Archives for coverage

House With Other StructureWhat to Cover

Every client coming to you for homeowners insurance is aware of the need to cover their primary dwelling. But only good questioning by you will reveal the other things that they have that need coverage as well.

Fortunately iMGA systems guide you through the questions on some of those other things that might need special coverage, including:

  • Other Structures (outbuildings, storage sheds, etc.)
  • Business Personal Property
  • Computers
  • Scheduled Personal Property (engagement rings, jewelry and collectibles)
  • Farm and Ranch Equipment

How Much Coverage to Buy

Far too many people buy the amount of homeowners insurance needed to pay off their mortgage. But critical provisions of homeowners policies require that clients purchase the amount of insurance necessary to replace the home. That means the right amount of insurance could easily be  much more or less than the mortgage.

Fortunately, iMGA systems include a replacement cost calculator to help make sure that the coverage amount chosen when the policy is issued is within the needed range. Of course like any other tool it is highly dependent on what you input and the information that your insured has given you.

For example:

  • If there is an attached garage, those quote questions need to be answered correctly.
  • If the insured has finished out the garage as living space or done some other major addition then the square footage needs to be increased.
  • Also, the build quality can swing the valuation a large amount in either direction.

So make sure that you ask your insureds detailed questions about their property so that this critical decision can be made properly.

When to Update Coverage

According to AccuQuote.com, replacement costs have risen an average of 7% per year. That means the replacement cost of the average home has more than doubled in the last 11 years, and has a very high likelihood of being underinsured after only a few years.

If that’s not enough, homeowners frequently upgrade – remodel, put in a pool or addition, or make other changes that increase the value and replacement cost of the home.

 

Clients depend on you, their trusted advisor, to ensure these coverage decisions are made in an informed manner. At iMGA we work to make doing so as easy as possible for you.

 

If you’re a Texas insurance agent who would like to work with a company focused on helping make your job easier, let us know.

 

Mobile Home with CartThe iMGA MobileHome program is back and better than ever, with coverage choices that include:

  • Lot sizes up to 300 acres.
  • Liability limits from $50,000-$300,000.
  • Tenant and owner occupied properties.
  • Primary or secondary homes.
  • All protection classes eligible.
  • Up to 9 dwellings on the same policy.
  • Theft coverage options.
  • Replacement cost coverage on homes up to 10 years old and over $40,000 in value.
  • Contents coverage up to 2 times the MobileHome limit.
  • Other structures coverage from $0 to 2 times the MobileHome limit.
  • Optional Glass and Vandalism & Malicious Mischief (V&MM) coverage.
  • Discounts for roof updates and hail-resistant roofs.
  • Burglar and fire alarm credits.
  • Multiple deductible options.
  • Direct billed with up to 10 monthly payments.

We’re working to make MobileHome easier than ever, so be sure to quote all your Texas MobileHome clients with iMGA today.

 

When we first rolled out our Renters Policy earlier this year, we made it fairly basic by offering personal property coverage limits up to $50K ACV, liability coverage of $100K and medical payments of $1K. The perils covered by this policy include: fire, lightning, smoke, windstorm, hurricane, hail, explosion, aircraft, vehicles, riot, vandalism and theft.

While it was a good starting point, agents now need more liability coverage in order to meet the demands of clients and apartment complexes throughout the state, so we have added liability optional limits of $200,000 and $300,000 as well as medical payments limits of $2,000.

For those of you that told us this is what you needed, here you go! We hope the rest of our agents find these enhancements useful in closing more renters policies.

We are amused by large insurers spending their time and money advertising how claims caused by mayhem are covered by their policies. The ads truly are funny, but we laugh because we have yet to see a scenario advertised that would not be covered by most any auto policy.  So, we’re left asking “where’s the beef”?

Well, we have been listening to our agents, and based on your input we put some serious beef into rental dwelling policies. Our new Longhorn Dwelling program includes coverages and options that have all but disappeared from the rest of the market especially when combined into a single policy.

Here just a few of these additional coverages that are now available to your clients.

Available on any new Longhorn Dwelling policy:

  • TDP1 and TDP3 Form options
  • $500 deductible option
  • Up to 2 owner-occupied dwellings on a single policy
  • Mortgagee or Direct Bill options, with up to 9 monthly installments

Available on all Longhorn Non-Admitted Dwelling policies:

  • Up to 9 tenant-occupied dwellings on a single policy
  • No deductible for Fire and Lightning claims
  • Optional deductibles up to 5%
  • Automatic hail resistive roof credits without documentation
  • Corporate named insureds, partnerships, and LLC’s eligible
  • A new TDP1 Plus package option that includes replacement cost and additional extended dwelling coverages
  • Optional extended vacancy clause – up to 3 months’ vacancy coverage without cancellation or rewrite
  • Optional liability and medical payments coverage available on properties up to 100 acres
  • Slide, diving board and trampoline liability buyback options available
  • Owner occupied mobiles homes eligible (depending on age)
  • Rewarding new credits:
    • Senior/Retiree
    • Age of Roof
    • Age of Dwelling
    • Fire and Burglar Protective Devices

Available only on Longhorn TDP1 policies:

  • Coverage for tenant-occupied mobile homes

Available only on Longhorn TDP1 Plus and TDP3 policies:

  • Vandalism & Malicious Mischief automatically included
  • Limited foundation and water back up automatically included
  • Limited mold coverage automatically included

Of course we can’t possibly list all the options or terms and conditions here, so be sure to quote a Longhorn Dwelling program policy as soon as possible and see for yourself just how much beef is really there.

Most owner-occupied Longhorn Dwelling policies will continue to be issued through San Antonio Indemnity Company. All other Longhorn Dwelling policies will be underwritten by Lloyd’s of London which is non-admitted in the State of Texas.  However, Lloyd’s of London is rated “A” by A.M. Best, and known the world over for their security and innovative insurance products.  For example, they insured Betty Grable’s legs and Bruce Springsteen’s vocal cords.  They also insure tens of thousands of Texas houses and have been doing business since about 1688, so they’re very solid. We’ll automatically include the appropriate notices with any renewals switched from SAIC to Lloyds, of course, so you wont’ have to do anything special with those.

We thank you for the opportunity to continue to provide you and your clients leading insurance products for rental properties.  We hope that we may serve you for years to come.  We promise to continue to innovate and improve our product offerings to earn that privilege.  We’re putting the beef back into insurance!

So please quote a Texas Longhorn TDP and let us know how we are doing.

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’re not like most insurance operations. We’re not stuffy, we don’t take our selves too seriously, we live by a unique code that would make most of our competitors cringe.

We know that the most important differences are the ones that make our agents’ lives easier, though.

That’s why we recently added a feature to all our San Antonio Indemnity Company underwritten HOA, HOA+, TDP1, TDP3 and MobileHome policies that will help the fantastic independent agents that represent iMGA really stand out against any competitor.

All the above new policies effective and issued 8/15 and later automatically include Equipment Breakdown Coverage!

What is Equipment Breakdown Coverage?

Equipment Breakdown coverage adds coverage for the perils of mechanical or electrical breakdown to the policy, with its own separate $500 deductible.

What Kinds of Items are Covered?

If it uses electricity, it’s most likely covered. Here are just a few examples:

  • Computers
  • Televisions
  • Home Security Systems
  • Air Conditioners
  • Heat Pumps and Furnaces
  • Hot Water Heaters
  • Swimming Pool Systems
  • Well and Irrigation Systems

How can I learn more?

You or your customers can go to the iMGA Equipment Breakdown page and click on the “Learn more about Equipment Breakdown coverage” link to see an fun, interactive, detailed demonstration of the many things in a home that are covered. We encourage you to share this link with anyone in your agency or any of your clients that has any questions at all.

Want to know even more? Login to iMGA.com and follow the links on the welcome page to download three different brochures/handouts you can print or email to your clients.

Mike Gibbs, our Director of Personal Lines, has prepared this comparison of the coverage differences between the Texas dwelling fire policy forms and the ISO policy forms. The comparison is available in two different formats:

  1. Dwelling Fire Comparison Presentation with Notes
  2. Dwelling Fire Comparison Table with Notes

As you’ll see the differences can be tricky, so it’s very important you work with markets that really understand property coverages. Fortunately, we happen to have some experts at iMGA standing by to help you! 🙂

Last week we heard the story of a customer who was unpleasantly surprised to learn that the theft of his computer equipment was not covered under the TDP1 policy he’d purchased to cover his home.

In this economy there is pressure to reduce costs as much as possible, but as an insurance professional you know how important it is to be sure your clients are covered – and understand the coverages they’re giving up if they choose to go to a cheaper alternative.

That makes extra coverages more important than ever. Like those automatically included in iMGA’s Non-Admitted Homeowners program:

  • Personal Injury coverage
  • Slab coverage (up to 15% of Coverage A limit)
  • $5,000 mold coverage
  • $5,000 water backup and sump overflow (on HOB only)
  • $2,500 business personal property coverage (with optional additional limits available up to $50,000)
  • $2,500 firearms theft coverage
  • $1,000 loss-assessment coverage (with a $250 deductible)

(And of course the iMGA Non-Admitted HOA/HOA+ and HOB policies include theft coverage automatically and also offer optional personal computer coverage limits up to $7,000 with only a $100 deductible.)

We’ve received a few questions about our forms and coverages lately. Since our mission is to make things as easy as possible for all our agents, we’ll post more information on additional coverages and coverage comparisons between the TDP1/TDP3 and HOA/HOA+/HOB on the web site in the next few days.

If you’re a Texas independent agent who doesn’t yet represent iMGA, apply to become an agent.

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