Archives for insurance

Merry Christmas Y'all!

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and Texas, thank God,
Had made it through hail and wind and flood.
Our claims were all settled and roofs well-repaired
And insureds were thrilled that their agents were there.

With Vacant and Renters and Homes of all types,
Clients knew they had coverage wherever they abide.
Coverage for pets and mold and foundations
Gave even more reason for their joyful celebrations.

From Muleshoe and Alpine, to Freer and Llano,
In Waco and Midland, to Boerne and Conroe,
From North to South to East to West,
There is no doubt our agents are best.

So we work to provide service that is second to none,
With clear communications mixed with some fun,
And we gladly exclaim as Christmas draws near,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a great year!”

St. Patrick's Day Four Leaf CloverSt. Patrick’s Day – also known as the Feast of St. Patrick – celebrates and commemorates the life of the patron saint of Ireland.

Captured and sold into slavery in Ireland during the 5th century, St. Patrick escaped. Later he returned Ireland to bring a message of redemption and hope to his adopted homeland.

Kidnapping. Slavery. Forgiveness. National impact. It’s little wonder that his story and memory lives on 16 centuries later.

We don’t have a story that dramatic at iMGA, and we haven’t been around that long. We do, though, have a history of making it as easy as possible for Texas independent insurance agents to meet the Dwelling, Homeowners, MobileHome and Renters needs of their customers.

With our Admitted and Non-Admitted solutions we’re not working miracles or chasing out snakes, but we are providing coverage for hard-to-place risks and offering unique additional coverages like People and Pets.

So if you’re an iMGA agent with a challenging risk, give us a try. If you’re not, go ahead and start the process now.

Who knows, you might be extra lucky!

Texas has many options for Spring Break. From beautiful solitude and remote nature to fun-loving crowds on beaches, at amusement parks and film and music festivals, there’s no shortages of great getaways and entertainment in the next couple of weeks in the Lone Star State.

Spring Break is a time to relax and have fun – and there’s plenty of fun to be had!

But the last thing your clients need is to spend their week off worrying about whether their homes and properties are protected – or worse yet, coming home to damage or theft that isn’t covered.

So, take a few minutes before they head out to make sure all their policies and coverages are in order, and that they don’t have any pending cancellations.

Of course at iMGA we’re ready and able to help you. Just log in today to quote an admitted or non-admitted Dwelling, Homeowners, MobileHome, Renters or Vacant policy, or check their policy status.

If you’re a Texas independent insurance agent that does not yet represent iMGA, please contact us today.

 

Texas Spring Break

 

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

Granbury Tornado With Water 2013-05-15

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:

Thanks to great input from our agents we are happy to announce iMGA’s new Longhorn Renters program, designed to meet the needs of Texas renters.

Just some of the highlights of the program include:

  • Apartments, homes and mobile homes eligible
  • Up to $50,000 contents coverage
  • Theft coverage included
  • A low $500 deductible for most perils
  • $0 deductible for covered fire and lightning losses!
  • $100,000 liability/$1,000 medical payments limits
  • Liability only policies available
  • No credit check
  • Entire state eligible
  • Policy term from 1-12 months
  • Up to 8 payments
  • Optional additional insured coverage available
  • Discounts for seniors, fire and burglar alarms, and claims free history
  • From start to bound policy in just minutes

Log in today to review the Renters Program Summary or begin a quote.

If you’re not already an iMGA agent and need an excellent Renters, Homeowners, Dwelling, Vacant and MobileHome program to offer your clients, contact us today.

Hurricane Irene's massive size dwarfs the Bahamas on August 24, 2011.

Photo courtesy of NASA

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are preparing for what Hurricane Irene may bring this weekend.

Because of her path along the heavily populated East coast of the United States Irene is forecast to affect as much as 1/5th of our nation’s population.

For those of us fortunate enough not to be in that path, it’s important that we take this time to check our own preparations. Hurricanes can cause:

  1. Flooding from storm surge along the coast,
  2. Wind damage both along the coast and inland, and
  3. Flooding inland from heavy rains.
  4. Damage from trees blown down and on to the house.

Texans who live in “Tier 1” (coastal) counties need a special wind coverage policy from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (also known as TWIA or “the Texas Windstorm Pool”). All other Texans have coverage for wind automatically on their Homeowners insurance policy.

No Homeowners insurance policy includes flood coverage, though. So if you want or need coverage in case of flooding, contact your independent insurance agent about a flood policy. These are very easy to purchase and, in most cases, very reasonably priced.

If you would like, we’d be happy to refer you to a great independent insurance agent who can make sure you have the coverages you need.

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 and ISO Homeowners policy forms. The comparison is available in four different versions:

  1. Homeowners Comparison Presentation with Notes
  2. Homeowners Comparison Detail with Notes
  3. Homeowners Property Coverage Comparison Table
  4. Homeowners Liability Coverage Comparison Table

Clearly it’s important to work with professionals who really understand Texas property to avoid potential pitfalls that can come from the many differences between the policies. Fortunately we happen to have those. 🙂

We’re happy to provide insurance for a very wide range of homes. Not this one, though. 🙂

A home in extremely bad condition.

That’s the best word we could come up with. Unfathomable. We’ve seen the pictures, but it’s hard to believe it’s real.

Even before the destructive earthquake hit Haiti last week the people of that tiny island nation were among the poorest, living in conditions most of us cannot imagine. Now, according to reports, the injured are waiting days for care and amputations are expected in the hundreds.

Photo uploaded by United Nations Development Programme.

Most of us have insurance to cover the damage done to our homes, or even our lives, in some catastrophe. As insurance professionals, we’re proud to have provided the service that helped people back on their feet after some tornado, hurricane, fire or other disaster.

It is painfully clear in this case that not only are most people not well covered – the basic necessities are not available. Roads and hospitals are closed from the damage. Due to transportation and permission delays, doctors have had to wait over 24 hours for supplies before being able to treat the injured.

Years of one of, if not the most, corrupt government on earth and economic policies that unfortunately have made Haiti the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere only make things dramatically worse.

Please take a moment to think of how you can help. If nothing else, donate to the Red Cross or another reputable charity that is helping on the ground in Haiti. Then take a few more minutes and develop a plan for how you would react if anything close to this happened near your home. Odds are all of us can and should be much more prepared than we are now. Please think about it.

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