North Texas homeowners are bombarded by advertisements for insurance constantly. The huge companies have clever jingles, catch phrases, and characters that they parade in front of you on a constant basis. Whether you live in Frisco, Dallas, Ft Worth, or Burleson you are seeing advertisements for home insurance from these massive companies. And you likely see their agents, if they have them, on almost every corner. So how do you choose who to work with to insure your home, cars, boats, businesses, and life? Do you go to the internet? Do you go to the guy down the street? What do Texans do for the BEST home insurance?
Why Use An Agent?
Local insurance agents work with homeowners to secure coverage for their homes, cars, boats, and other items that they own to protect against loss. Pre Internet, the local agent was the only way to becoming insured. You found your person, filled out an application and signed up forming a relationship. When the internet arrived and we began buying things online, people found it easy to shop for anything there. Including home insurance.
While the idea of shopping from your computer sounds appealing, it can work against you at times. Homeowners insurance can be a confusing topic with all of it's optional coverage items and variations. A single company can offer multiple variations of the same policy that all have drastically different outcomes. How do you make sense of that? Working with a professionally trained adviser to navigate that process can make a ton of difference for you come claim time.
Speaking of claims, have you ever wondered if something was actually covered by your policy? If you call the 1-800 number for that internet company to ask a question about a potential claim on your policy, do you know what happens? They will record it as a claim whether you make one or not. Inquiring about something that happened is the same as a claim in their book and will be recorded on your CLUE report. That can create a problem with rates when renewal time comes on your policy. So whether it is purchasing or using a policy, it makes sense to work with the agent who is close to you.
So what does it mean to be independent?
When my parents were starting out into their adulting phase, they picked a local agent of a given company and then stuck with them for decades. Premiums were largely the same year after year, and they had a relationship with that local agent who could help them whenever problems arose. And then the company's pricing models changed!
Over the last two decades, there has been a shift in the pricing models of the insurance companies. They have changed to a format where they will slash premiums to attract new market share and then begin the process of increasing rates over time. This is not unique to insurance, but they are playing this game well. As a result, using a local agent who can only offer you one company to use for your insurance protection will result in paying larger sums of money in premiums over time. No one wants to pay too much. So what can you do?
Rather than aligning yourself with an agent who only represents one company, you can work with a local agent who represents many different carriers. This agent can still have that working relationship with you, but in the end help keep your pricing in check as they have options. Beyond just price control, these options can also grow and shrink with your needs as a family. Home sizes, prices, age, and quality can vary greatly. As a result, it's hard for one policy to cover it all well. When you work with an independent insurance agent, they can account for all of those issues and more.
There is an old saying that goes whenever you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The agents at Insurance For Texans have a full toolbox available for you, your family, and you business. Let us help you use the correct tool rather than trying to hammer away at that bolt.
