ve discussed above for HOA, HO3, HOB, etc, which policy would you like to start with? Would you like to make any modifications to that policy? Once we’ve selected your coverage, we’ll be happy to show you verification of all of the coverage with an independent source (such as the OPIC policy comparison chart found here.) We understand that insurance is a complex thing and we want you to have peace of mind about the coverage you’ve selected with our agency.
More Information About Your Chosen Home Insurance Carrier
Check the Texas Department of Insurance website for that company’s profile. The profile shows the financial rating of the company, their complaint ratio and any enforcement actions taken by the Department against the company.
Homeowners’ insurance pays to repair or replace your home or personal property if it is damaged or destroyed because of something — such as a fire, storm, theft, etc. — that’s covered by your policy. Your policy states the types of losses it will cover and the maximum amount it will pay.
Note: An insurance policy is a legal contract between you and your insurance company. Read it carefully to understand exactly what it covers and the dollar limit of that coverage. Whether a claim will be covered or not is spelled out in advance at the time you purchase your policy. Always feel free to ask us for clarification, too.
Flood Insurance
Flood coverage is rarely included in typical property insurance policies. More than likely, unless you’ve purchased a flood insurance policy, you will not be covered for flood losses. Flood insurance is available through many different insurance companies, but ultimately the federal government bears the risk (through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
According to the NFIP, a flood is defined as a temporary overflow of inland or tidal waters onto normally dry land, or run-off water from rain, etc. Floods also include mudflows onto dry land, and water-caused erosion or collapse of land along a lake, pond, river or stream, which then results in the temporary overflow of water onto normally dry land. The flood insurance products that the NFIP offers are usually much more complicated than those offered by other property insurers.
The NFIP owns the premiums paid by flood insurance customers, and they pay the claims and expenses of the program. The NFIP establishes one set of policy terms and rates for the various flood insurance policies. As a result, comparison-shopping for flood insurance is not necessary, but we should carefully discuss and review the conditions and requirements of the applicable flood insurance policy.
If you choose to purchase flood insurance, you should know that it takes a minimum of 30 days for your flood insurance policy to become effective, unless you are obtaining flood insurance in connection with purchasing a home or refinancing a mortgage. As such, it’s a good idea to purchase your flood insurance well before you need its protection. Also, depending on the type and location of the building being insured, you may have to submit certain flood insurance forms as part of the application process, that have to be completed by a qualified individual, such as an engineer.
Here are some more helpful links that provide additional homeowners’ insurance information:
Office of Public Insurance Counsel
Texas Department of Insurance
Federal Emergency Agency Management
Questions about what’s best for your home’s protection?
Contact us today for a FREE insurance comparison and consultation!
Roger Welch Agency, LLC
972-380-6677
Multiple companies, one agent.
The above Texas property insurance descriptions and examples are meant to supplement, but not replace, the coverage detailed in your individual policy. Please refer to your actual policy contract language for coverage details.