As an independent insurance agency, we are able to provide multiple property insurance options for both residential and commercial 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 Property Insurance
We offer several types of property insurance policies:
Condominium Owners Insurance
You want to feel secure knowing that your investment is well protected. It’s important to understand where your condominium association’s coverage ends and where your responsibility begins. Condominium policies typically cover alterations, appliances, fixtures and improvements that are part of the interior of the condominium unit. Condominium policies can also cover the condominium owner’s personal property, as well as reimburse you for medical expenses and liability claims resulting from property damage and personal injury to other people caused by you or members of your family.
PLEASE NOTE: Condominium policies do not cover loss to the exterior of a structure.
A condominium policy will also pay for additional living expenses. This type of coverage is more commonly known as Loss of Use. Loss of Use will cover your expenses if you are forced to move into a hotel or apartment temporarily because of a covered loss to your condominium.
Renter’s Insurance
Surprises can be good, but some are not. Do you know where your landlord’s coverage ends and your responsibility begins? If you rent a house or apartment and think that your landlord is financially responsible when there is a fire, theft or other catastrophe — then think again. Your landlord may have insurance to protect the building you are living in, but your landlord’s policy won’t replace your personal possessions or pay for your living expenses while the building is being repaired. For example, if another tenant in the building leaves a candle or cigarette unattended and the whole building goes up in flames, then you will have to replace each and every one of your belongings out of your own pocket without renters insurance. Unfortunately, this type of disaster is completely out of your control and there is no way to prevent it. The only way to protect yourself financially against disasters like this is to buy a renters’ insurance policy.
Renters insurance, sometimes referred to as tenants’ insurance, includes three basic types of protection: Personal Possessions, Liability, and Additional Living Expenses.
Personal Possessions
Standard renters’ insurance protects your personal belongings(contents) against damage caused by fire, smoke, lightning, vandalism, theft, explosion, windstorm, water and other disasters listed in the policy. Floods and earthquakes are not covered.
To decide how much insurance to buy, you need to know the value of all your personal possessions, including furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances, kitchen utensils and even towels and bedding. In other words, if your home were to burn, you should have enough insurance to replace all of your possessions.
The easiest way to figure out how much insurance you need to buy is to create a detailed list of all of your personal possessions, with their estimated value. This is called a home inventory, and if kept up-to-date, will make filing an insurance claim faster and easier.
Liability
A standard renters’ insurance policy will provide liability protection against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or your family members may cause to other people. It also pays for damage caused by your pets. For example, if your son, daughter or dog accidentally ruins your neighbor’s expensive rug, you’ll be covered. However, if your children or pets destroy your own rug, you will not be covered.
The liability portion of a renters’ policy pays for both the cost of defending you in court and for court awards, up to the limit of the policy. Liability limits generally start at about $100,000. Some experts recommend that you buy at least $300,000 worth of protection.
Your renter’s policy also provides No-Fault Medical coverage. This means that if a friend or neighbor is injured in your home, you can submit their medical bills directly to your insurance company. You can generally get $1,000 to $5,000 worth for this type of coverage. It does not, however, pay the medical bills for your own family or pet(s).
Additional Living Expenses
Many people don’t know that Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage is included in a renters’ insurance policy. If your home is destroyed by a disaster that your policy covers and you need to live elsewhere during repairs, renters’ insurance covers your additional living expenses. Policies will generally reimburse you the difference between your additional living expenses and your normal living expenses. ALE covers hotel bills, temporary rentals, restaurant meals and other expenses you may incur while your home is being rebuilt.
There are two types of renters’ insurance:
- Actual Cash Value: Pays to replace your possessions minus an amount for depreciation (the reduction in the value of items due to age and use) up to the limit of your policy.
- Replacement Cost: Pays the actual cost of replacing your possessions (with no deduction for depreciation), up to the limit of your policy. The price of Replacement Cost coverage is typically about 10% more than Actual Cash Value coverage but can be well worth the extra cost.
Umbrella Insurance
This coverage protects your home, autos and other financial assets in the event that someone goes after your net worth following an accident or injury of some kind. Umbrella policies provide coverage of $1 million or more to protect you in the event you are sued for a car accident or injury related to your property. Your damages as well as your legal fees and costs will be covered by this policy.
The Need for Umbrella Insurance
Most financial experts recommend that anyone whose assets include at least a home and a car should consider umbrella insurance. If you are held liable (i.e., found to be at fault) in a lawsuit for an accident or injury, and your homeowner’s or auto insurance has paid out the maximum on your policy, an umbrella policy can be used to pay the balance due the victims, as well as your legal fees.
How Umbrella Insurance Works
Let’s say you accidentally hit another car on a rainy night and seriously injure two people. If they sue, a judgment against you could reach into the millions of dollars to pay for their medical bills and pain and suffering. If your auto insurance policy caps your liability at $300,000, then your coverage for such an event will fall short of what you owe in the judgment. In other words, that difference comes out of your pocket. However, if you have an umbrella policy, then that umbrella coverage would take effect after your auto insurer paid out the maximum $300,000 up to the umbrella limit that you had selected.
How Much Coverage You Can Buy
Umbrella policies offer coverage from $1 million to $10 million. For this additional coverage, you will pay a certain price for the first $1 million of coverage (perhaps $150 to $300 a year) and the next million might cost $75 annually. Beyond $2 million, every additional million you add to the policy will cost approximately $50.
How Much Protection You Need
Let’s discuss your financial situation to determine how much umbrella coverage is right for you. The answer will depend on what you own and your future income-earning potential. Financial advisor Suze Orman recommends that your combined insurance policies, including your auto, home and umbrella policies, cover at least the amount of your net worth, which is the value of your assets minus your debts.
Additional Costs
Since umbrella coverage is designed to activate after your other policy limits have been exhausted, insurers require that you have maximum underlying liability coverage on your home and auto. For most policies, this means at least $300,000 of liability on your home and $250,000 on your auto.
Rental Property Insurance (Or Landlord Insurance)
A rental property is a great long-term investment. Especially when it’s fully protected.
Rental properties are important investments and often valuable sources of income. What would happen if the buildings you own were damaged? What if a tenant or guest was injured on your property? A landlord insurance policy can help protect landlords with smaller properties, from single-family homes up to four-family rental units. (Properties for more than four families typically fall into the category of apartment buildings and require commercial policies.)
In addition to property and liability coverage, a landlord insurance policy protects against the special risks landlords may face, such as:
- Damages You Could Be Legally Obligated to Pay
- Legal Counsel and Fees
- Up to 12 Months of Lost Rental Income
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.