Posts Tagged ‘homeowners’

At least 6 killed, dozens hurt and over 100 homes damaged in Granbury tornadoes

Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said at a press conference this morning that all six people who died were adults, although he did not release their names or other details.

He said 37 others were known to be injured, and around 110 homes damaged or destroyed. Sheriff Deeds said the death count could rise as seven people remain unaccounted for and nearby rural areas had not been searched thoroughly. But he did not expect anyone else to be found in the rubble.

At iMGA we are honored to be able to help restore people’s belongings after severe weather events. But every spring we are reminded that:

• Nature is an awesome, powerful and unpredictable force, and
• Some losses simply cannot be replaced.

We are proud to provide insurance for thousands of Texas homeowners and we work every day to live up to the trust placed in us by our agents and customers, but we often wish we could do even more. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Granbury, and all the others who have been and will be affected by severe weather.

Some video from Granbury:

We love talking to you, our valued agents, but we know sometimes you just need a change made to a policy as quickly as possible.

So we’ve made it so you can do the most common changes whenever you need.

For example, on a Dwelling policy you can do a Non-Money endorsement or an Agent Money Endorsement by selecting Actions/Modify Policy. On the bottom of the Policy detail page you will see two buttons:

The Non-Money endorsement lets you change the Bill To, Pay By, Insured Name and information, Mailing Address and Additional Interest/Mortgagee information.

The Agent Money endorsement lets you change the age of the roof, the Other Structures limit and the Dwelling Update information. Simply select the dwelling you want to modify:

Then add or correct the information:

You can change all the same information on a Homeowners and MobileHome policy also.

On Renters policies you can add or delete Additional Insureds or make changes to Additional Insured name and address.

This is just another small part of how we work hard to make things as easy as possible for our agents.

Of course you can grow your agency by finding new customers or by adding new markets.

But the easiest and fastest way to grow your agency is to increase the number of products you provide for your existing customers. The sale is easier because you already have a relationship, plus studies have shown that customers with multiple policies stay with you longer. This multiplies your growth over time.

Fortunately as an iMGA agent you have a wide range of products to meet multiple needs for your clients:

• Homeowners – HOA, HOA+ and HOB options to cover a wide range of home values, ages and conditions.
• MobileHome – Specialty coverage for clients whether inside a mobile home park or not.
• Dwelling – TDP1, TDP1+ and TDP3 policies for owner and tenant-occupied dwellings.
• Vacant Dwelling – A specific option for hard-to-place vacant homes.
• Renters – Contents and Liability coverages for insureds who don’t yet own a home.
• Umbrella – Up to $5 million in primary and/or $5 million excess coverage for clients with the need to protect a wide range of assets.

All iMGA products focus on being EASY to use, with instant online binding, payment and document and flexible direct bill options. So as an iMGA agent you can focus on making sure you’re offering all your clients all the protection they need and growing your agency quickly in the process.

If you’re an agent who is not already working with us and would like a to grow your agency by offering a Texas Personal Property program that includes cutting-edge Renters, Dwelling, Vacant, MobileHome, HOA/HOA+/HOB and Umbrella products, just tell us a little about yourself.

Daniel Schwarcz, a University of Minnesota Law School associate professor and the author of an 88-page study scheduled to be published early next year in the University of Chicago Law Review, says homeowners policies differ “radically with respect to numerous important coverage provisions.”

Professor Schwarcz found that “all five companies with substantially less generous policies” use captive agents (like State Farm, Allstate and Farmers) but “two of the three carriers providing the most generous policy forms use independent agents”.

The study concluded that consumers are most likely to be harmed by potential differences in homeowners coverage “if those consumers do not have access to an intermediary that is informed about these differences.”  Also that “Captive agents… are substantially more likely than independent agents” to be unable or unwilling to offer consumers coverage alternatives.

In other words, it’s really important to have a good independent agent.

At iMGA we couldn’t agree more. We’re proud to offer fantastic coverage options most companies don’t, but that’s not helpful without great independent agents who care enough about their clients to make sure those clients are well covered.

Fortunately we have those – spread all over Texas.

Consumers: Find a great agent to work with on insurance for you home or rental dwelling.

Agents: Work with a company that appreciates the value you bring to your clients.

At iMGA we are dedicated to offering Texas property owners coverage options they cannot get anywhere else.

We’re proud to continue that tradition today by announcing that our Texas Elite homeowners insurance product now offers:

A $500 deductible option!

Companies all over Texas, large and small, are requiring 1% minimum deductibles and rolling insureds to those deductibles without offering insureds any choice in the matter.

IMGA’s Texas Elite policies in all of the state except Tier 1 and Tier 2 will have an option that is particularly helpful for those on a fixed income or tight budget who want to minimize the out of pocket cost of any claim they might have in the future.

If you are an independent agent who’d like to work with a market that understands Texas and isn’t afraid to be different, complete the form on this page.

If you would like to get a homeowners insurance quote from an independent agent near you that offers iMGA products, please visit our find an agent page.