Posts Tagged ‘homeowners insurance’

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Thursday Filmstrip: Century 21 Superbowl Commercial

February 2nd, 2012 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in friday filmstrips, homeowners insurance, insurance news

This Sunday is the 2012 Superbowl. It’s a day of fun, family, and food, and even if you’re not particularly interested in the game itself, chances are you’re tuning in to watch the commercials.

This one is from Century 21 – we’re sharing it because we think it’s a great ad, but also because we want to remind you that when you buy a new home, you also have to shop for homeowners insurance – you can’t have one without the other.

In any case, enjoy the video, and the game.

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Merry Christmas from InsuranceSpecialists.com

December 19th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in friday filmstrips, homeowners insurance

Ah, December! The fresh scents of cranberry and pine. The anticipation of small children. The scent of burning wiring and scorched walls – okay, well, maybe not the last bit. We wish you a happy and safe holiday season, and offer this video about holiday fire safety, from State Farm – we’re sure your own homeowners insurance company probably agrees with their advice:

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Citizens Cuts Homeowners Insurance in Florida

November 16th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in homeowners insurance

Citizens Property Insurance customers in Florida will have less coverage available in 2012.

The company, which is run by the state, released a memo to its agents stating that it will be eliminating homeowners insurance coverage for most structures beyond the main residence listed on a policy. Specifically excluded will be car ports, patios, screen porches and pool enclosures that are not constructed from the same materials as the actual residence.

The exclusions don’t end there, however. Citizens is also excluding coverage for gazebos, tiki huts, or any other similar structures likely to be open to the weather, or any structure that has a roof or wall built from lattice, thatching, or similar materials.

Citizens is also instituting a $10,000 cap on cosmetic damage to floors that cover less than five percent of the total square footage of a home.

According to company spokesperson Christine Ashburn, these changes will go into effect on all new and renewal policies on January 1, 2012.

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Missouri Enacts 2 New Insurance Laws

September 20th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in flood insurance, homeowners insurance, hurricane insurance, tornado insurance

Two new insurance laws went into effect last Friday in Missouri, both of which provide stronger protection for homeowners in the the Show-Me state.

The first law, Senate Bill 101, bars exterior repair contractors, like roofing and siding companies, from offering to cover a prospective client’s insurance deductible in order to make a sale, and also prohibits such companies from negotiating with insurance companies on an insured homeowner’s behalf.

The other law, Senate Bill 132, allows insurance companies to legally set up mobile service centers in storm-damaged areas, to make it easier for affected policyholders to file claims. Under the terms of this law, counties, cities, and other political subdivisions may not restrict insurers from establishing temporary operations. Previously, there were cases where cities and other municipalities wanted new business licenses before mobile service centers were allowed to operate after a weather-related disaster.

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State Farm Requesting Changes on Texas Homeowners Coverage

September 16th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in homeowners insurance, insurance news, rate watch

Stae Farm Insurance filed a notice requesting a rate hike averaging 10 percent across the state in Texas homeowners insurance rates, but company officials were quick to announce that with new and larger discounts, homeowners are likely to see effective increases of only 1.4 percent.

Earlier this week, the Dallas Morning News also reported another proposal from State Farm, shifting the deductible on homeowners coverage to 1 percent of the home’s insured value rather than the current schedule of flat-rate deductibles that can be as low as $500.

Representatives of State Farm explained that the new deductibles reflect the increased cost to repair homes after claim-worthy damage.

The requested start-date for these changes is October 15th for new customers and December 1st for those who are already State Farm customers.

A recently established Texas law mandates that the state insurance commissioner completes a review of such requests within thirty days.

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Alfa Raises Homeowners Insurance Rates in Alabama

September 9th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in homeowners insurance, insurance news

Alabama homeowners, especially those with landlord and farm policies, will be seeing insurance rates that are about 20% higher if their coverage is through Alfa Mutual Group.

According to the Alabama state actuary, Charles Angell, this increase is not designed to account for losses caused by a spate of tornadoes which struck the state last April. In fact, he says, all insurers in Alabama will be able to offset only a fraction of such losses via upcoming rate requests.

Nevertheless, according to Alfa spokesperson Jeff Helms, the increase in the severity and frequency of such storms is putting pressure on insurance rates.

Alfa is an affiliate of the Alabama Farmers Federation, and the new, higher rates actually went into effect on September 1st.

Charles Angell insists that his calculations support the rate hike.

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Eqecat Says East Coast Quake Losses Under $100 Million

August 23rd, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in earthquake insurance, homeowners insurance

While the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Virginia, earlier today, and shook up the entire east coast of the United States was a very loud reminder that people in California aren’t the only ones who need earthquake insurance, the catastrophe modeling company Eqecat says it actually caused less than $100 million in insured losses.

According to Eqecat, insurance losses were minimized because the earthquake was relatively weak. Had it had a magnitude of 7 rather than just under 6, the insured losses would have been more than 20 times greater, is says.

Eqecat’s models are used in the insurance industry in order to assess risk, predict losses and plan coverage. Representatives of the company said its data suggests that in the affected areas, minor damage is more likely than any significant structural damage.

After years of insurance coverage prices going down, disastrous earthquakes around the world have literally rocked the insurance industry. Prices began to increase after the March temblor in Japan caused tens of billions of dollars in insured losses and much more than that in economic losses.

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