There’s an old saying is that the only thing constant in life is change.  There’s a lot of truth to that saying, and it’s one of the things that a competent insurance agent focuses on most: life changes.

Insurance is all about helping you identify and manage the amount of risk you are comfortable with and then putting a practical strategy in place, through the use of insurance policies, to protect your assets.  With this definition in mind, it only makes sense that when your life change, your level of risk and assets will likely change with it. 

Therefore, here are 6 times you should reach out to your Texas insurance agent and review your coverage:

1) Birth and death
When you have a child, grandchild, etc. or when someone you know or loves passes away, both times you should reach out to your agent, not only to update your family’s contact information, but also to review your coverage and make sure that any policies will reflect the addition, or passing, of that individual.

2) Moving
If you move, it’s imperative that you review your coverage. Different areas, even in North Texas, are rated differently, have different risk levels and it’s in your best interest to update your address and just as importantly make sure that you are properly covered at your new residence.
 
3) You change jobs or retire.
This is a major life event for anyone, and definitely demands a policy review with your insurance agent. Life insurance, retirement funds, time off/severance all can be impacted by this job change, and it’s helpful to make sure your insurance agent is aware so they can make recommendations to protect the things that matter most to you even if you change jobs.

4) You make a big purchase.
Whether this is a new car, other type of motorized vehicle (ATV, Motorcycle, RV, etc.), or even things like jewelry and fine art.  Your insurance agent has products and options that can help your protect these things, often for just a small premium.

5) You file a claim.
Depending on the severity of your claim will determine when is the best time to talk to your agent, but once your claim has been resolved, it would make sense to talk to your agent and make sure that you have the proper coverage moving forward, in the event that you had rejected optional coverages that might have protected you during that claim process.

6) At least once a year.
Big changes don’t come all the time, but when they do it’s important to speak with your insurance agent. Even if you don’t have a major event a good Dallas insurance agent, like LFIG, will reach out to you at least once a year to offer a policy review.  This isn’t a sales conversation, it’s a chance to make sure that your insurance coverage is keeping up with your asset protection needs.  There may be additional products that could better help, there may be coverage that is unnecessary due to your situation. Your agent will help you find out.

Nobody wants to file an insurance claim, but life happens fast. Whether you’ve been in an auto accident or your home has been damaged, you pay a monthly premium each month to have your policy cover the items listed in the contract come claim time.

Once you’ve had a possible claim situation arise, your first step should be to mitigate any future damage, make sure you and your family are safe, and then contact your Dallas insurance agent.

When you get in contact with LFIG they’ll get you directly in touch with the insurance company who issued your policy and help guide you through the process. Once the claim is actually filed, though, your agent takes a hands-off approach. The reason being that insurance claim estimating and adjusting is a specific field in the insurance industry.

Insurance adjusters and claims representatives are specifically trained in evaluating damage and making accurate estimates of the damages, whereas your agent’s training is based around risk management and asset protection on behalf of the client. Their job is to give you policy options that fit your current life situation and level of risk.
Because your agent works on your behalf, and doesn’t work for the insurance company, they can be a resource to help resolve any communication problems you are having or get you in touch with the individual(s) who can answer the questions and concerns you have that are directly related to your claim.

​Of all the issues that North Texas homeowners face, one of the most frustrating is foundation damage. It seems to come on slowly, where you don’t necessarily recognize it until you have a multi-thousand dollar repair bill on your hands.  If you’re like most people, if you find out you have foundation damage your first thought will be to reach out to your Dallas insurance agent, Lewis Family Insurance Group, to find out if your Texas homeowners insurance covers this type of damage.

Like most things in insurance, the answer is: “it depends”.  The reason is that insurance policies are written to cover certain, specific types of losses, referred to as “perils”. Certain policies cover certain perils, but this blog post will try to give a general understanding of what is and isn’t covered when it comes to foundation damage. As always, though, read your policy and reach out to your agent/carrier to attempt to verify coverage before filing a claim.

So, from a 30,000 foot view whether or not foundation damage is covered will depend on what caused the damage in the first place.   Some of the common causes of foundation damage in Texas are:

1) Damage due to shifting soil or earth movement.
Texas, North Texas specifically, has soil with high clay contents. This means that the soil expands and contracts as it absorbs water causing your foundation to shift. This tends to be the most talked about cause of damage to foundation, but unfortunately most insurance policies do not cover damage due to shifting soil as it is indicative of the client failing to take preventative steps to prevent and/or mitigate the damage.  In the instance of earth movement, homeowners policies typically do not cover, and actually exclude, covering damage as a result from earth movement, sinkholes, mud and landslides, etc.

2) Damage due to faulty construction
Most homeowners’ policies in Texas will not cover damage that is a result of faulty workmanship or building materials. In this instance, you would not be reimbursed for the cost of having the construction recompleted/repaired, therefore your best bet would be to contact the builder or contractor who initially completed the work to discuss remedies.

3) Damage due to flooding or leaks
Beginning with flooding, typically the only policy that will cover flooding (flooding=rising water entering the home from outside) is a flood policy. While there are private companies who write flood insurance, the most common flood policy is routed through FEMA and based on Federal Government standards.  As far as damage due to water originating inside the home (from a pipe, for example) your policy will have specific language detailing what is and isn’t covered. Often the damage must result from a sudden and unexpected event, meaning knowing you have a leak and waiting 3 or 4 weeks to stop the damage would likely not be covered.

Bottom line: While everyone should have their home protected, Texas homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover every single type of damage you might face as a homeowner.  Your best course of action is to always prevent damage from getting worse, and contact your insurance agent to find out what steps to take moving forward to best protect your home.

If you’ve had insurance for more than a minute, you’re likely familiar with the term “deductible”.  Deductibles apply to various types of insurance: home, renters, auto, health, etc. Even within some certain coverages added to policies there could be a separate deductible that applies before the coverage “kicks in”. In short: for homeowners insurance the deductible is the portion you agree to pay (other than the premiums themselves) before the insurance company begins to pay for repairs to your home or property.

This portion you agree to pay in the form of a deductible is often a small percentage of your home, most often 1 or 2%.  So, for example, if you have a $300,000 home and a 1% deductible you would pay the first $3,000 in the event you filed a claim to have your roof replaced and the remainder would be paid by the insurance company.

Insurance, both from the standpoint of the client and the company, is all about risk management. The more risk the insurance company takes in covering you the higher your premiums will be.  The more risk you are willing to assume as the insured the lower, generally speaking, your premiums will be.  A 16-year-old driving a brand-new Corvette is likely to be a higher risk for the insurance company than a 45-year-old with a perfect driving record sporting that 8-year-old Ford Focus. The same is true for your homeowners insurance deductibles.  If you agreed (whether you knew it or not) to cover a 2 or 3% deductible before the insurance company has to pay to cover that roof or plumbing repair, you’re likely to see a much lower premium.

After February 2021’s winter storm a lot of Texans were shocked to learn that while they were paying crazy low rates for their homeowners insurance, they were expected to fork over a massive amount of money before the insurance company would cover any repairs.  This was compounded by the fact that home values and rebuild costs continue to skyrocket in North Texas (hello rising cost of lumber). 

LFIG isn’t opposed to high deductibles in and of themselves. There are a number of reasons someone could decide to have a 2, 3 or even 5% deducible. It’s never our job to “tell” you what to do. What is vitally important though, and something that we saw after the winter storm, is that clients know exactly what their deductible is, not just in terms of some random percentage, oh you have a 2% deductible, but rather “YOU’RE EXPECTED TO PAY $10,000 BEFORE THE INSURANCE COPMANY COVERS ANYTHING”.  If you’re aware of the deductible, are comfortable with it and willing to assume that risk there isn’t an issue.  The problem comes when so many people are shocked to find out what that percentage deductible means in real world dollars.

Because we have access to dozens of carriers, we can shop to find you the best coverage for the most affordable premium.  As far as homeowners insurance is concerned part of that process includes discussing what kind of deductible, you’re comfortable with. It doesn’t make sense to cut corners on your deductible if you actually won’t be able to afford to pay it at claim time.  Sure, raising you deductible from 1 to 2% mathematically means that you’ll save enough to make up the difference if you have to file a claim, but are you actually putting those premium savings away every month? Most people, understandably, are not.

The entire discussion about deductibles boils down to two things that we focus on at LFIG:

1) Determining how much risk you, as the insured, are willing to assume.

and

2) Making sure that you, as the insured, have the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about your insurance coverage.

As a local, independent insurance agency based here in North Texas, we’re always willing and able to have those conversations.

It’s no secret that more and more Americans, especially younger Americans, are being saddled with student loans. As the cost of tuition and public and private universities increase at record speeds and wages remain relatively stagnant, most higher learners are being forced to take out loans to pay for their continued education.

Now, this blog post isn’t a critique one way or another about student loans, whether they should be forgiven, what the interest rates should be or anything like that.

What this blog post is about, however, is whether those student loans are forgiven when you die and whether your life insurance death benefit will be reduced to cover the outstanding loan balances.

First and foremost it’s important to remember that (just like every person) every life insurance policy and company is different. The contracts have different features and benefits associated with them so before you sign up for coverage with your Dallas insurance agent, you ask them every single question you can possibly think of. 

As a general rule, though, life insurance is a contract directly between the policy owner (not necessarily the insured) and the insurance company.  When you die the beneficiary that is listed in your policy receives the death benefit minus any deductions for unpaid premiums or loans if it is a permanent policy.  Any debt that you might have, including student loans, generally isn’t subject to being garnished from life insurance proceeds as those debts become part of your estate and are settled through the probate process. And if you’ve taken out federal student loans those are typically forgiven at the time of death.

So, no, generally speaking student loan debt doesn’t reduce the amount of the death benefit when you die.

What you should think about, however, is if you have student loans that you acquired with the help of a cosigner. Specifically private student loans, cosigners may be required to continue paying the debt on those loans even if you are no longer living. For parents and grandparents who plan on cosigning for their junior’s students, it’s not a bad idea to take out a small life insurance policy on him to make sure if something tragic happens that you are not responsible for a debt that, while technically is yours, isn’t one you were prepared to take on.

Even more than auto, home and renters insurance, life insurance can become incredibly complicated. Your Dallas insurance agency, the Lewis Family Insurance Group, has the knowledge and experience to cut through the clutter and simplify the topic so you can make an informed decision. ​