Did Your Home Insurance Premiums Go Up? We Can Lower Them.
It’s no secret that homeowners insurance rates can go up right beneath your nose without warning. If your insurance rates are higher than you’d like them to be, Pan American Insurance can help you get a lower price.
Why Do Home Insurance Rates Go Up?
There are many reasons that an insurance agency might raise your insurance rates. One reason is to compensate for natural rises, such as the price of inflation. Other reasons concern large changes in your life that may affect the coverage you need. Your home insurance rates may change if you:
Remodeled the home
Added features such as swimming pools
Started a home-based business
Added security systems
Your dog bit someone
You filed an insurance claim
Not all of these changes are bad. Adding security systems like smoke alarms and anti-theft locks can actually lower your homeowners insurance rate. If you started an at-home business or began working from home, you may want to look into
What Coverage We Offer
Pan American Insurance offers a basic homeowners policy as well as extra coverages that other insurance companies don’t. We provide coverage such as:
Dwelling Coverage: Dwelling coverage, also known as structure coverage, provides compensation if damage occurs to your home due to fire, smoke, lightning, wind, hail, theft, vandalism and more.
Contents Coverage: Contents coverage provides compensation if the items within the home are lost or damages. You can purchase further insurance for expensive items such as jewelry and art, called scheduled item riders.
Liability: Liability covers you in case you cause bodily injury or property damage to someone else. It can also help with legal expenses if the victim decides to sue.
Living Expenses: If your home is damages or lost beyond habitation, living expense coverage can help you temporarily live elsewhere while the home is being repaired or rebuilt.
Pet Liability Insurance: Humans aren’t the only ones who can cause damage. This insurance provides medical and legal compensation if your pet causes bodily injury or property damage.
Flood Insurance: Contrary to popular belief, floods aren’t covered by a basic homeowners insurance policy. This insurance will cover your home and belongings from damage caused by a flood.
Other Structures Insurance: There are some structures outside of the home that aren’t covered by dwelling coverage. Other structures insurance covers items such as fences, unattached garages and sheds.
Sewer Backup Coverage: This is another incident that people usually assume is part of a typical homeowners policy. But a basic policy won’t cover you or your belongings in case of a sewage problem. Sewer backup coverage provides compensation for damages done to the home due to a plumbing issue.
How to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance
There are many steps you can take to lower your homeowners insurance rate.
Build and maintain good credit
Bundle insurance with the same company
Invest in safety measures for the home
Improve disaster resistance (purchasing an impact-resistant roof, for example)
Pay a higher deductible. Keep in mind that your premiums may be lower, but you’ll have to pay more after an approved claim.
Insure with Pan American Insurance
There are some parts of insurance rates that are out of people’s control, but there are plenty of options for Texas homeowners to pay less for the right amount of coverage you need. Connect with an insurance agent about insuring your home.
If you’re wondering whether your business really needs general liability insurance, it’s important to look at the common claims that arise from general liability issues. If you don’t have this coverage, your business—or you—will be paying out of pocket for expensive medical bills, property damage and possible legal fees if an accident occurs.
Some of the most common general liability claims are as follows.
Theft
Burglary and theft can occur even from inside a business. It’s crucial to have safeguards such as heavy anti-theft systems and extensive background checks, but even then, thieves can be unpredictable. This is the most common claim.
Advertising injury
Injuries to a company or person’s reputation is often the most expensive type of general liability claim, averaging at $50,000. While this type of lawsuit is not as common as others, it can be detrimental to a business due to the cost. Advertising injury also covers libel, slander, copyright infringement, stolen ideas and more.
Bodily injury
Customers slip and fall often, especially in restaurants and grocery stores. Paying for medical bills and possible legal fees can rack up fast without general liability insurance. These lawsuits average at $20,000.
Property damage
Property damage liability can happen in many ways. Say you rent a space for your auto-workshop and a heavy piece of equipment damages the floor by accident. Your landlord may sue for the damages, which is where property damage liability steps in.
Product damage or injury
Not everything works as it should. If you sell or provide a product that causes bodily injury or property damage, you could be sued. For example, Altria Group Inc. was sued in 2002 for not warning customers of the dangers of smoking tobacco in cigarettes. A customer discovered she had lung cancer and sued the company for $28 million and nine years of the lawsuit. This was an outlier, of course, but product damage lawsuits can still be costly. The average cost of such a lawsuit is $35,000. Not every business can afford to pay for a lawsuit over several years or compensate for the damages their products may cause.
Businesses in every industry face some sort of liability risks. Some are more apt to be sued than others, however. Industries such as construction, restaurants, medicine, law and accounting are all likely to be sued concerning general liability. There are other types of liability risks, however, including:
Cyber Liability: A lot of companies operate primarily or solely on computers now. Unfortunately, computers are open to viruses, cyber attacks and other events that threaten client information and more. Cyber liability protects a business if a cyber attack causes a loss or leak of private client information.
E&O Insurance: General liability doesn’t usually cover negligence, which is where E&O insurance comes in. E&O insurance, or Errors and Omissions insurance, protects the business when lawsuits arise out of negligent acts on behalf of the business that cause clients to lose money. This often occurs in professions such as accounting.
D&O Insurance: Directors and Officers insurance protects the business when a lawsuit is filed against a director or officer on the company’s board. D&O claims typically involve alleged mismanagement of the board.
Umbrella Liability: Some businesses need more liability insurance than others. Umbrella liability insurance covers the cost of a claim when your primary liability insurance reaches its maximum. For example, if your business is sued for $2,000,000 but your general liability insurance only covers $1,000,000, umbrella insurance will help pay the remaining $1,000,000. This is important for industries that have a long history of lawsuits.
It’s no secret that homeowners insurance rates can go up right beneath your nose without warning. If your insurance rates are higher than you’d like them to be, Pan American Insurance can help you get a lower price.