Hantavirus, Crazy State Policies and Understanding Insurance with Ryan Aduddell

to hire.

We're here to help you find the best information and options for you and your home. My name is Kevin Hackett, and here with me is Craig Williams.

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to The Homeowner Show. We are so glad that you could join us for another live episode at The Homeowner Show Studios. What's going on, Kev?

Well, everything, because it's baseball season, and not just for, for these guys, the Rangers. Um, My son plays all the time, so it's, uh, we're busy and life is good, but I get to watch a lot of baseball right now. Um, are y'all, are y'all baseballing right now at all? Are y'all doing baseball?

No.

Oh, okay. No baseball.

We're off this season.

Off this season. Okay. Is that by, is that by your choice? You're in your wife's choice or Your son was like, eh, not interested.

He wasn't uninterested, but like he would, he never, I, he, we were actually in the car, uh, yesterday and he was like, I, I, hey dad, when are we playing baseball again? And I was like, dude, you didn't like say anything when season signups were coming around. And that was like 3 months ago. And he's like, the window has passed.

Right. 3, 3 months and you're just now asking about it. I feel like, well, I think we're not playing baseball right now.

He's seeing all the other kids like wrap up their seasons.

Yeah.

You know? Yeah. And, uh, and he, he's just kind of like, why aren't— like, I was— I'm used to playing baseball right now. And I'm like, yeah, I know.

Yeah.

I didn't spend that time on baseball.

Right. So I'm aware.

Yeah.

Yeah. I'm aware. Yeah.

We, uh, you know, so his dad was a little more engaged at home the last time.

That's right. Everybody's happy. Well, like, we're, we're actually playing— this is the, uh, this last weekend's the first week we started playing, um, USSSA instead of Perfect Game. games in USSSA. They've got a, a, a set of fields out, uh, at Scrapyard. Do you know where Scrapyard is?

I think so.

It's off Robinson Road.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That place is nice. Yeah, it is nice. Like those fields, they're all, well, they're all turf.

Mm-hmm.

Which, you know, eh, there's, there's pros and cons to that, but, um, just the whole setup out there is just, they've, they've done it really well. So anyway, we're gonna be out there for the most of the rest of the season. We play all the way through June.

Yeah.

So, uh, we'll see, see what happens. But yeah. Um, other than that, I do have something I, I can share. You remember when I, uh, told you about how I used ChatGPT to diagnose my refrigerator problem?

Yes.

Yeah. So, um, it, it, the exact thing that ChatGPT told me would happen did happen, which is it froze over again. And it said it would.

And said, you know, we're dealing with precognition now.

Right. Of course. So, uh, it told me, it was like, look, you can replace the control board. That's probably the thing you need to replace first. And I was like, okay, well, how much is a control board? It's like, I can get about for about $75 on Amazon. Go over to Amazon, $75, ordered it. And I was like, I don't know what, where does this thing go? Like, what is this? What happens now? I got it. Like, I've got it. Here it is. I opened the box.

I'm in, I'm in it for all, right? Yeah. All my chips are on the table. That's it.

I'm like, I don't have anybody else here.

Here I am.

And, uh, it was like, literally it was like, Uh, pull it out from the wall. Like, how did you know it was up against the wall? I, I think every fridge is up against the wall anyway. Um, pull it out from the wall, unplug it, and, uh, in the back there's 3 screws. Pull the metal plate off and, you know, unplug what's there and plug it, plug it back in. And that, that's the rough story. He gave me a lot better instructions than that.

Sure.

But like pictures. showed me pictures and I was like, all right, I can do this. And it, it was a 10-minute fix, 10 minutes. And turned the thing back on and oh, did it cool down. It cooled down too well. Like, uh, it, it, but it was like fluctuating. Like I would go from my fridge being—

You mean before you swapped out the—

No, afterwards. Well, before it wasn't working because it had the coils all froze over again.

Okay.

But, um, put the new board in and it was, it was staying cold, but it would fluctuate from like the fridge being, uh, 38 degrees and the freezer being -2, which is okay. It's fine. 0 and 38 is normal, uh, to 5 degrees for the freezer and 40 degrees on the fridge to negative 5 degrees on the fridge and 22 degrees. I mean, 22 degrees on the fridge and negative 5 on the freezer.

And I'm like, that's not good.

That's a, that's a swing that I wasn't looking for. And, uh, so, uh, my wife, we had moved everything out of the fridge and she had moved some stuff back in and she had put Couple of bottles of Topo Chico up on the top.

Mm-hmm.

Where, which is right where the vent is.

Sure.

From the freezer to the fridge. Yeah, that completely shattered.

Oh gosh.

One of 'em completely shattered.

The glass ones.

The glass ones. Nice. Have you ever had a glass bottle shatter the fridge? It's not pretty. Like, it's like, well, I was glad it was water. Was it?

And not like something sticky.

Yes.

Maple syrup.

Right, exactly. Um, And so I went back to chat and I was like, look, it's cooling way too well. This is what happened. I was like, yeah, uh, the next thing you need to check is the thermistor. You know what a thermistor is? Anybody? Anybody?

A Mr. Thermostat?

No. Um, it's just a, it's a node. It's a little node that, uh, checks the temperature. It, that's all it is. And, uh, it was like, just get one on Amazon. Great. $11. No big deal.

Yeah.

Said, go ahead and get 2, one for the freezer and one for the fridge. Perfect. Um, so I get to the fridge, open it up, and it's super easy to fix. I had to splice the wire. Really no big deal. Mm-hmm. Um, Replaced it. It was like, all right, now let's work on the freezer one. No clue where that one is. I couldn't find it. It told me exactly where it was and I'm, it may have been right, but that thing was encased in like some other stuff. And I was like, I'm not trying to do that right now. So I don't know what's going to happen, but I did that, uh, like 36 hours ago.

Mm-hmm.

And cooled down. It was doing actually really great. So I, I'm going to let it hold for a bit of time and see what happens. But I'm at this point, I'm at, I'm one of those thermistors. I don't, for the, I don't know if it's ever going to happen for the freezer. I don't know if I'm ever going to change it, but right now I'm like $90 in, less than $90.

Doing it yourself.

Doing it myself.

Yeah.

Nice. Completely doing it myself. And I feel pretty good about it, to be honest, you know?

It's, yeah, so.

I had my own adventure with ChatGPT on our 2005 Honda Civic.

Okay, what'd you do?

So it would only start in neutral for a little while. That was fine. I was like, eh, it's old, right?

Yeah.

We're gonna give it away to our nephew so he can drive it. Then all of a sudden it won't even start in neutral, won't start in park. And so I go to ChatGPT, I'm like, hey, what's the problem? So it tells me, well, you need to change the, Neutral park switch. You know, the neutral. Yeah, yeah, no, yeah, absolutely know what that is.

Yeah.

So it says it's, it's behind the left wheel.

What?

And I'm like, okay, so the left front wheel.

Yeah, okay, front.

So I get under there and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna find it. It's, it's really easy. There's pictures. It even gave me YouTube videos. And so I get in there and it's not there. And so I'm like, hey, uh, ChatGPT, what's the deal? It's It's not there. And it said, oh, if your vehicle was assembled in Japan, it'll be on the other side.

Oh.

So I had to switch sides. So apparently my vehicle, and I did not know that, was assembled with the engine the opposite direction.

Oh, perfect.

From what ChatGPT said.

Was this your first time to switch sides? Just curious.

On a vehicle? It's the only time I've switched sides.

Okay, good.

Good.

After bar fights where I just really felt like it was going the other way.

Yeah, I know. So that was, it was dirty work though.

I bet it was.

Yeah, it was. But then it didn't work. And so it said, change the battery, 'cause they normally fail together. So I changed the battery out, didn't have to ask ChatGPT how to do that.

Oh, good.

Still didn't work. And then it was like, oh, then it's definitely the starter motor. So I was like, I don't know where that is. And I just followed the directions and busted my knuckles a little bit, but next thing you know, it was up and going.

Really?

Yeah.

See?

And that would've been 6 or 8 hours in a mechanic shop.

Oh yeah.

And I did it myself. It wasn't a big deal. I love it.

Yeah. Like, look, if you don't mind just doing what you did, and like, for me, same type of deal. I'm like, I'm just gonna kind of figure it out.

Worst thing that happens is we throw it out.

Right.

Which I wanted to do anyway.

Right. Well, I looked at it this way. I'm a little bit less than $90 in at this point. If I call a repair person, the diagnostic fee is $100.

Yeah.

So easy. Yeah.

You've almost met your deductible.

Exactly. And so I'm like, well, because here's what's going to happen. If this doesn't work, I'm going to throw it out anyway.

Right.

And, but right now it's working right now. It's okay.

Yeah.

And I feel like I'm in it already.

Well, I feel like, you know, you have a beer fridge that, well, yeah, if you don't get the freezer fixed, it can go in the garage.

Well, it, that's the thing. This is the garage fridge.

Well then in the yard.

Yeah. It's, but important things are stored there, Ryan.

That's true. Yes. Correct. That is correct. 100%. So anyway, um, That's my story. What, what else? What you got going on, man?

What do you wanna talk about? We're, we're gonna talk about all kinds of stuff cuz we got Ryan A. Duddle in the studio. Um, if you hadn't noticed already.

You have a right. Hi, Ryan. Hello.

Uh, real quick, remind everybody, I mean, like, we know who you are. Tell everybody who you are.

Oh, so I'm Ryan A. Duddle. I'm the owner of Heritage Texas Insurance Agency. Um, so we are a local family-owned insurance agency. We're independent. So we are loyal to our clients, not the big insurance companies. So we help people find the best coverage at the best rate.

Perfect.

Yeah.

I mean, who doesn't want the best coverage at the best rate? Yeah, everyone wants— Those guys, those guys are not using ChatGPT. They're out there like, I'm going to pay the mechanic 6 or 8 hours because I got all the money in the world. I don't care.

And an angry letter that I wrote on my typewriter.

Exactly.

Yes, we've all been there. Absolutely. Um, correct. But yeah, so, uh, definitely gonna talk about hantavirus. Oh, oh yeah, you gotta talk about that.

Is it hantavirus or is it antivirus? Hantavirus. Are you sure?

I—

yeah, I mean, yeah, he goes, yeah, I mean, I don't know, maybe it's Hannah. Hannah virus.

Hannah, you don't want another Hannah virus.

Redheads.

All right, well, we'll go with hantavirus then. It sounds, it sounds more like menacing.

I mean, the way, the way I'd always heard, because I never spelled it until recently, um, the way I'd always heard it pronounced from experts in my field said hantavirus.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so I always thought it was H-U-N-T.

Sure.

Just about the way people would say it. And so I, I'm pretty sure it's not that, that hard A, it's the It's at least an AU.

Uh-huh.

Hmm. So it's weird. So we got that. And then there's this, uh, I had it pulled up. Hang on. It's this new bill that they're trying to get passed in Oregon, the state that I— it's so it's Petition 28, IP 28.

Hmm.

Um, did we just lose something?

No.

Okay.

Uh, I mean, did you lose something?

I saw like a click in the light or something. Oh. Um, anyway, it's, it's a new bill that they're trying to get on the ballot in Oregon that would eliminate all hunting and fishing, um, and also eliminate all poisons that would be used for rodents and birds and things like that.

Sounds like a great idea.

Yeah.

What? Wait, what?

Yeah.

What?

It's, it's something to—

it's— This isn't true.

It is true.

What? Um, is this Babylon Bee? Are you sure you didn't read the wrong thing? No, no, no, no. That's a whole nother story, isn't it?

The 2 things can be true, Kevin. I I sent you one Babylon Bee story, which was hilarious.

It was hilarious. So we're gonna have to come back to that. But really, there's no hunting?

No. Yeah.

No, at all?

So, okay, let me— I'll just read. Okay. Initiative Petition 28 is a bold, far-reaching ballot initiative in Oregon that challenges the legal loopholes enabling the legitimizing pervasive animal abuse and killing. If passes, it will make history, creating a ripple effect across the US and the world.

Uh, not to this state.

So, um, yeah, it will, it will basically make illegal any—

So, so what I'm hearing is that you and I are gonna have a nice jaunt to Oregon with a trailer, a couple of trailerfuls of wild hogs.

Yeah.

That accidentally get Like disseminated into Oregon and this law will change quickly.

Yeah.

They don't.

What I, like, I was actually thinking through this today be— because I, it was the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Um, one, Oregon has like some of the most beautiful hunting land and game.

Sure.

In the world.

Yeah.

That place, we'll, we're go— we'll talk about my trip later on, but that place is just gorgeous.

Yeah.

So. I've been drinking carbonated beverages. The problem, the issue has become over there, man. What is, what is my brain is skipping out, dude.

Yeah, I could tell.

I know I was talking. Oh, the hunting thing in Oregon. Yeah.

Yeah.

Good Lord. This is, I don't know what's happening, but this is my favorite Craig I've ever met.

This is great.

So, I have a chance, y'all. I have a chance now. You can do it. I have a chance. He's a way better, like, talker than me, so. No, go ahead.

Go ahead.

I got nothing.

Okay.

Same as you though. Yeah, pretty much.

Dude, the, the, the hunting deal in, in Oregon, I was just trying to think through like the long-term effects.

Okay.

And I was like, and I finally just concluded with Please do it. Like, please do all these things. And then I'm gonna sit over here and build my businesses. And then in 20 years, train my children to come buy that land for pennies on the dollar.

Oh yeah, absolutely.

Please, please just continue to make it worthless to even own a business there because like all you're going to do is drive everyone away.

Sure.

And then people who actually have capital are gonna come in and scoop it up. Like, you wouldn't believe and you're gonna sell it to 'em because you ain't got nothing.

That's actually, well, and it's gorgeous there.

It is. But they're gonna, they're gonna do it in Oregon. They're gonna do the same thing in California. I mean, there's—

Well, they'll probably do it all the way up. Like Washington will do the same thing. Like it'll be—

Oh, it'll be a competition to see who can get—

Yeah. Who can destroy their state the fastest.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, well, it doesn't make any sense from, well, and this is, this is like status quo for them. Mm-hmm. You know, making everybody go, you know, completely electric with their, you know, homes and everything, right? Which is, which is ridiculous. Um, and now you're gonna be overrun by the animals realistically. And, uh, that's not gonna go well.

No.

And, and, and now not only that, the, the poisons that are being used, and, and I, I'm talking way outta my element whenever we've got a pest control guy here, but like the, the poisons that are being used to control rodents, like those are, those are controlled by, by people that have degrees and like have worked through this stuff. And it was like, this is, you know, it's a poison, but it's still safe to use. in the right environments and making sure that the right people have access to it. And those people have to be trained and certified to be able to use those things. And so like, it's not like those things are just out in the public and everybody can just go grab 'em and poison whatever they want to, right? I

mean, am I, am I wrong about any of that?

Uh, well, yes and no.

Okay.

It, it really, so this, this has kind of been the fight in this, this whole conversation is can you sell those things at like a Home Depot or a Lowe's?

Okay. That's it. I mean, so that's a fair question. And because the stuff that you can, that I can buy is very different than the stuff that you can buy sometimes, right? Or it's packed there.

There's, it's different strength.

That's for sure.

There's different, there's intersections about that, right? There's stuff, there's stuff that I use that you can get and there's stuff that I can use that you can't get.

Okay.

But there is a happy medium. And then like, you're thinking that. you know, the stuff that you're buying at the stores down here as just like cheap crap, right? It's not. Okay. Most of what you have access to is in the middle. There's not— the down here is just like cheap snap traps and— okay, okay. You know, you know what I mean? Yeah. And then, well, and then somewhere there's a thin sliver in there of like organic crap that doesn't work. You know, like put clove oil in, right?

But Craig, I just got my liberal arts degree in pottery making, and so that overrides 100 years of animal control and pest control.

Well, that's because she asked her yoga Facebook group.

Yes. But if those rats bring in coyotes and then one of those coyotes happens to eat Mr. Charles, my cat, then it's going to be your fault.

Yeah.

It's going to go badly. It's really going to go badly.

It's not going to end well.

So contrast that with, with Texas for just a minute. There is no hunting season for hogs. And I bring hogs up for a reason. There is no hunting season for hogs. No. In fact, not only that, we have places that are like, I'll fly out in a helicopter to hunt hogs.

Yep.

Like there's bounties.

Yeah.

Hogs.

We, we want those things gone because they are so destructive. to so many things. Mm-hmm. And it's like, you, you will find yourself in a place where it's like, like you said, like stuff is overtaking.

Right. And it's not, it, it, there's all sorts of ripple effects that come off of that.

Correct.

Yeah.

Well, it's funny how we have invasive species that we brought.

Mm-hmm.

To the Americas, rats.

Mm-hmm.

Hogs, all kinds of things. and then we magically have the solution to what we caused. It's always like we're causing the problem, and then all of a sudden we have the solution for the problem. And then all of a sudden, oh, now that solution is bad, even though it's been working.

It's effective.

It's effective, but it hurts my feelings. So I would rather have rats all over my property causing problems than to, you know, feel bad that I might have killed, you know, Mr. Templeton.

Um, so if that's not a segue for Huntavirus, I don't know what—

I don't know what it is either.

Yeah.

Yes, you're welcome. I'm, I'm ready. I'm ready. Tell us what you want to— like, I, I've—

there—

this is the, the wildest thing. Kind of started on a cruise ship, right?

Like, okay, so like you say it's a— why, why are you saying it's a wild thing? I'm interested to know what people think is the most like scintillating part of this story?

Well, I mean, I, I, I assume people— we're, we're going to assume for a minute that people know the story. But, um, to me what's wild is that, you know, we, we hear about this all the time where people are like, oh, cruising is the best, let's go cruising, and cruises are great. And they are. I've been on multiple cruises. I love them. They're great. You can eat all the food you want to. Everything's contained. It's, it's great. Prices are fantastic. Like, it's a, it's a really nice vacation. And yet the, the place where you see people in a small environment get the sickest is on cruise ships.

Sure.

And this is where we are at least being told that this outbreak has happened on a cruise ship. And now it is making its way inland as these people have gotten off the ship and are now making their way into the United States and those sorts of things. And now, you know, it's— I remember when COVID hit the United States, it was like this. Everybody was kind of waiting and all of a sudden we get this news story. The first person who has been diagnosed with COVID now is in the United States. And then it was like, the second person is now in the United States. And then it was like, we're shutting the nation down.

Yeah.

Right? And I feel like the hantavirus has, it has started deploying the same, uh, uh, messaging, messaging as what COVID did. And I'll tell you, first of all, I don't care what the disease is. If it's— I don't care what it is. We're not going back to masks.

Nope.

Okay?

You know what I mean?

Not even for aliens.

No.

Not even for aliens.

No.

I'm not putting on a mask.

No, and that's especially where we live. It will never happen. And so the messaging is just so ominous right now. And I feel like the, It's just the misinformation that probably happens out there.

Well, wasn't the cruise ship only 150 people?

That's a good question.

So that's where it was, 176 people.

Oh, okay, okay. But there's 176 people in my room on a cruise ship. Like, when you're on a Princess cruise, that's like 5,000 people, right, right, on one ship. And so you get norovirus, right? You know, you go through and they're washy washy, you know, wash your hands, and it's so cute and everybody washes their hands. You're usually fine, but we're talking about rats, right? You know, like an infestation of rats on a ship is not gonna happen on a Carnival cruise.

Yeah.

Unless you're talking about the clients.

Yeah. Well, this is, I, I think this is, you know, this is all where like different pieces of the story get kind of, kind of broken up, right?

Oh yeah. Clickbait.

Well, yeah, because one, they, they all led us to believe that it was a big cruise ship.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

No one, like, because if we've all been on cruises that are normal size, like that's gotta be a luxury cruise because that's not that many people.

Right.

Right. So that's a significantly decreased expectation of how many people are now spreading this thing.

Yeah. You've got what I call a select cruise.

Right. Or, or it was the Dollar General of cruises.

Mm-hmm.

And they just, you know, it may have been a 3-hour cruise. I'm not sure.

They were rowing. Yeah.

Right, right. Everybody had a job.

Okay.

Yeah, it's just not gonna take itself down the river.

Yes.

You know, so you've got that, but then also the impression that the ship was rat-infested, because if anybody Googles hantavirus, they're gonna find out real quick that you mainly get it from exposure to rat feces. Right.

Sure, right.

So then it becomes, oh, the ship was infested with rats, but the problem is, is like, I, I, like, It'd have to be a lot of rats and it'd have to have been sitting around with rat crap for a long time in order for it to get dusty enough to get in the ventilation. And, and so it's more likely that they, whoever had it brought it on the ship.

Right. Oh, that's— yeah, because, well, I mean, if you've ever been on a cruise and, and I don't care what cruise it is, Carnival's the same, the same way. Um, they, they clean those things like crazy.

Yep.

And, and what you're telling me is there's no way most modern cruises, especially after COVID, right? After that has happened, modern cruise lines, I don't care what it is, they clean those things like crazy. So having what you're talking about happen seems highly unlikely in my, my mind. Yeah.

And it's like, is it impossible?

No.

I mean, like, sure. Yeah, I guess anything's possible, but it's unlikely.

Yeah.

And when you also begin to realize that it's not just the hantavirus, it's the Andes version of the hantavirus. And why that's important is because most other people would say hantavirus, well, the ship has to be rat-infested because the only way you get that is to come in contact, unless you have the Andes version, which can pass from person to person.

Ah.

Now, I think—

were you asking me about Yeah, I didn't know if it was the mint, like Andy's Mint, or if it was Raggedy Andy.

Yeah, I don't know.

Yeah, yeah. So like, no, it was like, can it, can it be passed from person to person? Is it fluid or is it like contact?

Right, yeah.

So, and I don't—

respiratory—

I don't know.

Well, we're not experts on a disease that is not widespread.

Well, I, I know how you get hantavirus.

Sure.

And I know that was part of the big story was in Gene Hackman's death. Right.

Yeah.

Because I think his wife tested positive for hantavirus, but they had both passed away. So, right, you kind of think, yeah, um, there had to have been rats involved in that situation somehow.

Well, if she died in the house and he didn't, you know, call anybody because he has, uh, dementia, right, who knows how long her body was there. And, right, you know, if they don't use poison control in California, then the rats probably were tapping on the glass like, let us in.

Oh yeah, that's a good point.

So, so yeah, so there's, there's just, there's just a lot of that around that story, but like it is the Andes version and so it can be passed from person to person. So it is a little more cause for concern because otherwise it's not transferable.

Right. Which means now it is transferable. Yes. And now we've got enough people that have it in an isolated location. Mm-hmm. And now they are dispersing.

Yeah.

And that, that's concerning.

I think the report came out today that 2 of 'em are in Houston now.

Well, of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?

But they're isolated, right?

I have no idea.

Okay. Well, it's strange that we're so worried about this virus, which is, you know, if you catch it early, they say you can treat it pretty well. But then we had like Kent Brantley, ACU grad. Friend of mine. Who came back with Ebola and everybody was like, oh, cool.

That's true.

Now we're like, oh, you know, Andy's, We don't even know what it is. It may not— I mean, I think I read that it's really only communicable through spit or blood.

Which makes sense.

Which makes sense.

But I don't plan on swapping those things with these people.

No, I'm not going to go down to the hospital and kiss them hello.

So I'm not really worried about it. No. And if I did, it would not be through a mask. I'll tell you that.

You're just all in. Yeah.

I'm saying, if I'm gonna do it, yeah, you know, just go for it, right?

Give me the big wet licorice.

Anyway, and now you know.

And now you know. ChatGPT.

Yeah, exactly. But I— do you want to talk about the Babylon Bee? Oh no, this is really— so I love the Babylon Bee.

I wish we could I mean, we could bring it up, but we could.

There's the one that says not the Babylon Bee. Have you seen that one?

Yes.

As well.

Also good.

Okay. Also good.

Yeah, it's good. So, well, this one, do you want to, do you want to talk about it, man?

I'd have to.

I've got it right here.

You got it right there.

So it's a, it's an old, like, oh, here, like oil painting, old oil painting, uh, from, you know, Jesus day. And it says Jesus' parents realize he's divine. As he completes carpentry project without going back to Home Depot a single time.

I think my wife showed that to me last night and she was like, yeah, I always knew you were divine.

Right. You know, it's like, it's like that old, old joke. It's like, like, look, I'm not saying I'm Batman. I'm just saying you've never seen me and Batman in the same room. You know what I'm saying? Like, I, that's kind of my thought process. This is one of those deals is like, Jesus doesn't go back to Home Depot. And that's, you know, I'm not him because 17 times.

Yeah.

Well, and I'm, I'm trying to like, you know, build a box.

I'm the guy that trusts that they put all the same size PVC elbows in the box.

Oh yeah.

And then I get home and one is like an inch and one is 3 quarters and one is, and I'm just like, yeah, why'd I trust them?

Yeah, you should.

I feel violated.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Either have to go back.

Been punked in the plumbing aisle.

Yes.

And, but it's what it is. Everybody goes back to the hardware store and it's like, that's, that's actually, I think, look, I think there's a real missed opportunity in these real estate like the summaries of these homes.

Oh, absolutely.

They're missing a vital piece that I would, I think that the closer you are to a Home Depot or a Lowe's would drive value to your home. Because at that point it's like, look, you're, you're telling me I'm half a mile from the closest Home Depot? Oh yeah.

Yeah.

I'll pay an extra $25 grand for that house.

I'd pay extra to go to Ace. Because it's only half a mile from my house. And Lowe's is 5 miles.

You pay more for the product.

Yeah, for the product. Yeah.

Well, yeah. For convenience.

It saves time.

Well, I mean, it's just, I just think that there's a gap, if you will, in these summaries for people that live close to Home Depots, they're selling their home, that the realtor should be like, that's sentence number 2.

Yeah.

Don't show me the neighborhood pool. Show me where is the hardware store.

That's right.

Yeah.

Because when I, like, honestly, the stress really go two of one, one of two ways.

Okay.

Right. Because if you're a DIY guy, if you're a fixer-upper kind of guy, it could be very encouraging to you. Sure. It could also be very emasculating to some. Yeah. But, but the realist out there, remind me of the store where I know nothing to do.

That's true. But yeah. Yeah. But the realist out there understands, like, I'm going to Home Depot in one day way more than I'm going to the community pool in one day. Yes, right. Everybody pees in there anyway, right? Exactly. So anyway, some people pee in Home Depot, but that's a whole different story. You gotta go—

a guy that said he was gonna drop a bomb at the Home Depot and they called the police and he was talking about using the bathroom.

He's like, I'm going to the back of the store.

He's just—

I'm gonna blow up the back of the store. Well, that's just because that's where the bathroom is.

Of course.

Yeah.

Like it's a strict— there was Taco Bell in the same parking lot.

That's right.

You know, timing.

That's what you call an In-N-Out right there.

That's right.

That's right. Oh, I've never seen In-N-Out anywhere near a Home Depot. Um, most of the time it's, well, there's a Popeyes near the one.

I saw a guy squatting back there once.

No.

To measure something. To measure something.

Yeah.

Lumber. He was measuring lumber.

Yes.

I'm sure that's what he was measuring. Yes.

Oh my God. Oh man.

So you do insurance, huh?

Yes.

Yeah, absolutely. When I'm not a standup comedian.

Well, so, uh, I, I really— we are going to have to transition at some point.

Might as well.

Um, I like—

dude, it is awkward.

And man, you guys have been talking about insurance is coming up so much.

Well, that's all we talk about.

Yeah, it does. It means like, I know it just keeps coming up and well, in the news and just then like what people are talking about. And when we do post content about it, everyone's like, insurance is such a scam.

And oh yeah.

Yeah. I mean, you, you get the whole, well, yeah.

And, and not only that, like insurance continues to rise. This is what, and I do wanna talk about this and this may not be where we begin, but the frustrating thing for a consumer is insurance rate— rates continue to climb. Coverages continue to go down. And for example, you know, my, my homeowner's insurance went up, uh, 30%.

Right.

And now it no longer covers my roof, like the largest purchase that I'm gonna make with, with my insurance. So now I'm paying more, getting way less. So it feels like probably a 60% reduction instead of a 30% increase, right? Like, so I think those are the types of things that we are, we hear those things from, from people that we talk to. We see those things in the articles and blogs and things that we read.

Oh yeah.

And so there, there's a lot of that. And so when we bring an insurance agent into our studio, people are like, that dirty. Yeah.

Well, and then you see the, the AI videos where they're like, you know, 45% of your first year premium goes straight to the agent. And, and we're like, man, I want that job.

I do.

Right. Sounds delicious.

Yeah. That sounds great.

Yeah.

Where do I get that set up?

Well, and, and I think that is actually something to discuss because, oh yeah, I mean, yeah, especially, especially whenever you start talking about like the initial signup versus renewals and like all of these sorts of things, you know, that like you're not making, you know, hand over fist off my one, you know, home.

No.

You know, right?

Absolutely not. I mean, no.

So I don't know what, what, I guess there's so many things that we could talk about, like literally anything, but I'm curious from your point of view, what are some of the biggest misconceptions that people are dealing with right now? And what are you doing to kind of maybe try to help mitigate any of those?

Well, I think the main thing is that people look at their insurance from a perspective that is it's consumer-focused instead of investment-focused. So you have people that look at this and they look at it like a home warranty, right? And they're like, I pay this amount every year and then something breaks and I can't fix it. And really insurance is a transfer of risk, right?

Mm-hmm.

So I'm saying to you, this is the current status, state of my home, right? And if something happens to it, you're saying, I bet you my premium, that something's not gonna happen that you're gonna have to pay for.

Okay.

And the insurance company is coming back and saying, okay, we'll take that bet. And if something does happen, we're gonna pay for that. So then they're taking that difference, that amount. And really insurance companies get a bad rap in a lot of ways because you'll see them lose money for 5, 6 years, and then you'll see them make a big profit all of a sudden. Well, then nobody wants to go back and look at, okay, over 7 years, they only made 4 cents on the dollar, which if an insurance company makes 4 cents on the dollar, they are ecstatic.

Okay.

That's for them, 4 cents on the dollar is an amazing year. That's never been better. Everybody's celebrating, people are retiring early. That is amazing. So people think that you're just, making all this money because they may not have a payout. But when you do have a payout, you know, like I had a claim on my home that was $85,000.

Wow.

And up until that point, we had only been in the house for 6 years. We had paid like $2,500 a year.

That's, that's a good deal.

That's a good deal, right? That's a good deal. But if that never happens to you, you kind of don't see, you know, the payout on it. Um, but People look at it like a warranty. And every year your roof gets older, the risk of you having a claim gets higher and higher and higher because that roof isn't doing what it did when it was new. Or if you have the wrong type of pipes, like if you have plastic pipes instead of copper or, you know, PEX, the risk of you having an issue is much higher.

Hmm.

And so the company has to say, okay, for your home, either we just won't insure it at all, Or we're going to exclude these things that, you know, we just won't cover or we can't compensate for in your rate.

Well, it's, it seems like they continue to signal that it's just gonna be dropped. I mean, roofs in particular are gonna be dropped off of the, the policy as, as like an umbrella policy for the home. Like it, like it traditionally has.

Yeah. I mean, it's the, the risk keeps getting higher, but on a newer roof and a better roof, like I, I just quoted someone with a, $2.8 million home, they put a Class 4 roof on that policy and that was a $2,000 discount on their policy.

Oh, it was a Class 4 though. So obviously Class 4.

But what they see that is, is less risk, right?

So if you— I don't know what the classes are, but what I, but what I, I assume that that's a really good roof.

Yeah.

Is it like a metal roof? Is that what that—

So it's a fiberglass reinforced layered roof. Okay. So instead of just like what we put on our homes, 'cause we're normal people. Yeah. Or we don't have a brand new home. You know, the quality of the material stays better longer, right? So when hail hits it, it doesn't crack the tile, it just bounces off.

Mm-hmm.

Because the tile's hydrated with the petroleum product that's in there. So over time, as that petroleum product leaches out with the sun and rain and all the effects of being in Houston especially, Um, it is more likely to crack, which means you have more damage, which means you will have a claim. So that's why you also see what people, you know, look at and they'll say, oh, my roof isn't covered, or I had to pay most of my roof. Well, your roof was 20 years old.

Yeah.

It's only meant to last 30 years old. 30 years.

I think their problem that they look at is like, yeah, $2,500 a year. Right. Now I've been paying that for, for 20 years. Now I've paid $50 grand.

Yep.

Into my policy and it doesn't cover a $25,000 roof, like that doesn't, or $30,000 roof, that doesn't make any sense. But what I, I think that that's, that's the mentality.

Yep.

Is like, I, and I, so, so again, I, I think you're right. I think they see it as a warranty, but they also see it as almost like, um, if I put this into a savings account, I would have had this amount of money unless that happened on year 2.

Right.

And it's like, now you, now you owe, you know, $25,000, but you've only paid in $5,000.

Absolutely.

And that's a completely different scenario. Now they're going, oh, well, this is a great deal. Yeah. You know?

And I have clients all the time where I tell them, look, this is a, this is a risk situation, right? So if you, you know, I don't have a loan. Why do I even have insurance? Hey, you don't have to. You don't have to. But if you have to rebuild your home and that's $600,000, do you have that sitting in the bank? Are you ready to go with that? You know, and they say, no, but I've got $40,000.

Okay. That's a roof.

Yeah. If you wanna save $1,000 a year, I'll set your deductible at 5%. You know? And so, yeah, you, you know, you satisfy the loan, the loan company by having the right coverage. But don't expect to have a payout when you have hail on your roof. You're going to pay out your cash and then you're going to be looking at your cash is gone. And what if it hails the next month? Because it does, happens all the time.

Yeah.

You know, or you have a fire the next month. Now you don't have that 40 grand that you had sitting there, you know, whatever is needed. So it really is, people need to look at it as a transfer of risk. Uh, rather than just like, I'm paying in this money and you need to, you know, fix everything. Well, everyone wants that. The agent— we, we just want people to be happy. I want you to be happy. I want you to get on and say, Ryan's the best, my roof got replaced, call him. Um, and so it's, it's not your agent, um, but it's, it's just how the contracts really work. Um, if they're not making that 4%, then they get bought out or they go bankrupt or You know, they just, they have to be in that right

zone. Mm-hmm. Um, so it's, it's tough. It's a lot.

Do, do you think that they're gonna go the way of the flood policy?

Uh, in, you mean through FEMA?

Well, I mean, just that, I mean, you know, back in the day, flood insurance, again, usually included in, in that entire policy.

Right.

And then, I don't know, I don't know how many years ago it was. It was like, at least here, completely separated.

Yep.

Like nobody was, that was not gonna be on anybody's general policy anymore.

About 20 years ago.

About 20 years ago. So that's what I'm asking. Are they going to— is that— is that because I feel like that's what they're signaling is like, we're just going to just completely separate this.

Well, we're already seeing that in the industry. So certain carriers will say, we will not insure the roof at all. We'll insure everything else but the roof. You know, if the roof is 20 years old or we have, we'll call it an ex-wind, meaning it doesn't cover wind, hail, or hurricane. So then You know, if you're in that situation, which is usually closer to the coast, then we, you know, have to go through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. You hear it, TWIA. So TWIA is a separate policy. So we have clients that will have, you know, their all perils policy, a Texas windstorm policy, and a flood policy. And now we're seeing people that are buying policies to pay their

deductibles.

Oh my.

Which I'm like, okay guys, Like, we just, we need to have a budget, you know? You need to realize, like, maybe I shouldn't bought this much house. Maybe I should have saved a little down payment so that I can make sure I can pay that deductible. So it's, but again, it's just a transfer of risk. And so your agent should be explaining that to you.

Yeah.

Like, hey, I can get you a lower rate, but you are going to have to pay more on the backside. So I tell people, I can either save you on the front side on your premium, or I can save you when you have a claim. So do you want to save $300 a year, or do you want to pay out an extra $10,000 when your roof is destroyed?

Yeah. And really, that, that you're right, that comes down to a budgeting question.

Absolutely.

And, and what you're willing to pay for. But the other thing that's been interesting is I think there's been a, everything, there's a, you know, there's a push and a pull, right? With everything. And so forever it felt like, at least in my lifetime, which is forever as far as I'm concerned, um, when your roof went out, your insurance paid for it. You just pay the deductible.

Right.

That's just the way it was.

Right.

Um, and if they're shady, they pay the deductible for you. So that happened all the time too. Don't do that. Uh, don't do that. Um, but I think that what is happening now is the roofing industry has completely changed as well. And the roofing industry is now doing something that I don't think they really had to do before, which is offer financing.

Right.

And so now what's happened is, and this is, this is where I think we have to start understanding the game. I think the game is, uh, something that whether you like it or not, you're playing.

Yep.

You're, you're in the game. Either learn how to play the game or you're just gonna sit on the bench and suffer because you're still dressed out.

Right.

And you had to be there. You can't do anything else, but you're not getting to actually enjoy it. And so That was a really good analogy, by the way. I like it. Um, so I think what's happened is like, okay, I know that my insurance is no longer going to pay for my roof. However, if I go with maybe a slightly higher deductible, save a little bit of money, then if I have to buy a roof, I can finance it and the money will balance.

That's right. Yeah. And if you have a good agent, They're going to talk to you about that. You know, Mrs. Smith, I know this rate is too high and your roof is 20 years old. Why don't we just raise your deductible a little? Because it's not going to pay out anyways if you have a hailstorm, right? Now, if you have a fire, you know, we can keep that deductible at 1%. If you have a hurricane, major windstorm, your house is not going to just suffer the shell of the roof.

So I think, okay, so that's—

So that deductible is going to feel okay when your claim is $120 grand. Rather than a $25,000 roof.

So I think, yeah, I really like that you said that because I think that this changes the conversation too, because for years and years and years, I felt, I feel like it was like, you need this policy. And that policy had these deductibles, these liability claims, these, you know, this amount on roof, this amount on wind, this amount on your, your household goods, all of, all of those things. I'm probably using the wrong terminology, but you get my point.

It was just a package.

Okay.

Yeah.

It's a package. And then, because then what happened is when people wanna shop around, which happens all the time in insurance, right? They're like, well, tell me what package you have. Well, I've got a, I've got a 20/30/20. And if, if people are like, oh, 20/30/20, I'll give you 20/30/20. It's gonna cost this much. You're like, well, I was paying this much. It's like, okay, well, I can't I can do it or I can't. And that was kind of the way it went.

Right.

But what you're telling me, what you just said is like a little bit mind-blowing to go, oh, so underwriting, and this is where everything changes, right? Underwriting can really do whatever they want to. And if underwriting says, I want to do a high deductible on this one thing, And a lower deductible on this one thing, as long as underwriting is willing to do it and the, and the agency is willing to price it a certain way, right, then we can do all sorts of things that don't look like the typical package. Is that what I just heard you say?

Absolutely.

Okay.

Yeah. It, it should be customized. So when you go and buy a Chevy truck, it's not just, oh, we have Chevy 100s. Right? It's got a V6 in it. That's not what we have anymore.

Interesting.

You have all kinds of brands. You have all kinds of setups. You have, you know, a V6 with, you know, a posi-track, right? And all of a sudden we start customizing everything. But insurance can be the same way too. So I may say to you, well, you know, you can go with a low deductible, but your roof is still old. I can get you 1.5%. and it'll save you $300 a year. But understand, the roof is still on a replacement cost schedule, not actual cash value, which is different than replacement cost. And so you start getting into things and you're like, uh, what does that mean?

Yeah, yeah.

And so what I see is people will, uh, they're like, well, I'm not paying an agent, I can do this online. Good luck. Good luck. Because a lot of those options are not even offered. They're not offered. And they're—

What do you mean they're not offered?

So a lot of those endorsements and the changes that an agent can make on the backside, when you go online, those aren't even there. You just put in your address, your name, and they're like, here's the option and it's cheap. Well, there's a reason it's cheap. It's because they're not going to pay out. And so how are you supposed to—

Is it a Dave Ramsey thing?

No.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

I don't think so.

So like, this is not home, it's auto primarily, but they do home stuff too. Okay. Where it's like the, the whole idea, and Dave Ramsey is the one that kind of made it, uh, popular, I would say, is, is he was saying, look, you realize that you can get insurance without an agent, right? And in doing so, you'll bypass all the agent fees. and get the exact same coverage for a much lower rate because you don't have the agent fee and the agent fee is where you're losing money. And that's where—

I hear that all the time.

Okay. So that's, that's the Dave Ramsey thing that he has pushed and pushed and pushed. And Dave Ramsey being who Dave Ramsey is. Yeah.

He's an authority on finances.

He is an authority on money.

Right.

Right? People are going, oh, great. But I will tell you, I actually went down the rabbit hole once and I got to the end. I'll tell you where it, where I didn't press another button. It was the button that said, would you like to have people contact you about this? And I was like, I do not want 1,000 people to contact me about this for the next 12 years of my life.

That's right.

Because that's why I didn't press the next button.

Yeah.

But that's what was about to happen. And I, I know a few things and that's what was about to happen. But is that what you're talking about? A similar thing?

So you can go direct to the carrier themselves and you can get the policy.

Okay.

So, you know, pick any brand, you know, red, yellow, blue, whatever it is, you can go on their website and you can buy that policy.

Okay.

I've worked direct for those companies and The only thing that you're missing out on is an agent actually telling you.

Okay. So, so, okay. The only, the only place I have in my brain for this is Disney.

Okay.

Okay. And here's why. I, I learned something a long time ago that, um, has served me well over time. And that is that if I book a, a travel vacation, to Disney World or Disneyland or wherever through the Disney World website. It cost me $5,000 to go on my trip.

Right.

And I'm going, okay, great. That's what it is. I'm getting, man, I'm getting a good deal because I'm booking direct. Um, or my friend over here that owns a travel agency that I'm like, that girl's making tons of money. So obviously every dollar that I give her, she is loaded and she's making so much money. No, the truth is she also charges $5,000 for that exact same trip. And what you find out, if you, if you know what you're seeing, is that Disney bakes in a travel agent fee.

Mm-hmm.

And it doesn't matter If you book through, if you book through disneyworld.com, that goes to a travel agent. That there is a, there's a percentage of that travel fee that goes to a travel agent that is contracted by Disney to package that so Disney doesn't have to.

Right.

Because Disney is not on the back end going, oh, Ryan wants to stay at this hotel and get these tickets. So I'm gonna make that happen.

No.

It's just the algorithm.

Right. That is not the way that works. There is some person who is physically booking that for you on behalf of Disney. Same thing with the agent. They're just getting, you're getting a personal touch. Right. And if something goes wrong, it's the same cost. It's just, you're getting an advocate.

So those networks that you see, you know, where they go in and they'll say, oh, you, these agents will contact you and get you a better deal. there's a lot behind the scenes because I, I looked into these because I was like, where— what is this? So I look into these and basically the agents agree to waive their fee, which agents like me, we don't charge any agency fees. We keep our overhead as low as possible so we don't have to do that. So if you're getting charged agency fees, which are non-refundable from day one, you might want to look for someone who doesn't do that. Um, because they're just passing their overhead on to you. Sure, right. But those agencies are also paying fees to be a

preferred agency. It has— they say it's volume vetted, but they're— I've seen, I've seen some of the agents on their website. Um, I, I know some of the agents on their website.

Look in their eye.

But, uh, yeah, that is— that, that's not what you want, right? Um, so you have to have You know, the experienced agent that really knows what they're doing, their team that they're coaching and teaching, they're going in there and explaining like, what exactly is water backup? What is seepage? What is flood? What is, you know, what are these things? Right? Because you can't go online and just click, oh yes, I'd like seepage. They don't even offer it.

Hmm.

So the reason you might find a policy is the same price as a local agent And they don't have to pay the agent is because they are taking those options away.

That's how they make their money.

That's how they—

they're still making money.

They're still making money on it.

People are not just magically not charging things so they don't make money. Correct. That's not the way life works. And if you think that's the way life works, I've got some stuff I can sell you. Um, but I, I think that's a really good point because what you're talking about is a quality versus quantity type of thing as far as the agent goes. The agent who's on those preferred website things, they're going, I'll take 100 of those, please.

Right.

And you're going, I'll take 5 of those and we'll make the same amount of money. Well, right.

Uh, not the same amount of money, but I'll have the quality of those people sticking around. Yeah. They're, they're staying year after year. Yeah. Yeah. My agency has a 90% retention rate.

Well, I'll tell you why. I have policies with you. I'm just gonna say it that way. I have policies with you. And like, there's a reason that I literally bought a new car a year and a half ago now. And I was like, hey, hey Ryan, how much is this gonna be? And you said, it's gonna be this much. And I was like, great, sign me up. And I didn't call anybody else because you had saved me so much money in the past that I don't even care. I know.

I still found you the best one.

You don't know. That's the thing. I know you did.

Right.

I know you did because you, you, you would not do me any other way.

Right.

Right. And so I think that is definitely, there's a reason I go back to that chick that sells the travel agent policies, policies, the travel agent vacations, because she's She's always taking care of me.

Right.

And I, I know that she is out here because here's what's happened before. And this happened with you. She's called me before and said, hey, Kevin, by the way, this is really cool. They just changed their rates and I can get you a cheaper rate for the same vacation. And I'm like, yeah, but you wouldn't, you lose money because you're not making as much commission. She's like, I don't really care. I want to make you, I want to make you happy.

Right.

And I was like, Great. Let's do it.

Now go 12, go tell 12 people I made you happy.

Right, exactly. And I will.

That's the idea.

And I absolutely will do that without you asking me to do it because that's just human nature. That's what we do. We talk about things that we think other people are going to be interested in. And saving money is probably the number one thing that people are interested in.

Yep.

Talking about and what, uh, people are at, wanna know. And so when you called me, uh, this is crazy, y'all. I just want you to understand the difficulty that I went through as someone who wanted an Excursion so badly. I decided that's the, that's the vehicle I wanted, but I didn't wanna pay for it because they were, didn't, I mean, these vehicles, they only made 200,000 of them. over 5 years.

If you made it today, it'd be $150,000.

Absolutely. And so I didn't want, I mean, right now you can go online and buy a $50,000 Excursion that's a 2001 model. Okay. You can actually buy $100,000 Excursions that have been upgraded and modded. That is a 2001 that has 250,000 miles on it.

Right?

Like, That, that's just the way it is. Well, the one that I bought, it's a great vehicle, has a salvage title because it was deemed undrivable one time. And the reason they did that is because the insurance company didn't want to pay to rebuild it because it was not, it was not totaled, but they totaled it. And so it was bought back. It was fixed and the, the, the frame wasn't even touched. Okay. The engine and the frame wasn't even damaged. It was the, the front left fender was, was damaged and they totaled it just because of age.

Right.

And so I, I bought it for, for cheap and it has salvage title on it. And I was like, this is great. So I called Ryan and Ryan was like, this is gonna be some work. It's gonna be difficult because did you know that insurance agencies don't want to insure salvage titles. And I'm like, what?

I didn't know that.

And he was like, well, you should have. And, and I, and I didn't. I don't remember that. No, you didn't say that. But, but so what happened is that I'm only able to insure that with 1 or 2 companies because there's not very many people that will do it. Mm-hmm. Not many companies will do it. And it's much more expensive. For liability only.

Right.

Okay. It is what it is. 2 years later, Ryan calls me and Ryan goes, hey, Kevin, can I re-quote you on this? And I'm like, well, I guess, yeah, sure. And he was like, 'cause I think I have something. And he calls me back and he is like, hey, how do you feel about getting full coverage and paying less money? And I'm like, what? Are you serious? What, what's the catch? And, and, and he goes, no, no, no, I just like, there's no catch. I just figured it out for you. And, and that's the type of thing that you get with, with an agent that you can trust, just like the lady that's gonna save you money on your Disney vacation because

she wants you back.

Right.

You know, it's retention. Right.

And in your case, it was just simply knowing You know, what's the difference when they— why did they give the salvage title? Can I explain this to the underwriter? So I just reached out to him, told him like, this is what happened, says salvage title, it really isn't that it was undrivable. He had it inspected, he had its safety inspected, everything's good. They looked at it and they were like, oh yeah, yeah, no problem. Okay, go ahead and run it through.

That's awesome. And, and like, not only that, if I ever decided to change insurances, which I Probably won't. But if I did, now I've got like this continuous case. Yeah. Continuous coverage to go, no, no, no. Look, like I've had this. The underwriter agreed. You have to now also basically.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah. It's, it's a great way. And, and that's the thing is that most of the time you just have people sitting at desks clicking buttons. Right. And they may have been there for 2 weeks or they may have been there for 15 years. You, you don't really know. And so you need that agent that even if they have staff doing data entry, they're going in and reviewing everything before that quote goes out. Or if something pops up, it's not Jack, Jill, and 2 cars, you know, and it just sails right through. You have somebody who is like, look, this is a valuable relationship. We need to make sure this happens. And if we can't do it, we need to explain

why.

Yeah.

Right? So like in your case, in your vehicle, it's getting to the point where You can actually probably go get it titled as a classic vehicle soon. That whole issue absolutely goes away.

Yeah.

Yeah, because most of those cars are all modified anyway.

They're all modded out anyways, or they've been restored. So, yeah, same situation.

Yeah.

Yeah. So I think the thing that I love about this conversation and y'all, if this is the first time you're hearing Ryan talk, it's only in, possibly because you've never listened to one of our other episodes. Because Ryan does listen to a lot of our episodes and he chimes in and we reference him a lot of times. Because you've been doing this a while.

Yeah. 17 years.

17 years. That's a while. And I think that that matters. And we talk about this with real estate all the time. Like you find your friend that's like, oh, I just started real estate. You want to use him or her because they're your friend, right? But they don't really know what they're talking about. You, you find someone who's been doing it for 15, 20 years and they're like, okay, they know the ins and outs. They can probably, hopefully, hopefully there's still those ones out there. You're like, sure, really? Well, and that's pretty sure you're using ChatGPT on this too.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, you know, there's those people that you're like, okay, you've been doing, have you been learning for 17 years or doing the same thing you did the first year 17 times, which one is it, right? Yeah. And so you have to really look for those people that are expanding and learning and, you know, trying new things. And—

Well, it's a good question. So, so how do you find that out? Like, how do I know?

You know, man, it's, it's not easy, right? Because everyone now just, you know, hey, ChatGPT, write my profile for me, you know? And, um, it's really, you know, talking to people that you know, Do they have a great track record? You know, check, you can go to TDI and you can check and see Texas Department of Insurance. Does this person have any lawsuits? Do they have any issues? Who are they licensed with? Um, all those types of things are out there and available, but you know, Google reviews, Google reviews are another thing is, is that agent, it just like any business, they can't change your review when you put it on there, you know?

So. I'm sorry, I need to go do that. I don't think I did that. Well, I will.

That's great. And we appreciate that. But we want those real stories on there so people know like, hey, this is legit. I had an issue, he solved it. Or even if it's like, hey, Ryan made a mistake. I called him. He said, you know what? That's my fault. Right? And he fixed it.

Yeah.

Great.

So if I call you and I don't know you, I call you, somehow I found you and I say, hey, Do you have any lawsuits against you? Do you have to tell me?

Yeah, we have to disclose those things.

Okay. That's, that's actually great because I, I think that's, that's important to know.

Right.

Because when you're, yeah, I can go on TDI and I can do that. Yep. But this is one of those, I, I, I am actually curious how, how people find you.

Mm-hmm.

I would guess. It's like real estate many times where it's like, I, because I found you through Craig, right? Craig and you had been friends for a long time and Craig said, I use Ryan. You need to call Ryan. He's awesome. So that's how I think word of mouth is, is really important. But if it is word of mouth, if I then have to go to TDI and I got to know how to do that all yada yada.

Yeah.

But if I can just ask you and you have to tell me, That actually makes it easy.

Yeah. I mean, we have to be truthful in any of those things. We have to answer properly.

Okay.

Um, you know, and I'm not saying everybody will.

Sure. Right.

You know, we, we know that for sure. But, um, you know, that's, people find me through, you know, friends and family and, and doing a good job. And, uh, Google reviews are great because, you know, people more and more, you know, go and look at your reviews.

But is that not like a, the, is that not like the secondary step? Absolutely. For you, because they're like, look, if you're a, if you're a plumber, I have found you most likely because I was like, I got a problem, Google, can you tell me? Or ChatGPT, can you tell me the best—

Or the neighborhood, the neighborhood Facebook group.

Right. Yeah. And I can immediately see your, your reviews and go, I will call you based on that. Right. But I feel like real estate and mortgage brokers and, and and insurance, it's like, oh, Craig said call Ryan. And so the first thing I'm going to do is go, okay, I trust Craig. Therefore, I think I trust you, but I'm going to go check your Google reviews.

I'm going to Google your name. Yeah.

That's so it's secondary, right?

Yeah, it really is.

Okay.

Most of my clients have come to me over the years more and more through realtors and loan officers.

Okay.

Um, so when a loan officer's in a bind and they're complaining to another loan officer, they're like, hey, Call Ryan, right? And we swoop in, save the day, you know, get more information that the other agent maybe didn't collect, maybe even drive by the house. I've done that many times. I did that last week on, on a big house. And then I can say, hey, this— they put it down as brick veneer, but it's really stucco, you know, and, and those types of things. It makes a big difference. But when we solve those problems, all of a sudden that loan officer is like, like, you're my guy, you know? And I'm like, okay, tell all your realtors. Yeah.

And then they're like, Ryan's easy. I texted him at 5 o'clock on a Friday and he's a dork.

So true.

Um, he's a dork. And so he sent me a quote, um, you know, within an hour. You know, those types of things make a huge difference. But when I first started, I literally just opened up the Bama Road Church of Christ phone book that my mom gave me. And I was like, hey, Harold and Patty, I know I'm only 30 years old and it's my first 3 months on the job. Can I quote you?

That kind of stuff. And they said yes.

And they said, yeah. People were real nice. But when you do a good job consistently and you're like, look, just, are you happy? Yeah. Awesome. Great. Can you tell 3 people or gimme their name or number? Let me call 'em. And then after a while, I mean, your phone just never stops ringing.

Yeah.

It just, it just doesn't stop because people have, you know, bad experiences or they have a claims problem and they're like, I shouldn't, uh, I should have called Ryan, you know, or I should have called so-and-so that was recommended. Um, would, yeah, you know, just call Ryan.

But we, we talk about this, like I talk about this with Craig even, cuz Craig will be the first one. In fact, he was the first one to tell me I'm not the cheapest.

Right.

Like, uh, like When we moved here, I met, I met Craig really quick when I moved here. And, uh, I was like, I need pest control. And he was like, he was like, yeah, I'll do it. I'm not the cheapest. That's the first thing he said. I'm not the cheapest. And I didn't care.

No.

I literally didn't care. And it's been, uh, 9 years now that I've been using him and I know he's not the cheapest, but I know this. I know that it does not matter what it is. He'll take care of me.

Yep.

I don't, it doesn't matter what it is. If I need him to come back out, he'll come back out.

Right.

And it's not just because he's a friend. It's because that's the type of person that he is. That's the type of business that he runs. And those things matter.

And he expects that of all of his staff as well. Yeah. You know, like I don't worry about, people are all worried about termites. I'm like, Craig's gonna know they're there and tell me.

Yeah, that's so true.

Or like, uh, what was it one time you came by and I had some, some wet rot? Yeah, that I couldn't see because it was behind a bush. He's like, hey, you got some wet rot here, you might want to get— I didn't see that. How much longer would that have gone, right? You're not a carpenter.

No, I just wanted to prevent future work.

Right, exactly, future work. But also like, you're looking out for me. Right?

Right.

And that's the way that, you know, local business owners— I think the, the worst thing that could happen for me is for someone to just go online and say, Ryan's a total jerk, he wouldn't answer my questions, he screwed me over. And yeah, when I'm working with someone, I dread that. I really dread that, um, that someone will say that because I did something wrong. People are going to say what they're going to say, but Um, that, that's, that'll kill your business. It will kill your business. And so when I'm quoting someone and they're like, oh yeah, I think my roof is 2017. And I'm like, well, I'm looking on Google Street View and that is the

worst brand new roof I've ever seen. You know, I'm like, let's get some documentation and then I'll just tell them like, I'm sorry, I can't insure your home. It's not because I don't want to do business with you.

Yeah.

It's because I don't want to do it wrong. And then you end up upset, which is bad enough, but then it ruins my reputation.

Did I tell you what happened with my roof one time? You've heard this story multiple times.

Oh, this better be good.

This is good. So, uh, the first home that I, that I purchased when we lived here, um, I, I knew when I bought the house that the, the roof was older.

Right.

But classic, nobody knew how old.

Yeah.

Like this is the, this is the thing that I don't understand is why nobody— now I do, I do know why, but I didn't, it didn't dawn on me at the time. I, I didn't have a podcast where I knew things.

The house changes hands so many times you don't know.

Well, and, and here in, in Texas, I can go build a roof and trust me, You do not want me building a roof. And so, but it's one of those deals where they were the swing line. That's right. That's exactly right. I show up at your house and I look halfway competent. I'm like, I can put a roof on this thing. And if you say yes, I can put a roof on your house. And I think that's why there's no documentation.

Oh yeah. Chuck in a truck.

That's exactly right. So there's no, there's no trail of receipts, which is what they want, by the way, um, to, to be able to know when that roof was put on. So I didn't know, but I could tell that this roof was probably 15 to 18 years old. I could just tell. So I lived there for 5 years and about year 3, I had a friend who called me and was like, he's like, hey, uh, I just started a business with Allstate and, um, I'd love to to give you a quote. And I was like, sure. And, and, and he said the right thing to me. He's like, look, I'm a friend. I promise you that if anything goes wrong, I will do

everything I can to take care of you. And I believed him.

Right.

And I do believe him. I still to this day believe him.

Yeah.

So he gave me a quote and it was same coverage as what I had. And it was cheaper. Great. I'll go with Allstate. I was with Travelers at the time. I can say all these names because I don't work for these companies. Um, I'll just nod. That's right.

Yeah, it's official.

So I was with Travelers at the time. It was cheaper. And so I went with him and I, it was about a month later and I got a call from his office and it was not him. I don't think he could bear to to talk to me.

Oh no.

He calls me and she calls me and she goes, hey, um, we're, we're, we're still good on the policy, but, um, same price, everything, but the roof is not included.

Ouch.

And I said, wait, huh? What? And she goes, she goes, yeah. Um, apparently your roof is old enough that they just won't insure it.

Right.

And I was like, but we've already canceled the other policy. You've already assumed my policy.

Right.

Before you knew, and this is, this is normal, by the way.

This is—

It happens all the time.

This is normal. Like, it's not that it's wrong. You, you choose another company based on what they say. and you cancel your other one, it's completely normal, right? And so, um, I was like, I was in panic because I knew this roof was going to have to get replaced. And so I, I was like, what do I do?

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

And so I called my friend and I was like, you jerk. And he was like, dude, I, and he was new. It was, you know, a new venture for him.

Right.

And he was like, I, I don't even know what to say. I'm extremely sorry. I don't know what to tell you. I will tell you this. Call your old company back and beg them to reinstate you.

Yep.

So I called my other guy, uh, who was not Ryan. Um, and, and I said, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, what? up, fella? You good? The Astros doing good, aren't they? And I couldn't have cared less about the Astros. Right. Um, and, and the guy was, I was like, look, um, I just, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to change companies. I don't really want to do that. Can I come back to Travelers, please? And he goes, let me find out.

Yeah.

So he called Travelers and Travelers goes, sure, we'll take him back. Best day of my life.

Yeah.

Best day of my life. Because I was like, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And by the way, 2 years later, I got a brand new roof and Travelers paid for it because it needed to happen. Um, but I, the process, I think, I think you have to just be hyper-aware of who you're working with. And what can happen and what can't happen. Make good choices along the way.

Right.

And because I'm going to tell you, I would have been, I would have been sunk.

Yeah.

I would have been, because what wound up happening, this is, I kid you not, 2 years later, um, a week before I put my house on the market, I got that roof changed. That roof. Probably made me on top. I mean, again, I paid my deductible and I got a brand new roof. I probably made $30,000 easily on that house because of the roof that was replaced.

There's so many homes out there that are trying to be sold. Uh, and the realtor will call me and they're, they're like, I can't find insurance on this house because I got insurance rates through me.

Yeah.

5, 6, 7 grand. Yeah, because the roof is 20 years old.

Yeah.

And so, you know, I'll tell them, look, I— we can send a roofer out there, they can try to see if there's damage that can be a claim to put a new roof on. Um, you know, so we try to find solutions, but I have to tell them like, look, I, I can't insure this house unless we do, you know, an exclusion or it's, it's, um, AC, you know, actual cash value. Um, but your buyer needs to know they're going to go into that home And they're going to have to buy a new roof very soon and it probably won't be a claim. So you need to negotiate that into the, into the price of the home.

So on a, on a, on a house like that, say you had an exclusion for the roof, right? And then a year later you replace the roof. Can you then appeal back and say, can we put this back into the policy even though there's an exclusion that's there now?

Yeah, absolutely. And the agent should go to the carrier and say, okay, it's got a new roof. Here's the proof of the roof. Can you re-rate this?

Yeah.

Um, but that same agent should be loyal to you and, and know like, okay, hey, you're with company XYZ.

Mm-hmm.

And I know there's a new company in the market or a different company that loves new roofs.

Mm-hmm.

Let me rate you with them too.

Mm-hmm.

Right? Because our goal is not to just keep you where you are with one company. We expect that company to be loyal to you, not just you loyal to them. Right. So I'll move you to a different carrier if that carrier is going to be better.

Yeah, I think that, I think that's such a great point because so much of what we advocate for is that people begin to think for themselves, ask better questions and follow up with guys like you. I love your approach where it's like, no, I'm, I'm here to, if I'm not bringing that to you, right, all your opportunities in insurance, like then I'm not doing my job.

Yeah, absolutely.

And I, I think, I think that's what I think is important about that is people, when they approach insurance, they're shopping for price instead of value.

Right.

You know, it's one thing to pay for a policy. It's, it's a whole different thing to understand that policy and have it explained to you where you can actually benefit from it. You know?

And there are times where I'll, you know, tell someone like, hey, look, we're trying to get you to closing.

Okay.

So we're going to give you these higher deductibles, but the day after closing, I will be calling you and we will be going over this to see, you know, what monthly payment plan we can make for an endorsement. So we're going to put your deductible lower, right? We're going to get it where you're good, where you feel more comfortable. And then the next year, we'll check again, you know, hey, you know, you're— can you do another $20 a month? Let's get your deductible down. from 5% to 3% on wind and hail, right? And, and please take a look at your roof every storm. Take a look at your roof. Um, because you, at some point you have to realize this is,

you know, Janice in her home who doesn't have $50 grand sitting around. How can you help that person when they have that claim?

Well, I mean, so, uh, to your point, I hadn't even thought about this. I'm so glad you said this. Dude, we had a storm last night.

Oh yeah, it was rough around here, right?

We had a storm last night.

It didn't mean down incline.

Yeah, it— look, well, interestingly enough, my mother-in-law, um, had her car down in Pearland, uh, a week and a half ago. Yeah, that was— and she was, she was, uh, on a trip and she met some people down there she went on the trip with. Her car got beat to hell. I mean, it was bad. In fact, she had an adjuster here just today. She's the, the adjuster said, if parts don't have to be replaced, it's going to be $8,500 that we're going to pay out. If parts have to be replaced, it's going to go way up, which is, which is great that she's got insurance at $500 deductible on that.

That's great.

But, uh, last night I woke up at 2 o'clock.

Did you wake up?

I did not.

I don't know how you slept through this, dude.

That, dude, that's when I sleep the hardest. Well, so I don't know why I always have.

We had a storm last night that I've been near and in tornadoes before. Yeah. I've been in hurricanes before. The wind last night had me more concerned than any of those that I've ever been in. It was like rafting. It was— yes, it was crazy. The— and, and now to be fair, I've not lived in this house in a hurricane or a tornado.

Right.

Um, so, so I don't know what this house sounds like. I'll, I'll say that.

Still breaking her in, making her comfortable. We got ale.

lot of trees on my property. A lot of trees. And so I'm just sitting there going, oh, please God, do not let a tree fall over on my house. Um, and it's one of those things where now, as soon as you said that, I'm going, I need to check my roof.

Right.

Because the amount of— and here's why. I actually, I, we, I, our, that roof is probably 10 years old at this point. Maybe 12. But if it can be replaced, replace it. Every time it can be replaced, I feel like I should replace it.

Well, and you're preventing further damage. So if you look around your house after a storm and you find a shingle, you should have the roof checked. If you see more granules on the ground, that means that the roof was either impacted or twisted because that breaks those granules off. Yeah, the tar paper or the, the actual shingle. So if you look and you see those, you should have your roof checked. And what I tell people is get the roofer to come before the adjuster. You just want to have them come and look. They may come, come down and say like, hey, look, you got 3 shingles. Don't even call.

Well, and, and a roofer that's any good.

Yep.