North Texas coverage,
shopped for
you

Most Texas rate increases have little to do with you and a lot to do with the weather and the cost of rebuilding. Spring hail and severe storms hit North Texas hard, and the labor and materials needed to replace roofs and rebuild homes cost more than they used to. Those pressures push premiums up even for homeowners who have never filed a claim.

What you can control: your deductibles, bundling your home and auto, and making sure your dwelling limit matches what your home would actually cost to rebuild. And shopping. Because we're independent, we can compare several carriers at renewal instead of handing you one company's increase.

Many Texas homeowners policies carry a separate wind/hail deductible figured as a percentage of your dwelling coverage instead of a flat dollar amount. In North Texas, 1% to 2% is common. On a home insured for $400,000, a 2% wind/hail deductible means $8,000 out of pocket on a hail claim, even if your regular deductible is lower.

Terms vary by carrier. Your roof's age and material can also affect how a roof claim is paid, including whether it's settled at replacement cost or actual cash value. We'll show you where yours sits and what it would cost to change it.

It depends on the cause. Sudden water damage, like a pipe that bursts in a hard freeze (North Texas homes learned this in the February 2021 winter storm), is often covered, though policies can limit claims tied to neglect or an unheated home. Water that backs up through drains or a sewer line usually is not covered unless you add a water backup endorsement.

Neither one is flood. Flood insurance is for surface water rising from outside, and it's always a separate policy. We'll check what your policy covers and what it doesn't.

It's worth a serious look, even hundreds of miles from the coast. A standard homeowners policy does not cover flood. Flood is a separate policy, and we can help you get coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Creeks and low-water crossings across Collin and Denton Counties can rise fast in a spring downpour, and flash flooding across DFW doesn't stop at flood-zone lines. NFIP policies usually have a 30-day waiting period before coverage starts, so don't wait for the forecast. If your home is in a high-risk flood zone and you have a mortgage, your lender will likely require flood coverage.

Enough to rebuild your home, not enough to rebuy it. Your dwelling limit should track the cost to reconstruct your house at today's labor and material prices, which has little to do with what you paid or what a listing site says it's worth.

Under-insuring is the common mistake, and it only shows up at the worst possible moment, like after a big North Texas hailstorm when roofers and materials are in demand. We'll run the rebuild numbers with you.

Rarely. Texas sets a legal minimum for liability coverage, and it's lower than most households need. Texas is an at-fault state, so if you cause a serious crash on the Dallas North Tollway or SH 121, medical bills and today's vehicle prices can outrun those limits fast, and you could owe the rest. That's why we start every auto quote at 50/100/50: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash for injuries, plus $50,000 for property damage.

Texas insurers must also offer personal injury protection (PIP, $2,500 minimum) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM). Both are included unless you reject them in writing, and both are worth keeping. We size coverage to what you actually have to protect.

Start by shopping. As an independent agency, we can quote your coverage with several carriers and compare, instead of offering one company's price. Then the usual levers: bundle your auto with your home, condo or renters policy, raise your deductible if you have savings to cover it, drop collision on a car that isn't worth much anymore, and make sure every discount you may qualify for is applied.

A paid-off car, a new driver, a move or a new commute can change what you pay, so we review it with you every year. What doesn't work is quietly cutting your liability limits. That may save a few dollars a month and exposes everything you own.

A common rule of thumb is 10 to 12 times your annual income, but the better math is specific to you: what's left on the mortgage, what it would cost to raise and educate your kids, any debts that wouldn't disappear, and how many years your family would need income if you weren't here.

Term life is often more affordable than people expect. Try the life tab in our rate estimator to ballpark it, then ask us to compare term and permanent options across the carriers we represent.

Because we represent several carriers, a decline from one company usually isn't the end of the road. We can often find another carrier that fits your home, roof and claims history.

If no standard carrier will take it, the Texas FAIR Plan Association is the state's last-resort market for homeowners coverage. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) only covers designated coastal areas, so it doesn't apply in Frisco. Questions about your rights as a policyholder can also go to the Texas Department of Insurance help line at 800-252-3439.

An umbrella policy adds liability protection on top of the limits in your home and auto policies, usually starting at $1 million. If you're found responsible for a serious accident and the claim exceeds your underlying limits, the umbrella picks up from there instead of your savings, your equity or your future wages.

For families with a home, savings and teen drivers, it's often a cost-effective layer. Ask us whether an umbrella makes sense for you; it pairs naturally with a home and auto bundle.

Your HOA's master policy generally covers the building's structure and shared areas. Your condo policy, an HO-6, covers what the master policy doesn't: your interior walls, floors, cabinets and fixtures, your belongings, your personal liability, and loss assessments the HOA can charge back to you.

The mistake is assuming the HOA has it handled. Read the master policy's limits, then insure the gap. We'll read it with you.

An independent agency represents multiple insurance companies, not just one. That means we can shop your coverage across several carriers, compare price and coverage side by side, and recommend the right fit for you. We help you buy insurance rather than sell it to you, and we work for you, not an insurance company.

It also means you don't have to start over when your needs or the market change. You work with Robert Hutchings, a local Frisco agent, from your first policy through every renewal.