Homeowners Insurance Covers more than Your Home

When many people think of their homeowners insurance policy, they think simply of the actual home itself; of the structure whose roof rests over their head each night. But your homeowners insurance policy, when understood properly, is so much more than just simple protection for your dwelling and attached structures. In fact, it contains many different categories of coverage that you may eventually find useful.

1. Loss of use: Have you ever considered where you would go if there was a fire in your home that made it uninhabitable until repairs were completed? And who would pay for the temporary dwelling you must inhabit? Your homeowners policy, if it has loss of use coverage, would pay for the hotel, apartment or other suitable dwelling you need to run to for safety after an insurable event.
2. Liability: Sure, a pool party sounds like a lot of fun, but you never know whether or not one of your guests might get hurt during a backyard brouhaha. And it isn’t just parties that keep you exposed to injury liability—a neighbor tripping on your walkway or a stray branch falling on someone’s car can also result in a costly claim against you. Your homeowners insurance liability portion can protect your personal finances against these claims.

If you are unsure of all the different items your Round Rock homeowners insurance protects, find out more at Evans, Ewan & Brady today.

Insuring Your Jewelry

If you just look at its surface, you can see that jewelry is made up of precious gems and metals. But if you take a deeper look—into the lives behind the jewelry—you can see its additional, and staggering, significance in our lives. A ring symbolizes a husband and wife's pledge to build a life together, a gold bracelet demonstrates parents' love for their daughter as she enters adulthood, or an antique heirloom brooch represents a family's legacy, lovingly passed down through multiple generations. Losing jewelry, or having it damaged or stolen, often hurts us more than the loss of a television or a wallet because not only must we cope with the loss of an item of financial value, we also must grapple with the loss of a cherished memory and tangible representation of emotion. Fortunately, a jewelry insurance policy can go a long way toward mitigating the loss.

Homeowner's insurance policies usually cap the maximum amount paid out for jewelry.

To learn how much of your jewelry is covered by your Georgetown TX Homeowners Insurance policy, read the rest of this story from Evans, Ewan & Brady Insurance Agency.

The facts about insurance regulation in Texas

by Steve Pociask | Star-Telegram | October 20, 2010

When an industry is subject to government price regulation, it becomes a political issue in every election. This year is no different.

Bill White and Rick Perry are trading barbs about the regulation of insurance prices in Texas, with Perry bragging about his strong regulation and White complaining about lax regulation. Driving the discussion is the high price of homeowners insurance in Texas.

As Patrick Moynihan once said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." So when politicians call for increased regulation of homeowners insurance rates and portray the industry as profitable price-gougers, it's worth noting that these positions miss some very important facts.

First, Texas does have large coastal areas and severe weather in other parts of the state, which explains in part why rates are higher.

Second, insurance rates are already subject to extensive price regulation by the Texas Department of Insurance, to the point that the insurance commissioner can force companies to lower rates and refund premiums even if they have been in place for years. The commissioner also approves or disapproves the rates for the state-governed high-risk pool for coastal and other high-risk properties, disallowing rate increases requested by the staff and board, and thereby putting the fund at risk of insolvency. So, if the current regulatory system is a failure, it can hardly be blamed on the lack of price regulation.

Third, what politicians do not point out is that the regulations themselves are partly responsible for the state's higher rates. Regulators routinely try to push mandated benefits and extra costs into premiums, including regulatory compliance costs, evacuation costs and so on. The state windstorm fund and high-risk pool are undercapitalized for the next major storm, but they will be bailed out by forcing assessments onto insurance companies, who include these regulatory risks and costs into the rates of other consumers. One American Consumer Institute study estimated that regulations add $200 to Texans' average premium. If you want to find a state with lowest homeowners insurance rates, just look for the states with competition-driven insurance markets and less regulatory interference.

Fourth, there is no economic theory that justifies the rate regulation of an industry with so many competitors -- about 125 in Texas. If one company raises its prices too high, there is an opportunity for 124 others to win market share. That is how price competition works. However, when regulators set the price, there is no price competition -- and consumers lose.

Fifth and last, average underwriting profits for the homeowners insurance industry has been negative over the last 10 years. Artificially decreasing prices through more rate controls would send companies packing, decrease underwriting capital that protects consumers, and increase insolvencies. This is already the case in Florida, where politically motivated rate regulation has run amok, many insurance firms have left or gone belly-up, and some consumers are buying two homeowners policies because of insolvencies -- and all of this without a single hurricane in Florida in the last five years. Did I mention that prices are the highest in Florida?

Price regulation is a failure and harms consumers. Demonizing the insurance industry may be a short-term political strategy, but it's a reckless one, because solvency regulation is much more important than price regulation. When prices go too low, consumers aren't assured that their claims will be paid. What then is the purpose of insurance? Some politicians need to check their facts, if they really want to "stick up for consumers." A better public policy would be to attract capital into the state, prevent insolvency and encourage price competition. That is, if the facts matter.

Check with us at Evans, Ewan & Brady to see if your Georgetown TX Homeowners Insurance is right for you!

Crews begin cleanup on Hermine damage

Flooding leads to numerous rescues, at least one death; cleanup begins for widespread damage to homes, roads

by Tony Plohetski & Caludia Grisales | September 9, 2010 | for American-Statesman

When forecasters predicted how much rain the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine could pour onto Central Texas early Wednesday, they estimated that most of the area would see 1 to 3 more inches of rain, with isolated regions getting 12 inches or more.

As it turned out, parts of Austin and Williamson County became Hermine's prime dumping ground. At least one person died in the storms.

Much of the area is now left with the task of cleaning flooded homes, dealing with the damage of a major roadway in Northwest Austin and waiting to see whether floodwaters in the Colorado River pose a problem for cities further downstream.

Today, the cleanup and repairs begin in earnest. Crews will have to begin repaving a section of RM 2222 near Loop 360 after 50 feet of the road was destroyed by rushing water. Workers at Pearl Elementary in Georgetown will have to clean up 19 flooded classrooms. Workers who have been renovating parts of Bull Creek Park will have to start over after the creek swept away their improvements. Engineers will have to figure out what to do about the threat of more boulders tumbling onto Robert E. Lee Road near Zilker Park after one tumbled from the hill above and fell onto a car Wednesday.

State Farm, the largest insurer in Texas, said it had received more than 1,000 home and auto damage claims by 1 p.m. Wednesday and expected many more. Insurance companies — which sent teams of adjusters and other personnel to the Austin area to help handle the flood of claims — said Austin, San Antonio and Killeen were hit especially hard, although claims reports were not up to the level of a hailstorm that hit Central Texas in 2009.

By daybreak Wednesday, authorities had performed more than a dozen rescues in rushing floodwater, plucking stranded victims from homes and cars as the system delivered nearly 15 inches of rain to some spots.


Hermine remnants also caused thousands of power outages, shuttered schools and prompted the opening of several shelters. Numerous streets throughout the area were closed because of water, and Interstate 35 was closed for several hours overnight in Georgetown.

"Honestly, I don't remember a tropical storm in the Hill Country like we had," KVUE chief meteorologist Mark Murray said. "I'm sure it's happened, but it's been many years, if not decades."

Murray said the center of the storm continued moving north — instead of scooting to the east or west — which allowed trailing storms to linger over Austin and Williamson County for prolonged periods.

The storm dumped a foot of rain in some locations, with the highest totals stretching from Mansfield Dam to Georgetown, which received 14 inches. About 11 inches fell in Jollyville. The average amount of rainfall for the month of September at Austin's Camp Mabry is 2.91 inches, forecasters said.

To read the rest of this article, visit the source.


To check on your own Georgetown TX Homeowners Insurance, visit our site at www.eebins.com today.

Georgetown TX Home Insurance

We specialize in Georgetown TX home insurance as well as auto insurance in the Georgetown, Belton and surrounding areas in Texas. Homeowners insurance protects you from financial losses caused by storms, fire, theft, and other events outlined in your policy. Carrying the right amount of coverage is essential to protecting your family and belongings. Apply for homeowners coverage today.

Evans, Ewan & Brady Insurance Agency Inc has served the insurance needs of Texas Businesses and Individuals since 1928. We believe that local insurance agencies can best serve your insurance needs. Evans, Ewan & Brady Insurance Agency Inc will assist you in finding just the right combination of tailored, personalized insurance coverage at just the right price.