Posts Tagged ‘texas’

Home Burglaries Up 9% in Texas, Allstate Says

July 15th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in homeowners insurance, insurance news

Homeowners in Texas may want to consider boosting their homeowners insurance polices, and re-evaluating their inventory lists after reading this:

Allstate Insurance has shared that burglary claims for their customers in Texas increased 9 percent last year. The insurer is advising people to keep their homes locked, their alarms engaged, and their vacation plans secret, if they go away this summer.

What are the most common stolen items? Allstate surveyed police departments across the Lone Star state, and found that the number one target in home burglaries are flat-screen televisions, which are followed by laptop computers, jewelry, and cash. In some cities, the survey found, an increasing number of home burglaries are being tied to organized groups, like street gangs, which, police say, have “shopping lists” of things to steal, and will actually back into their target’s driveway, knock on the door, and kick it in if no one answers. They then take valuable, portable items and leave within a few minutes. Afterward, most of the stolen goods end up being filtered to other cities and states, or even across the border into Mexico, by an organized fencing operation.

David Christopher, an Allstate agent in the Dallas/Fort Worth area explained, “”Not only do these home burglaries disrupt homeowners’ lives because their valuables are stolen, but they create a potentially dangerous situation if the theft is interrupted. That’s why it’s so important for homeowners to take precautions because these thefts can happen anywhere.”

Source: Insurance Journal

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Texans tell The Hartford: Our Cities are Driveable, Mostly

April 14th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in auto insurance, insurance news

A recent study performed on behalf of The Hartford Financial Services Group says that, even with incidents of road rage, and complains from people who are on the road a log, most Texas residents would consider their city streets to be “drivable.” Further, at least sixty percent of motorists in the major Texas cities of Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio say that their local officials do a good job at road maintenance.

Even so, residents of those cities still see room for improvement, with the following results being offered:

* Dallas drivers, besieged by weather-related potholes and rough roads, would recommend improving the condition of existing roads to improve drivability (39 percent of drivers).
* Austin drivers, with narrow roadways restricted by development, would like to see more lanes added to highways (39 percent).
* San Antonio drivers would appreciate a combination of the two solutions, with road improvements slightly nudging out adding more lanes as the No. 1 choice for improved driving conditions (32 percent vs. 28 percent).

The point of the study was to ask Texans how road conditions could be best improved, and The Hartford is using the results of the survey to help launch it’s “Pothole Patrol” initiative in key markets throughout the United States – including Dallas – with the end goal the creation of smoother commutes by filling damage-causing potholes.

The Driveablity Survey polled drivers across the country, and examined several metro areas, including the three Texas cities named above. Why Texas? Because generally, Texas motorists:

* Spend more hours driving per week than in other cities studied.
* Spend more time driving on highways.
* Spend more time driving during rush hours.
* Spend more time in traffic jams.

The survey also shows that 73 percent of Texas drivers believe traffic is worsening in their cities, and acknowledge that the existing roads were not designed to handle the amount of traffic they currently do.

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