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Homeowners Insurance Quotes in Texas – HOB Policy

January 24th, 2011

The Texas HOB policy is one of the best homeowner’s insurance policies you can buy. If you are looking for Homeowners Insurance Quotes in Texas, you should definitely consider this policy type.

At one time, the HOB policy was the standard home owner Insurance policy written in Texas. There were some HOA and HOC policies, but they were for specific situations and not widely used. The HOB policy form was only used in Texas and the other 49 States did not use this type of coverage. This presented some problems for insurance companies from a software support and automation standpoint. This is one of the reasons why most companies in Texas no longer offer this type of policy.

The HOB policy was and is an excellent policy and when available and if priced competitively it is still a great option. A “True” HOB provides all risk coverage on the dwelling, subject to exclusions, and named peril coverage on the contents. It will include replacement cost coverage, water damage coverage for sudden and accidental discharge of water (i.e. burst water heater) and slow leaks, back up of sewer and drain coverage (i.e. toilet overflowing) and foundation coverage, all up to policy limits. Most policies now have separate limits for each of the coverage’s and in some cases they are low limits. The HOB is a very comprehensive policy and is hard to beat.

Again, the problem is that most companies no longer offer it. Many companies that are still offering HOB policies have now started offering what I would call a modified HOB. In this policy the company excludes or limits certain coverage’s and still calls it a HOB policy. Common examples of the coverage modifications are excluding slow leak coverage, limiting backup of sewer and drain coverage and limiting foundation coverage. These type of limitations make the HOB modified version no better that any other policy out there.

That being said, we represent a few companies that do still offer a True HOB and in some cases the pricing is very good. We also offer a couple other policy types that are designed to closely follow the coverage available on the HOB policy. A well endorsed HO3 policy with coverage for water damage for slow leaks and seepage, foundation coverage and back up of sewer and drain coverage will get pretty close to the HOB type of coverage and likely be much more competitively priced.

If you are looking for the best coverage you can get for your house at a price you can afford the well endorsed HO3 is a good option. The best way to find out is to work with an agent that represents multiple companies and policy types and has a good understanding of them. Have them do a comprehensive review and discuss the options available to you.

For more information on obtaining HOB Homeowners Insurance Quotes in Texas, please visit our website at www.Quotes4insurance.com or contact us directly at 972-771-7373 or 800-553-8102.

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Texas Home Insurance – HOA, HOA Plus and HOA Enhanced Policies

January 21st, 2011

If you are looking for Texas Home Insurance and are considering a HOA, HOA Plus or HOA Enhanced policy, you will want to understand what is covered before you purchase the policy.

Coverage can vary greatly from company to company and it is important to know what options are included when you are shopping for rates and coverage. Many people look for quotes online and sometimes it is difficult to gain a clear understanding of the coverage included without speaking with an agent. Many companies offer HOA plus policies with outstanding coverage and great prices. These policies are well worth considering.

All of the HOA policy forms have what is called “Named Peril Coverage”. Which means, if it is not named as covered on the policy, it is excluded. The Basic HOA policy is very limited in nature. The basic named perils are Fire, Lightning, Windstorm, Hurricane, Hail, Explosion, Damage by Vehicles, Damage by Aircraft, Riot and Civil Commotion, Smoke and Vandalism and nothing else. There is no coverage for water damage of any kind and no replacement cost coverage. This policy is used mainly for older homes in poor condition where better coverage is not available and it offers a good solution at a low price for those situations. It has often been referred to as a “Fire Policy”, because the coverage is very limited.

Most companies that use the HOA Policy form actually write it as a HOA Plus or HOA Enhanced Policy. The terms “Plus” or “Enhanced” are interchangeable and vary by company. Significant coverage enhancements are added to the policy and it becomes an excellent option for home insurance in Dallas, Ft Worth, Austin, San Antonio or anywhere else in the great State of Texas.

These coverage enhancements generally include a substantial increase in the named perils, the addition of water damage coverage for sudden and accidental discharge of water (not slow leaks), backup of sewers and drains, foundation coverage, replacement cost coverage and more. I have even seen some HOA Plus policies that now offer water damage for slow and/or continuous seepage or leaks.

When these endorsements are added, this becomes an excellent policy and often can save you hundreds of dollars on your premium and still offer great home owner’s insurance coverage. Some agents that do not have this coverage available to them, will speak negatively about this type of policy and make blanket statements to justify their higher premium. They will usually reference the coverage on a Basic HOA instead of the HOA Plus Policy to make their policy look better. The main reason this normally happens is that they only have one policy type available and are willing to do just about anything to get or keep your business. Beware of agents or agencies with limited offerings, they tend to recommend what is best for them and often cannot remain objective or worse yet, they really do not understand the different types coverage available to begin with.

Deal with a reputable, experienced agency that has multiple policy types and coverage’s available. This will ensure that you are getting the best fit for your insurance needs.

To obtain additional information on Texas Home Insurance, please visit our website at www.Quotes4insurance.com or contact us directly at 972-771-7373 or 800-553-8102.

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What is Covered Under Homeowners Insurance? – Texas Policy Explained

January 21st, 2011

We are often asked the question: “What is Covered Under Homeowners Insurance?” And, if you are looking for online information on Texas Homeowners Insurance, you will find that this is no longer a simple question to answer. The truth is, there are many different types of policies available in the market today.

HOA policies, HOA Plus or Enhanced policies, HOB, HOC, HO3, Company Specific policies and many more. Gone is the day of getting a simple homeowner’s insurance quote and coverage. How can the normal person keep up with all of this and not be an expert? It can be real tough. Especially, when you bring in the salesman that tells you their policy is the very best, only because it’s all they offer!

In this article, I will simplify the various home insurance coverage types available and the primary benefits and drawbacks to these policies. This will give you enough information to assist you in making an informed decision on what coverage will provide the best value and also assist you in finding the best homeowners insurance company for you and your family.

I will begin by explaining some the coverage available on the Texas Homeowners Insurance Policy. We will discuss many of the various policy types now available in Texas, the coverage within those policies and address commonly asked questions relating to the Texas Homeowners Insurance Policy. Let’s start with a brief history of the Texas Homeowners Insurance Policy.

For many years, home owners insurance policy coverage and rates were standardized in Texas. They had a HOA Policy form, a HOB Policy form and a HOC policy form and that was it. Please note that this was in Texas only. The other 49 states had what they called an ISO Form or a Company Specific Form. Us Texans have to be different, you know?

The HOA policy was a very limited form of coverage and the premium was cheap. It is a named peril policy that only covered major losses. Named peril coverage means; it will only cover the property for damage that occurs as a result of something specifically named in the policy. Such as, fire, lightning, wind or hail. This policy was often referred to as a Fire Policy, because not much else was covered. No replacement cost, no water damage, just very basic coverage. This insurance policy was normally written on low value and older homes in poor condition.

The HOB policy was the most common policy written in Texas. It was also known as the Broad Form. Great coverage, all risk on the dwelling (unless excluded), broad named perils on the contents, included replacement cost coverage, water damage, mold coverage, very good coverage.

The HOC policy was even broader, in that it was all risk coverage on the dwelling and contents and had all the other coverage that was available on the HOB policy. This was typically written on high value homes. It didn’t really add much practical coverage and, as a result, very few companies offered it and very few people had it.

So, at the time, most people had the HOB policy and could call around and get home insurance quote estimates and coverage comparisons easily. Ah, the good old days…..

Then a few years ago a thing called “mold” came up and the Texas home insurance industry was turned upside down. Companies began to raise rates, limit coverage and even completely pull out of the State of Texas for homeowners insurance. The policy was never intended to cover mold related damage and even had an exclusion in the policy for mold, but a court ruling found that the policy should pay for mold related damage if it was a consequential loss resulting from another covered peril. (Water Damage).

After a short period of time, the Texas Department of Insurance agreed to allow companies to start offering other homeowners insurance policies in Texas that would limit and/or exclude mold damage.

As a result, we now have many different Homeowners Insurance policy types available. As mentioned above, policies now available are: HOA, HOA Plus, HOA Enhanced, HOB, HOB Modified, HO3, HO3 Modified, Company Specific Forms and many variations of these. Getting an apples for apples comparison is now quite difficult. Most agents only offer one or two of these policy types and of course they will insist that whatever they offer is the best and that everything else stinks. Also many agents now use these different policy types to confuse consumers and “muddy the water” to try to scare their clients into keeping their current insurance with them. Not a good situation. Fortunately, most agents do not use these unethical tactics.

The good news is that most of these policies offer good coverage and there are only subtle differences in coverage that should be based on the insured’s preference.

The following links will provide you with additional details on each of these policies:

Texas Home Insurance – HOA, HOA Plus and HOA Enhanced Policies

Texas Homeowners Insurance Coverage- HOB Policies

Homeowners Insurance Coverage in Texas – HO-3 Policies and Company Specific Forms

Texas Home Insurance Coverage Comparison – Which policy is right for me?

I truly hope that you find this information to be beneficial and that it assists you in your efforts in find the best homeowners insurance available in Texas. Now more than ever it is critical to deal with an experienced agent that has a full understanding of all of these different policy types, represents the best companies with top financial ratings and will work with you to find the best fit for your needs.

For additional information on What is Covered Under Homeowners Insurance or to obtain an instant homeowners insurance quote, please visit our website at www.Quotes4insurance.com or contact our office directly at (800)553-8102.

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Homeowners Insurance in Texas with Poor Credit – Money Saving Secrets Exposed

January 10th, 2011

If you are looking for Homeowners Insurance in Texas with Poor Credit, you will likely find that the quotes you are receiving are unbelievably high. But, this doesn’t have to be the case. If you become aware of how the insurance system works, you will be able to find great rates on your home insurance even if you have poor credit. Saving you thousands of dollars a year, in many cases.

I recently quoted a home owners insurance policy for a family in Fort Worth, Texas. Like many people today, they had experienced some difficult times and had some major credit problems. We priced their home insurance coverage with 15 different major Texas homeowners insurance providers and based their coverage on a 200K value for the home. We included all of the important homeowners insurance coverage. What we found was the premiums ranged from a low of $ 745.00 for 12 months to a high of $ 4207.00 for 12 months, for identical coverage! How crazy is that?

The difference is that the company that offered the cheapest premium did not penalize them for having had some credit problems. If fact, they did not use credit scoring, at all, in determining their premium. Imagine how happy this family was to find this option available to them.

The Key to finding the best prices available for home insurance, if you have had some credit problems, is to locate the companies that do not use credit scoring to determine your pricing or eligibility. You might ask, how do I do this? Well, it begins by exposing a few myths about homeowners insurance:

Myth #1: All insurance companies use credit scoring to determine your rates.

Answer: This is not true, at all. While the vast majority of companies do charge more if you have had some credit problems, there are still a few companies out there that do use this practice. They charge you based on the coverage amount of your home, the age, condition and location of the property and your claim history. You will need to locate these companies. Just ask if the company uses poor credit against you, when you are getting quote comparisons.

Myth # 2: My current insurance agent is getting me the lowest rates available. Because, “they said so.”

Answer: Most agents only represent one company and obviously the odds are against the fact that you have the best rates available. They may be getting you the cheapest rate “they” have available, but they only represent one company and one price. You need to shop around with multiple companies, to be sure. Especially, if you have any type of special circumstances like credit related issues.

Myth #3: I don’t have time to shop around with multiple companies to find the best rate. I’m too busy.

Answer: Deal with an independent insurance agent or broker that represents many different companies. You will have the ability to check on as many as 15 different homeowners insurance company’s rates through just one agency/agent. Ask for a company that does not use credit scoring.

Credit scoring in insurance is a very controversial subject and an often discussed topic. Insurance companies maintain there is a direct connection between a person’s credit score and the likelihood of them filing an insurance claim. Consumer groups argue against this and state that credit scoring unfairly impacts low income and minority consumers as well as people with temporary financial difficulties. Regulators continue to review this practice and will ultimately determine how it will be used moving forward.

Whatever your take on this subject, the fact remains that many people are unnecessarily paying way too much for their homeowners insurance because of credit problems. This happens every day, all over the entire State of Texas including Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, East Texas, Central Texas and El Paso. Don’t let this happen to you.

If you would like additional information on programs available for Homeowners Insurance in Texas with Poor Credit, please visit our website at www.Quotes4insurance.com or contact our office directly.

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