Get In Touch
Phone: (512) 494-4161
Toll Free: (877) 443-4642
Email:
info@imga.biz
Mailing Address:
P.O Box 340004
Austin, TX 78734
What We Offer
In the classic words of Dorthy in The Wizard of Oz..."lions and tigers and bears" were the scary animals that could be lurking along their path to the Emerald City. Well, insurance companies seem to be fearful of asbestos and metal siding, PPCs 8s, 9s, and 10s, older homes, and a whole bunch of other things these days. Good News! We are not scared of these kind of houses. In fact, we write them all of the time. After my last email about loving older homes, I had several calls and emails from agents happy that we are a welcoming market for older homes. They also asked questions about other things that we might write while talking about their other insurance companies. The themes were very similar ranging from rates are high and going up, deductibles are increasing, markets no longer writing metal and asbestos siding, unprotected risks being non-renewed or penalized for volunteer fire departments, super picky about credit scores etc. etc. More Good News! We did NOT raise our rates in 2022, and will NOT be raising our rates in 2023. We do NOT penalize a community with higher rates just because they have a volunteer fire department. We do NOT use credit scores in our rating. Plus, we like older homes and write unprotected homes all the time. When writing older homes, remember to add updates. Updates allow us to lower our rate depending on the updates that were done, and when they were done. So, PLEASE remember to ask your clients about updates, and enter them into the quote. You and your clients will be very happy that you did. If you haven't quoted us in a while, please give us a try. It is quick and easy to quote and bind a policy with us. If you have any questions or need any help, please reach out to us at (512) 494-4164 or through our Contact Page .
You must love older houses as much as we do! Why? Because, 1972 was the average age of the houses that we wrote new in December making December 2022 our biggest new business December since 2015! Since the average age of the houses last month was 50, we are taking that as proof that 50 is the new 20. Just saying it makes me feel younger! So, a Big Thank You for helping us end the year in a great way!! With fewer markets writing older homes and everyone (except us) raising rates, we reminded you last month that we love to write older, smaller, in town, or rural homes and dwellings. And boy oh boy, you all crushed it by writing a whole bunch of them! Heck, December was also our biggest over all new business month since September of 2017. We write all ages of homes, rental dwellings, and mobile homes. We write a lot of homes in large cities and towns, but we also have a large chunk of our book in small towns, and very rural areas around the state. We use AAIS fire protection codes, not ISO, because AAIS puts more emphasis on the distance to a fire hydrant and the fire station (regardless of volunteer or paid). This often helps lower the sometimes large difference for properties out of town, or in smaller towns vs those in larger towns. Here is summary information of the new policies that we wrote in December.
My doctor knows that I am in the insurance business. This can be a bad thing. So, the normal displeasure of visiting a doctor was added to by his ranting about how lousy his insurance company was. It turns out that he had a major power surge at his house which blew out most of his electronics. Plus, being a gadget guy, he has a "SMART" house with electronics controlling cameras, lights, windows, doors, appliances, toilets and other such silliness. He thought that his insurance company was lousy because they told him that power surges were NOT covered. They were denying his claim. Although I was born at night, I wasn't born last night. So, I decided it would be best to wait for him to take off the rubber glove before telling him the unfortunate truth. Sorry Doc, I said. Most insurance policies don't cover damage caused by a power surge. However, if you had Personal Equipment Breakdown coverage, it would be covered. With power surges being the number one cause of appliance failure, and fluctuating power grid issues plaguing Texas, this is great coverage that you should have. I explained that we automatically include Personal Equipment Breakdown coverage in all of our homeowners, dwelling, and mobile home policies. Coverage is provided for insureds' appliances and equipment such as air conditioners, stoves, microwave ovens, refrigerators, washers, dryers, televisions, computers, water heaters, riding mowers, well pumps, pool filter pumps, and even those fancy self flushing toilets of yours. Personal Equipment Breakdown covers appliances and equipment when a power surge fries them, or they suffer a mechanical issue such as seizing and ruptures. With a tear in his eye, he asked if we could insure his house. I politely tucked in my shirt and said, sorry Doc, but we write mostly smaller older homes, rental properties, and mobile homes. Plus, we only write through independent agencies, but I can get you in touch with a good agent who can help. So, the moral of the story is that standard insurance policies rarely provide coverage for these events and most insureds are stuck with large repair bills. A burnt out well pump could cost $2,000 to repair. A seized air conditioner compressor could cost another $2,500 to fix. Fortunately, we have automatically added Personal Equipment Breakdown coverage that provides up to $100,000 in coverage with a low $500 deductible to all of our homeowners, dwelling, and mobile home policies. Personal equipment breakdown is a coverage enhancement that your clients will really appreciate when the inevitable appliance failure happens. Don't leave your customer crying like my doctor. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. Thank you for your support!
Contact Us
Phone: (512) 494-4161
Toll Free: (877) 443-4642
Email: info@imga.biz
Mailing Address:
P.O Box 340004
Austin, TX 78734
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