Can’t understand why Auto Insurance premiums are getting SO high? Consider this example:
Amidst the current deer rutting season (Oct-Dec), this happened to a customer one night while on a girls’ weekend trip. Needless to say, it put a slight damper on the festivities. Thankfully, her Independent Agent (Yep! It’s us) ensured she’d “Be Protected, Not Surprised” for just such an inconvenience.
Care to take a guess what it cost to repair this 2020 Honda CR-V Touring? You might get a little sick or just be unpleasantly surprised!
Your Insurance Agent’s goal is to protect you, your money and help you financially recover from an unforeseen disaster. A Mortgage Lender’s goal is to secure a home loan the borrower desires, often for the largest eligible amount and most favorable rate terms possible. To that end, however, some lenders will often recommend cheap insurance options that could leave the new homeowner “Homeless” long after the loan document ink has dried. This often happens on home loan refinances, too!
Case in point. My last blog post (sorry, been a little busy) from January 6, 2021 addressed “When Premium is Least Important“. Update to today, the home that burned down on January 5, 2021 is STILL unfinished, unoccupied and stands abandoned. What we’ve discovered happened is, in order to meet certain debt-to-income ratios and qualify the buyers for their new home loan, the lender recommended the borrowers secure a cut-rate home insurance policy lacking the necessary reconstruction cost coverage to rebuild following a disaster in a current day market. Well, disaster struck only days after closing and the result – the new Homeowners have been living out of a suitcase in an apartment for the past 2-1/2 years. Their lender arranged and recommended they go with a cheaper Homeowner’s Insurance policy for its low rate in order to fit within the necessary borrower’s ratios. Sadly, the new owners still haven’t moved into a home they purchased 2-1/2 years ago and are struggling to scrape up the necessary monies required to finish rebuilding their new home.
PLEASE Be Protected, Not Surprised! Don’t buy your insurance from a Lender and don’t finance anything with your Insurance Agent. Work with professionals of integrity, within their specific industry expertise, to avoid financial pitfalls and grave disappointments.
Earlier this year, a new family purchased a 30 year old home in my neighborhood. The Movers had just dropped off the owners’ personal property when, very early the next morning, the home caught fire and burned to the ground. All this happened before the new owners even had the opportunity to move in.
Seven months later, investigations have been conducted (as is always the case with fires) and the destroyed house’s debris has been hauled off and cleared from the property. But, reconstruction has yet to begin. Why?
Was precedence given to the home insurance premium over its level of protection for purposes of meeting the DTI ratios for a loan closing?
Didn’t the homeowners insurance provide sufficient Dwelling A reconstruction coverage to rebuild in the present day economic environment?
Are there increased costs from code changes, rising material and labor costs that weren’t protected against?
Have recent developments with Supply & Demand costs impeded securing a contract to rebuild?
All good questions, and just some of the reasons why we advise our clients to “Be Protected, Not Surprised.”
Few things are certain in the world of Insurance. Yet, running into another vehicle from behind will almost ALWAYS result in serious injury, costly repairs, violation citations, claim hassles, Road Rage and most assuredly premium increases to the At Fault driver. No one likes to look in their rearview mirror and see an aggressive Tailgater trying to push them faster down the road, especially when they’re already driving at the posted speed limit.
To help avoid all the above, we recommend following the simple steps in this video from our friends at Travelers. It explains how to maintain a safe following distance, be a safer/more considerate/less aggressive driver who will probably avoid subjecting themselves and others to many of the aforementioned pain and troubles.
Please Be Protected, Not Surprised!
Roque Agency Insurance 