That Time We Talked About Homeowners Insurance

This is episode number 43 of The Homeowner Show. Whether you're DIY or looking 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 everyone could join us today because we have an awesome show for you. And if you have not yet, go ahead and hit the subscribe button there in the, uh, the Apple Podcast app, in Stitcher, whatever thing you're using, it's acceptable. We'll allow it. It's good. All those platforms, wherever podcasts are available, even on the YouTubes, any of the internets, go find it. You can find The Homeowner Show and follow us. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all those other things. Uh, just, just check out what's going on with The Homeowner Show. Um, how you doing, Kev?

Dude, I'm doing pretty well. Um, It's a busy season for me.

Yeah. And so it seems like, uh, you were, you were in and out of town quite a bit these days.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

It's not going to get much better actually until August.

Did the stress cause the beard to fall away? Is that, is that what's going on?

We're actually not videoing this, this episode, but, uh, but yeah, I did, I did cut off about 4 inches of my beard. So yeah, I don't know. I think just the, just the summer in general and You know, it's warm outside, so yeah, I just decided to cut it off.

Awesome.

Yeah, so anyway, been super busy, just kind of in and out. Feel like I hadn't seen my family just a ton, but anyway—

They have seemed happier.

Exactly, exactly. I was wondering if I was the only one that noticed that.

You know, there's been a glow.

Yeah, yeah, I don't know.

At least somebody's doing well. Exactly.

But other than that, man, things are, things are rocking and rolling along a little bit. Um, so yeah, how you doing?

I'm doing great, man. We just, we just got back from like a little mini vacay. Yeah, we took, uh, we went, uh, we took the family down to the new Marriott. I don't know how new it is. It looked new. The new Marriott in downtown Houston. And the reason we went is because they have this incredible new, uh, pool facility that they put up on the 6th floor, and it's a giant lazy river in the shape of Texas. And I don't know how it could be more awesome than that.

If you look at this thing from an aerial view, which is the only way you can tell it's Texas, it's awesome!

Yeah, it's really, really cool.

I would just be scared to be on the 5th floor.

It could bust through? It's only 3.5 feet of water. It's not that deep.

Exactly!

Have you ever had 3.5 feet of water the size of Texas fall on you? Because I haven't, but I can only imagine.

I don't think I'd like it. One of the cooler things about it is, where the, the, you know, the Panhandle of Texas is. Yeah, it actually meets the edge of the building and they put a big piece of glass. And so if you're underwater, you can actually look out over the city skyline, over what they call Discovery Green, which is essentially Houston's smaller version of Central Park.

Okay.

But you can stand there and like you're— there's nothing between you and the water, but there's— you can just look out over the edge of the building from there. It's very, very cool.

So if I'm in Dumas, Uh-huh. Then I can see out.

I, I, I don't know my Texas geography that well, apparently.

Um, it's north of Amarillo, so.

Okay, then yes.

Okay.

It's possible.

All right. Maybe.

Go for it, Dumas. I pronounced that.

Oh yeah, everybody pronounces it the other way. It's fine.

Okay, good deal. So we have a great episode for you guys today, and one of the reasons we're really excited about it is getting this topic discussed on the Homeowner Show has been a stinking arm wrestle.

Yeah, it's a challenge, man. For, for whatever reason, um, well, let me, let me back that up.

This particular guest has been awesome. Sure. In working with us. Yeah. Everyone else that we've talked to in regards to homeowners insurance and insurance in general just doesn't want to come on the airwaves and talk about it for whatever reason.

Yeah, I mean, maybe it's a legal thing. I think—

I don't care. We're finger wagging all of these cowards.

Yeah.

For not coming on the show. That's right. And they're gonna be sorry because Jared's gonna be awesome.

That's right.

And, and fill our heads with all sorts of wonderful, magical insurance knowledge bits.

Yep. It's gonna be exciting because this is one of those areas that, uh, you, you have to have in order to be a homeowner. You have to have homeowner's insurance. It's not an option to not have homeowner's insurance because your mortgage company will not give you a loan for your house. unless you have insurance on it.

Right.

So, um, so yeah, it's, it's super important. But how do you know what to do with any of it? I mean, there, there's thousands of companies out there, it seems like, and, uh, they all offer a little bit different stuff here or there. And, um, we just want someone to come on and talk to us about it. And, and so that, so that you out there listening have, have a fighting chance whenever it comes to figuring out what do I need, what do I not need. I mean, they use all these terms that I don't know what they are, and Um, I just want someone to explain it to me. So Jared, I'm glad we're here. Uh, you know, uh, welcome. And we'll, I just said your

name, but you can, uh, introduce yourself, uh, to our guests.

Uh, yeah, no, you're good. That, yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me on. Um, as you said, of course, uh, my name is Jared. I, I am a property and casualty licensed producer. And basically what that means is that legally in the state of Texas, I can write insurance. Uh, that's, that's the legal definition. Uh, what, how I view myself though is an advice giver, because that's truly insurance. Like you said, you can't get a home without having the home insurance, but most anybody, they don't necessarily know what all exactly that means. So I view my role and my position to educate, to help people understand what it does, why it's important, other than you can't get a home without it, but just what all it does, how it protects not just your

home, but it also protects your family as well. And just to use a cliché, term, a trusted advisor. So like, hey, I need to know this about my insurance. If I know the answer, of course, educate. But if I don't know the answer, I will get back to you within a reasonable time and just explain to you what all it is. Because I don't just want to protect the house, I want to protect the household.

Right.

So that's just kind of like a look for gaps, look for coverage opportunities, look for things that you may not be aware of. And just like I said, educate my customers and educate my team and myself as well.

Awesome. So, I mean, just baseline, because, I mean, you said in there you're looking for opportunities to cover other things, but, I mean, just at the baseline of what it is that you offer for a home, what would all of that entail?

Knocking it down to just like it's most home policies, of course, every company's a little different. You've got your dwelling protection, which that's the household itself. You've got, of course, your deductible. That's up for discussion with you and your insurance provider. Your personal property, take your house, turn it upside down, anything that falls, that's personal property. So TVs, couches, entertainment centers, cars parked in a garage actually, most places will be considered personal property. And then the next step would be the other structures, think like a gazebo or a shed in the backyard, that would be your other structures, 'cause we don't, nobody insures land. And then, Oh, and I'm blanking on it. What's the term? I just blanked on it. My coffee's wearing off.

I understand.

It's additional living expenses. Yeah, that's where you gotta say, you know, you can't stay in the house while work is being done. You gotta go stay somewhere else. That's part of your typical home policy package. HO3 is what I'm discussing. That's the most common in Texas. There's actually 8, but HO3 is the most common one that's written. And then the most important part is the liability protection. Most people think it's the dwelling, but in all honesty, the liability, because if somebody gets injured in your house— down in Houston, I know swimming pools are popular because it's really hot down there.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, my parents are down there now. They never had a swimming pool in their life, and they moved back to Houston to get one. Liability is what truly protects your family, because if an accident happens and your family's found at fault, The lawyers are out there, so that truly is the most important is the liability.

Yeah.

But the dwelling, back to that topic, what that is is that's the dwelling itself. That's calculated, the 3 big things that calculate it are zip code, age of the home, and then square footage. Those are the 3 big factors that go into calculating your dwelling protection.

So what does zip code have to do with it?

Just where it's located. Like down there in Houston, y'all are in what's known as the coastal region of Texas. So y'all are susceptible to like hurricanes more so than others. Up here in the Dallas area, it's wind and hailstorms, of course. Other, other areas of Texas, I'm not sure what they have to deal with. Probably windstorms a lot as well. But that's, that's why the zip code can play a factor, just because it goes into what's called a risk calculating tool. And where you live can play a portion on what kind of risk you're involved in. It's kind of like Oklahoma. I'm not licensed in Oklahoma, but Oklahoma, they kind of have everything. They have tornadoes and all that stuff. So your location does play a factor in calculating the risk, 'cause

that's what insurance is, is a shared risk. You know, the consumer is sharing part of the risk, but the insurer is also sharing part of the risk. So that's why the location plays a part in it.

Okay, I was just curious if it was like, well, is it like a nicer neighborhood, Or is it like—

Well, yes and no, because that is part of a risk as well. Because theft is something that's covered under your typical home policy. So if it's a high-theft area, everything— there's so many different things that go into determining risk and rates and all that good stuff. So yeah, it actually is. If you're in a high-theft area, you could be potentially having more risk than somebody in a different area.

So I mean, that could factor into— like your decision to buy there because it's going to be a bigger premium on your policy, I would assume.

Yeah, it could be, definitely. But what I always tell my customers is like, premium, I'll get you the best rate I can, but my main concern is making sure you're protected, price aside. Because nobody ever calls up to me and says, hey, I just had a fire in my house. I've only had that happen once. But I just had a fire in my house. How much am I paying a month to my mortgage company through my insurance? Nope. Nobody, knock on wood, has ever asked me I haven't seen that yet, but yes, it could play a factor in the premium for sure.

We noticed that down here where we live, that the county makes a difference as well. Certain counties have higher insurance rates. Even down here in Houston, for example, Harris County is more expensive than Montgomery County is to live in. Apparently, within zip code, there's also some outer rings of that.

Yes, definitely. Like, I live in Dallas County, and sometimes in Dallas County, where just 7 miles north of me is Collin County, sometimes the rates in Dallas County are a little higher than Collin County, and it's the same area. It's just like I said, that's, that's up to the powers that be. That's, that's up to TDI and whoever the insurer is, whatever company it is. That's for them to determine. It's just for me to determine that your family is properly protected.

Yeah.

But yes, that is something I think that does play a factor, and it's crazy. I don't necessarily understand the ins and outs of that either.

Well, we don't write algorithms, so it's—

Yeah, exactly.

Essentially, that's what it is that you're using, is it? Don't you just plug that information into a computer and it spits out the information?

Yes, exactly. What I typically, when I'm doing a home policy, like I said, it's the risk calculating tool. There's many more factors. For our company, the 3 bigs, like I said, are zip code, square footage, and age of the home. That's, yeah, and if you plug everything into the algorithm, it spits out an estimated dwelling cost. That's if the worst were to happen, how much right now in 2019 would it potentially cost to replace the home? And that's on a total replacement policy, 'cause there's total replacement and then there's actual cash value. Actual cash value is the cost of the home minus depreciation.

Hmm.

So what that means is like, here's what the home cost in 2019, but you lost the home in 2020. Now the home is worth this much, but you've got 1 year of depreciation. So that's the difference between actual cash value and total replacement policy. My recommendation is total replacement policy just because it's a little better.

Well, yeah. So I mean, and I would imagine like if on your taxes you've been taking that depreciation, that's going to count against you if something were to happen.

Potentially, yeah. So yeah, um, always say most, most auto policies, just for comparison for your listeners, most auto policies Auto policies are on an actual cash value basis, so that when something happens to that auto, that's why sometimes you may, if it's totaled out, I had a vehicle that was totaled out, and I felt like I didn't get as much as the car was worth, and it's that depreciation factor. For reference to your listeners, auto policies 99.9% of the time are on an actual cash value basis. Just for comparison on a home policy, that's why I say a total replacement policy. Check when you're looking for insurance if it's total replacement or something Some people may call it 100% replacement policy

versus an actual cash value. That's a good— what am I trying to say? That's a good little tool to have in your belt when you're shopping for insurance.

Yeah. And something you said a minute ago triggered this and made me want to ask, because when I bought the house that I'm in now, shortly after we bought it, they installed a fire hydrant down by the street. And my insurance agent was actually pretty excited about that because he said, Hey, this can actually get you a discount on, on your insurance, your homeowner's insurance. So are there, are there things that potential homebuyers or people who are looking to move, maybe, you know, or just buying additional property, whatever, are there things that they can be looking for on the home that might give them potential savings in the long run when it, when it comes to like a homeowner's policy or a, uh, or whatever it

is they're getting into?

Yeah, potentially discounts. That's carrier to carrier. Each carrier offers a little bit different discounts, so it just depends. Whereas, you know, one company may give you a discount for a fire hydrant but not a discount for, say, having a security system, whereas if you looked at another carrier, they would give you a discount for the security system but they wouldn't give you a discount for location to the fire hydrant. The company I work for, the way they view it is, is kind kind of like, hey, that's awesome that you live a mile closer to the fire hydrant than you did. However, the fire department is still 4 miles away, and they're the only ones that are gonna have access to it. So the solution to the problem is still the same distance away regardless

of where the fire hydrant is, you know.

Gotcha, yeah.

It just— but yeah, discounts are carrier to carrier. So yeah, whereas one carrier might not offer one, another one might offer that discount, but they offer— don't offer one that this carrier did. So, but yes, um, like for example, uh, the company I work for, they, they, um, they take age of the roof into, uh, effect. Um, and some— uh, I think we're one of the only ones that does. So like for us, we're— when we're talking with our customers, whenever we're doing the policy reviews, um, because when a customer ever calls up there, we do quick reviews. Um, and if they've got time, we'll do an in-depth one. And if we look and we see the age of their roof is about 4 years old, in this neck of the woods, that roof has been hit by hell

probably at least 10 times in those 4 years. So we'll ask the customer, like, hey, have you had a new roof put on? And if they say yes, hey, awesome, I'll get that updated. You get me the documentation. And it usually brings their premium down a little bit. So always make sure you've got an agent that's willing to do those reviews with you, because they can look at it, make sure that everything's in place the way it needs to be, and then they can look for potential savings opportunities. Or like I said at the very beginning of the show, gaps or opportunities for things that may not be covered because Your life changes from year

to year to year to year, sometimes even month to month to month, your life can change. I mean, just question posed to you guys, your life now versus your— how long have you had the house that you bought, Craig? Just out of curiosity.

This one I've had 4 and a half years.

4 and a half years. Is your life the same today as it was 4 and a half years ago?

Heck no.

Yeah.

So yeah, so that's why I say get a, An agent who's willing to do those reviews, see what's changed in your life. Our age, for me, for y'all, Kevin, I'm not sure if you're around Craig's and mine's age, but there could be a new addition to the household, whether it be wife, child, anything like that. When it comes to home policies or any insurance, get yourself an agent that's going to, going to take a look at your life and see what's changed and see if we need to change coverages because insurance is somewhat organic and it can be changed slightly as far as coverages go.

Okay.

That was a very tactful way of not calling Kevin old. Yeah, that's true.

Let's not get into—

I don't know.

He's not getting into who's older.

He was assuming it was the beard.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm potentially the youngest one on the show. We'll see about that.

Well, so, so I think we need to take a timeout here for a moment and, uh, take a little Zack Morris moment for a minute. That'll age me. Um, and, um, and let's, let's talk about this. Uh, you, cuz you said something there that, that I, that really caught my attention. You said find an agent that is willing to look at your life. Okay. So my question to you is, uh-huh, how do you know where to go look for that agent? And if you find someone, because someone eventually is gonna recommend it, whether it's the, the real estate agent that you have, you know, hey, I work with this insurance agency, or maybe you just go online and do a Google search, or, uh, maybe you have a friend at

church that's telling you, hey, you know, we use this agent. How do you ultimately find someone? What types of things can you look for? What kinds of questions can you ask to, to be able to find someone who's gonna have your best interest in mind?

How do you find a friend? That's, that's the simplest way I would say it is. Somebody, somebody who's interested in your— somebody who's interested in your life, not just necessarily interested in, in, in your material things. I, when it— when I, when I get my, my potential customers, prospects, however you want to word it, on the phone, I usually want to know a little bit about them. Like, what do they do? What's their job? Are they married? Do they have kids? So that I can make sure that their policy is set up in order to protect what they find most valuable. That's what I would say. Look for an insurance agent that you could see going and grabbing a beer with or watching

the game with or something like that. Somebody who's going to take the time to get to know you, not just, oh, you live at 2485 Cypress Estates Court. I even threw a Houston address out there for you.

Yeah, I was going to say, you just outed somebody out there.

Yeah. Okay. That makes a lot of sense because I think, I think that's one of the things that, that is challenging when it comes to this topic. I mean, you know, we're even having a hard time finding someone to, to just talk to us on the show about it, let alone, uh, try to figure out out there, you know, who has my best interest in mind. Um, and, and And my, one of the things that I would probably throw out there, um, just from my experience in, in having homeowner's insurance is that different companies are gonna offer you different premiums.

Yes.

And the, the most expensive premium is not necessarily the best. And the le— the least expensive one is not necessarily the best. What I hear you saying, what I kind of know from my own experience is the best is the best. whatever the premium is. Is that—

And it's completely subjective. Yeah, it's completely subjective. Like, one person may love me and what I'm able to do for them, and then another person may not necessarily hate me but just be like, I had a bad experience. You know, there's good and bad experiences everywhere. So it's just all dependent upon— it's subjective what the best is. Some people are purely price-driven, uh, are in the direct segment where they're kind of like, I just want insurance, I want this home, I want the, the cheapest rate possible. And that's, that's totally fine. We don't, we don't, uh, we don't dislike those people or anything like that. So it just, it depends on what you're looking for from your insurance

company. If you're just wanting, you know, something to, to give to your mortgage company, um, that, that's totally fine. Uh, there's some, there's some things like that that I have, like, uh, I, I buy store brand, uh, pasta. I don't judge, but there's certain things that I do buy. There's certain things that I do spend a little bit more money on, like my toothpaste. It has to be Crest, not an endorsement. But you know, there's, there's, there's certain things that I'm willing to spend money on and certain things that I'm not. And I don't, I don't think it makes me more or less of a person. But yeah, like you said, the best is the most expensive is not necessarily the best and the least expensive is not necessarily the best either. It's

what you as a consumer, it's what you're passionate about.

This might be a good opportunity, because we've used the word premium several times.

What exactly is that?

I think a lot of times we use it in jargon and everyday conversation when we talk about that, but what is it?

The simplest answer, the premium is what the consumer spends each year for the insurance policy, the contract. In simplest terms, an insurance policy is a contract. Typically, on home, it lasts for a year. The premium is how much you pay for that. Hey, we're going to insure this much coverage with this amount of risk. Here's how much it costs, and here's what all you get for that cost. It's a contract. It's the monetary attachment to the contract portion of the insurance policy.

Basically, whatever you're paying every month for that policy is the premium.

Correct. Yes. This coverage costs this amount of money.

Gotcha.

Sure. And one of the things that I think we should throw out there as well is typically— this isn't always the case, but typically the cost of your insurance policy, which is the premium equals cost, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. The cost of it, um, differs most of the time if you pay it all at once, the entire year upfront, or maybe you pay it in 2 installments, so over 6 months, or monthly. that cost is probably different. So, um, you know, it, it, depending on how you live your life, if you have the ability to pay your premium, pay the cost of the, of the entire homeowner's, um, insurance all up at— upfront, it's probably gonna cost less. Am I, am I right about that?

Uh, most of the time, uh, again, that when it comes to discounts, that's carrier specific, but most carriers, yes. If you pay the full amount, I think some may offer a biannual or semiannual, but yeah, typically if you pay it upfront, that does save you a little bit. This is going to be specific to my industry because that's what I know. Now, a lot of times, especially if you're getting insurance because your mortgage company requires it, if you're doing it through your escrow account, how that works is that the mortgage company basically fronts the money. They pay the premium. when it's due, and then they take that number, divide it by 12, and that's factored into your escrow account with your taxes and all that good stuff. So that's the way that typically works.

We don't get a check when it's escrowed. We don't get a check from a customer unless they want to self-pay. We get it from a third party, the mortgage company, the home lender. So that's the way that works.

Is there a benefit one way or the other? We've only ever had ours escrowed. Is there a benefit one way or the other in your opinion?

In my opinion, I'm simplistic, so if my mortgage company can pay it and they can factor it into my escrow account, I'm like, yeah, shoot, that takes— it's kind of like putting something on automatic payment, so I don't have to worry about it. That's fine. Some people, they prefer to, you know, no, here's my checking account routing number, just draft my account each month. It's what works best for you and what makes sense to you as a consumer. Most of the times, 90% of what I I do, people pay through the escrow account just because it's streamlined, it's simple, and it's less fuss and all that good stuff.

Sure, makes sense. So let's transition for a moment because— so we started talking about the dwelling and the cost of the dwelling. Am I right when I say that your deductible, which we probably should define that as well, but your deductible is typically based on your dwelling amount? a percentage of that. Is that how that works?

Yes, yes and no. Now, a fair standard across the state of Texas is 1% deductible. What that 1% of is your estimated dwelling, your dwelling estimated replacement cost. So yes, that is. Now, some companies, mine is one of them, if that 1%, say for example, your dwelling is estimated at $400,000, $4,000 might be a lot of a deductible. So some insurance companies, they can say, well, you can do, rather than a percentage, you can do a $3,000, you can do a $2,500, if you don't wanna be at that 1%. But for most people, they do a 1% deductible. You can also go higher than that 1%. My personal opinion is when you go to 2%, same

$400,000 house, that $4,000 deductible now became an $8,000 deductible. That's just, that's, that's a lot of money for the consumer to be on the line for.

Sure.

Yeah, that's crazy.

Yeah, that's a lot of money. And, and so define deductible because, you know, some people look at that and go, I have no idea what you just said.

No, no worries. No worries. Uh, deductible is the portion of the, uh, repair work, for lack of a better way to put it, it's the portion of the repair work that you as the homeowner are responsible for. So just to make it easy, I know you can't get a roof replaced for $10,000, but If your roof costs $10,000 to repair and your deductible is 1% of that $400,000, your deductible is $4,000. $4,000 minus our $10,000 minus the $4,000, the insurance company is only going to pay $6,000 towards the repair of that roof.

Okay. So, so at that point, the roofer is going to say, hey, before I start this project, you owe me $4,000.

Potentially. Uh, roofers, I— that's, that's their game. Uh, uh, Claims adjusters, they're the only ones who, at least as far as my company goes, legally can talk about roofers. But yes, in theory, that's usually how it works. It's kind of like, hey, before I start work, you're going to have to give me this portion, or we're going to have to work out a payment plan or something. But that's for the roofer to decide. That's not me.

Well, and I think this might be an interesting one to bring up as well, because this is something I've heard quite a bit along I mean, this is, this is kind of the area of, of homeowners insurance where you can inadvertently commit fraud, right? Where, you know, the insurance company is, is paying out money and you look at that and go, well, I can't afford the $4,000, so I'll just pocket the $6,000 and, and go about my business and I'll just do the roof myself.

It, it could potentially happen. Uh, that's, that's up to the claims team to determine. Uh, typically But I could, I could see something like that happen. We always assume the best of our customers though.

Oh yeah.

So yeah.

And again, like I said, inadvertently committing fraud, you know what I mean? Like, you know, you just, you think that that's okay to, you know, improperly use the money or something like that. And, you know, all of a sudden you could be in lots of trouble.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, like, yeah, it's good. Well, it's kind of like, it's kind of like my parents always told me when I was little, you know, if you're not sure, Yeah. So if you, if you don't know, uh, call your agent, uh, call your, call your claims adjuster, you know, call, get, you know, I don't know, call a lawyer. Um, you know, reach out. If you have a question, definitely ask because yeah, you don't, you don't want to be, you don't want to be on the hook for fraud or anything like that.

Yeah, because I mean, it's complicated stuff, you know, and so sometimes you can, you know, when you start looking at numbers, Your brain can do crazy stuff to you when the numbers get big enough.

Oh yeah. Yeah. If you get a check for a high enough number, I can, I can definitely understand that. So like, if you, if you don't know, always ask. That's, that's definitely the number one thing I would say, ask somebody and don't ask your neighbor, ask somebody with the authority to answer the question.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. So, so, So now that we've kind of defined that, uh, what, what's kind of the next thing on the policy that we probably need to, to think through? I mean, because, um, I think the next thing we talked about was personal property. Is that—

Mm-hmm.

Is that right? So how, how do I know how much personal property— I mean, because again, uh, from what it— I've— when I've gone shopping for homeowners insurance before, they kind of assume how much personal property Yeah, there's typical, what do you wanna call 'em?

Not prerequisites, but typically it's estimated at a certain amount, which is, again, it's another percentage. Most every, a lot of things, like you said earlier, it's percentages. It's percentage of that dwelling. So like, say for example, $400,000 house, let's just say, you know, 60% of that is personal property. So it generates, I can't do math, but whatever 60% of that is. And that's where I say it's also, again, it's good to have somebody you can talk this over with and be like, hey, here's what that number is. Do you think that's enough? And a lot of times people think, well, I don't have that much in personal property. And it's like, well, think about it. Your

furniture, I mean, a couch, I'm lowballing these numbers, a couch, $400. And if you got 2 of those, you just reached $800 real easy. TVs, those are about $1,000 a pop. And a lot of people in their homes have at least 3 TVs now.

Clothes.

I mean, I live in a 1-bedroom apartment and I've probably got a $5,000 closet right now. So, you know, it's definitely, sometimes on that personal property, you don't realize just how much you have. My dad, he's got a garage full of tools and tools aren't cheap either. So, you know, if that number seems high, like again, that's why I say it's good to have somebody you can talk to, review that. Do you need to take it higher? Do you need to, you know, there's certain things, I'm not a bully, but there's certain times where people will tell me, No, I need to drop that down. I'll tell them, no, you don't. Trust me. I'm looking out for your best interest. And then certain times

there's jewelry and firearms or instruments or things like that, and it's sometimes called a rider or scheduling property. And what that is is kind of like a policy within a policy. Using the most common one, some people will schedule their engagement ring. That's just the number one most popular one. popular one. And that's because for jewelry, a lot of times there's limits, and then it also falls prey to that 1% deductible. So if you have a rider policy or schedule that property, depending on the coverage, what the limits allow, a lot of times it can be replaced for theft, loss, mysterious disappearance, and you don't have to worry about that 1% deductible. So there again, one of our— I've scheduled things. I've scheduled jewelry. I've scheduled sheet

music, believe it or not, for composers, instruments for kids who are in band. Firearms is another popular one. So just talk those things over with your agent. Be like, hey, is this covered on the policy as is? What are the limits of that? Okay, I have more than that. Let's talk about ways to make sure that these other things that I care more about are properly covered.

So if I heard you right, writing a separate rider on the policy for these specific items makes them sort of immune to the deductible. Is that what I heard you say?

Uh, kind of, sort of. It depends. Usually on a rider you can pick, you know, um, uh, because if you're just scheduling one thing on a personal property, that's the way it works at my company.

Okay.

Um, when you schedule something, uh, you can do like a $0 deductible. I think you can do like a $250 deductible, a $500 deductible. Most people, as far as my company goes, most people choose the $0 deductible because it does affect the home premium, or if it's a separate rider policy, it would affect that policy's premium as well. So it just kind of depends. That's where it's up to you to talk over with your agent, like, hey, is this— because it's a risk versus loss analysis. So is it worth this extra premium in order to ensure that this thing I care about is covered. So some people choose not to schedule. It's always something to talk about

with your agent though, if you got those things that you want to cover separately.

Yeah, and all of that, like for instance jewelry, you mentioned that there may be a limit. That's all stuff that's pretty simple to find the information on. Like you may have a $5,000 limit on jewelry, but you may have an engagement ring that's worth more than $5,000. Right, exactly.

And that's why it's good to review your policy, but I always tell people, don't be the expert. Call your agent. Don't be the expert. They're licensed in this. They've got experience in this. Whenever I'm talking to people purchasing a new home and they say, hey, I need to talk with my spouse, I always tell them, that's fine. I can conference them in if you want. Or if they want to call me, don't be the expert though.

And again, you said, ask the question. I think it's always worth doing that. I mean, I've got, um, I've got baseball cards. So, I mean, that may be something that, that people don't really think about.

Yeah.

And, and so it, that actually brings up a, a question that, that I've, that I've got that I wanted to ask you specifically about is how, how does the insurance company know what I have? I mean, so, um, you know, I, I, I could say, I've got, you know, we're gonna, we're gonna put maybe more, maybe we put 75%, uh, you know, personal value on there. And I, and I do that because I've got things like, like baseball cards, or maybe I just really like high-end couches and my couches are $7,000 apiece or something.

Right.

And how does the insurance company know? I mean, one thing that I've been told is maybe you just need to walk around with a video camera and make sure you have, you have all your serial numbers and those sorts of things. But what is your suggestion on that?

There again, you'd want to talk it over with your claims adjuster for sure. I'll just give my advice as far as receipts are good, but don't be a hoarder with your receipts. Receipts are good, or appraisals. Like with scheduling, my company, if we're going to schedule a piece of jewelry, we do require an appraisal that's no more than 5 5 years old. So that's one of those that's good to talk over with your agent. But yeah, receipts are good, or at least knowing the brand or something of that nature. Because like-in-kind quality— because I've got a TV right now in my apartment, I know what kind of TV it is, I know its approximate size and the brand. But say I

lose this TV 5 years from now, so it may not necessarily be worth the same, but there would be something of like and kind quality that I could get the TV replaced with. So it all— I don't want to say it all depends, but it really is. Talk it over with your agent for sure. Just be like, hey, what do I need to do just in case worst case were to happen, the house burns down or, you know, it floods and I lose this stuff? Like, do I need appraisals on certain things? Do I I need to just, in my mind, remember, hey, this is what I had. A lot of times you can talk with the

adjuster and he can walk you through what all you need to do, all that kind of good stuff, if there ever is a claim. My advice is just mentally catalog, hey, I had this couch, hey, I had that. A lot of times the insurance company will work with you if they're a reliable and good company.

Yeah, and things like TVs, I've had to have them replaced before. Excuse me. Thank you. When an insurance company will cover those things, they'll typically depreciate them based on the age of the item and what they are. But then there's other things, like a TV or electronics will typically depreciate. What about things that do appreciate? I'm thinking like original pieces of art, or like Kevin was mentioning, baseball cards. Is that, is that, is that an instance then when you would say like, look, this, this just really needs a separate writer because it's a very specific item? And made me think about that when you were saying like, look, I had to write this thing for like a piece of sheet music.

Yeah, yeah. And yeah, if you've got something, uh, basically for baseball cards, I wouldn't know. I'd have to phone a friend on that one, uh, for sure, just to be like, hey, is this something And it all depends on the underwriting department. The underwriting department are basically the legal team that says, yes, we can insure this risk, or no, we can't insure this risk.

Yeah.

But yeah, that's something definitely, like, if you've got art, that's something that you can typically do, you can schedule or do a rider on, because it's one of the, and that's where the appraisal would come in, because who determines how much art is worth? You would have to have basically proof that, hey, This specific thing is in fact worth this amount of money within 5 years or something like that. Different companies will have different stipulations like, hey, we need an appraisal that's a certain amount of years old. So, but yes, your thinking is right. If you do have anything that could increase in value, I think it's definitely worth talking to your agent about and being like, what do I need to do to make sure that this is protected?

Yeah, absolutely.

Okay, cool. That makes sense to me.

What are some of the weirder things that you've, you've had to write some of these policies for?

Oh, let's see.

I, I think the sheet music one is—

yeah, sheet music is the most unique one. Um, and I actually had a chance to meet that customer, uh, face to face. Uh, his, uh, it was his wife actually. Um, composer travels to England, and that's what— that's why he wanted it. Um, that's why he wanted wanted it scheduled, just because it is valuable to him. It's his original works. So that's why he wanted it on there. That's probably the most unique one I've had. I'm trying to think. There's— I mean, I tell people all the time, you think you've heard it all? Work in insurance, you hear everything. But yeah, I think that as far as what's coming to my mind right now, that's the most— oh, I did have one, and I can't remember the answer, so

don't ask me that. But I think somebody wanted to know what to do about— and we had to call the underwriting department— somebody wanted to know what to do about bottles of wine, high-end bottles of wine. And I was like, I don't know.

Yeah.

We'll have to get back to you. And I don't remember the answer. answer on that one. That wasn't, that wasn't somebody I was helping. That was somebody else. And I'm like, that's an interesting one. But yeah, that was another unique one, high-end bottles of wine. Because I mean, I'm sure those things get up there. I don't— I'm not a, I'm not a wine connoisseur, so I couldn't tell you.

Yeah, me either. I do know that like, you know, for a long time wine was a high-value collectible and still is in many ways. The new one though is interesting though, Because it's Japanese whiskey is the one that people are starting to collect now. It's ridiculous what people are paying for this stuff. It's like thousands of dollars a bottle.

Apparently, there's a whiskey now, I can't remember, but they basically load it up on a barge and stick it out in the Atlantic for a certain amount of time, and it soaks up the sea air, and it just ferments out there. I don't know if that's the Japanese wine or not, that, but it's crazy sometimes.

Just like, yeah, yeah, it's, it's weird what people will collect, but whatever.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I'm not here to judge wherever you—

however you make your money, that's fine.

Yeah, that's, uh, I just want you to know that's called Jefferson's Ocean. It's actually bourbon. Not that I—

oh, okay.

Not that I'm a connoisseur or anything. I'm just—

No, no, it's funny. One of the— one of the— my, my counterpart at the office She used to work for— I don't know if y'all have them down there, but Total Wine. It's— she used to work there and she was studying to be a manager. So she knows all the ins and outs and all the different types of liquors and what's good with what and pairings and tastings and all that good stuff. So it's actually interesting. I'm a knowledge junkie. I love information. So just talking with her and picking her brain, it's definitely interesting, the things you learn.

Yeah.

I have to take a sidebar here for just a moment and say something that's really interesting about those specific bottles. You're right, they put them on the ships and they take them out to the ocean. When they have storms and such, that's whenever some of that water actually gets into the barrels and things such as that. What's really amazing about it is, that means that every single batch that they make is different.

Exactly, which creates a bigger price tag.

Absolutely.

Those think they don't know it.

Yeah. So, so I mean, I mean, no, it's, it's hard to understand why some things are worth more than others. And that's one of the reasons that certain things are worth more than others. Their uniqueness brings out price tags.

Exactly.

Well, I'm curious at this point, what are some of the biggest oversights that, that new homeowners or new policy owners tend to be overlooking when they're, when they're getting into, into insurance?

I mean, a lot of times it's I don't want to call it procrastination, but when you're buying, it's funny. I've never bought a new home, but just doing what I do for the past 2 years, we work with a lender and a home builder. That's our biggest source of prospective customers. It's funny the things I know just from talking to new home buyers, i.e., I know a lot for whenever I'm ready to buy my first home. The biggest thing I would say is because it's hectic, it's crazy, let's not kid ourselves, when you're moving, I mean, I moved from one apartment unit to another apartment unit and I was about to pull my hair out and I was in the same complex.

It's a crazy, busy time and a lot of times it's kind of like, I'll get to the insurance later, I'll get to the insurance later, I'll get to the insurance later. Next thing you know, your loan officer is calling you saying, hey, where's the insurance? And then you just go out there, you find whichever one's cheapest, and you throw it on there just to get it done, get it over with. I would say that's, again, not judging. That's not a mistake, but that's something that could be easily avoided. Preparation is always key in a new home buyer. So that's one of the things I would say is because you're in such a rush, to get it because you want the home. And as you said at the beginning of the show, you can't get a home without the

insurance. Being in a rush and just getting something just to have something. That would be number one most overlooked thing because when you rush something, the chances for not everything to be covered the way you want it to are there. Yeah, so just don't rush it. Take the time. Talk to somebody. Make sure that they have your best interest at heart when writing the policy. A lot of things are standard. but a lot of things are different. Everybody's unique. They might have different customers. Like I said, you're gonna wanna talk to somebody who's your friend because they're gonna get to know you. They're gonna make sure that there aren't any gaps, or if there are gaps, that those are filled 'cause they're doing regular

policy reviews, or at least reviews at renewal when you renew every year. So that's what I would say is being in a rush because rush causes mistakes later on down the road. Some things I would look at is, Some people are, some, some producers, because, you know, they're looking at price, they'll slap a 2% deductible on there to get a lower price. So that's one thing I would look at. I would look at deductible, but I would also look at your liability coverage because, as I've said, that is truly the most important part of the policy is the liability. liability because, you know, a tornado can happen, a hurricane can happen. You might be out a little bit out of pocket

depending on your deductible. But if somebody gets injured in your home and those medical expenses, and then they get a lawyer involved, you know, 1-800-LAWSUIT is everywhere. You can't see it without the billboard. You can't drive down the road without seeing it on the billboards or hear something on the radio or see something on That liability portion, check and make sure. I mean, like I said, $300,000 is the lowest I'll write, and a lot of people think that sounds like a lot, but when you think about it, it's really not. No.

I mean, all you gotta do is have a surgery and see the bill from that to know how much it costs. On top of that, you've got lawyer fees and other things. Exactly. Yeah, you're right.

It does take a lot. This, again, another separate policy, and it usually requires an auto policy. I've never heard of one being written without one. Of course, check with your agent. An umbrella policy, that's important as well because that protects your liability. I always tell people that's the most important policy I write next to life insurance is an umbrella policy because typically they start at $1 million. Depending on who your carrier is, they can go upwards from there. That basically makes sure that if that $300,000 or $500,000 or whatever your liability limits are at on your home policy, if that's ever exhausted for whatever reason, the umbrella kicks in to cover that additional amount.

You said something just a minute ago that triggered a thought in my head. You said if they're trying to get you a lower price by offering you a 2% deductible, I think a lot of people go to an insurance agency or an insurance agent and they get a quote and they get a price and they just assume that that's the only offer that these people have.

No, there's always options.

Yeah. And so that's kind of, I mean, how does someone talk to an agent like you and say, okay, so what are my options? What, I mean, is it, and I would imagine someone like you is going to offer them multiple options anyway, but if someone's giving you one, how do you go, listen, I mean, what else can you do for me?

Honestly, think of it like you're going to a doctor. Do you want a doctor who's going to say like, hey, you've got this disease, you can take this medicine, or, you know, if you want to? Or do you want the doctor who says, hey, you've got this, I'm gonna put you on this prescription, I want you taking it this many times, and then I want you coming back to me in 2 weeks. Think about it like that, like a doctor who's gonna sit down and assess your situation and diagnose the problem and give you the correct, I guess, prescription. The correct— he's gonna give you what you need in order to make sure that you're taken care

of.

Yeah, awesome.

Cool.

Yeah, and don't be afraid to ask questions. I mean, I tell people all the time when I'm reviewing, when I'm going over, like, hey, here's your coverage. I don't do too many of the reviews. We've got a customer service team for that, but I do occasionally do them. But I always tell them like, hey, stop me at any time if you have questions. I'm going to kind of go over this and explain what each of these things mean. If you don't have somebody who's explaining what the coverages mean, what they do, and how they protect you, I would say that's a yellow flag, potentially a red flag. If you have somebody who is focused on the price and only the price, that's a warning to me.

Yeah, well, I mean, not to call out any company, but like one of the ones I've seen recently is this company Lemonade. Have you seen this?

I see it. I see it on YouTube all the time.

Yeah, so yeah, it's an interesting— I think it appeals to a certain, you know, spectrum of the market. Yeah, that's like they don't want to interact with people, they just want to punch in their numbers and get them. And, you know, here's your number, this is This is what you're going to pay. They don't have to have any sort of interaction or information traded beyond that.

Yeah, definitely. Like I said at the beginning, that's 40% of the market. I think last time statistics came out, a lot of people, they just don't— it's not that they don't care, it's just like, it's insurance. I need it to have the home. I'm going to get it. Just give me. You know, they—

Yeah.

But I like to view, I like to view myself, and this is not me stroking my ego. You know, you can, you can go to Burger King and you can get great service. You can go and say, hey, I want this burger with this on it or that or the other. Or you can go to Chick-fil-A and you're going to have to wait at Chick-fil-A because the line is out the door at Chick-fil-A. And I'm sorry, chicken sandwiches are not that good. People go to Chick-fil-A for a reason because they know they're going to taken care of. They know that they're going to not only get— they're not necessarily gonna get just what they want, they're also gonna get what they need, and they're gonna be taken care of. So again, that's, that's

not a shameless plug towards myself, but don't, don't, don't be trans— you want an insurance agent who's not transactional.

So yeah, absolutely. Kev, you got anything else, man?

I know you've really done a good job of answering some of my questions. One of the things that we definitely One thing I definitely want to find out is if any of our listeners are interested in getting in touch with you, what's the best way for them to ask you some questions and maybe potentially use you for an agent if they were interested?

Definitely. I can give my office number. We are out of the office until Monday. It's recorded, so I'll just say it a couple of times. It's 972-234-3200. That's the office line. You'll probably get Like I said, we've got a customer service team. We've got a girl named Katie. She's great. She handles, like I was talking about, when people call up to make a payment. She handles reviews like that. My email is my name, J-A-R-R-O-D-T-U-C-K-E-R, @allstate.com. Yes, I do work for Allstate. If you've got bad experiences with that company, I'm sorry. But maybe we can change that. Exactly right, exactly. Um, and I, I am in the Dallas area, so if you want a local agent, which I truly do understand, um, just, uh, uh, I will not be offended at all.

Um, I'm familiar with the Houston area. My parents live down there. We do have a couple of Houston people, uh, a few couple of Houston residents on our policy. But, um, if you want somebody who's more familiar with the area, that's totally fine as well. Uh, but yeah, I'm in the Dallas area if that means anything, or If it doesn't, I'd love to hear from whomever might have questions.

So awesome. Well, Kev?

Yeah, I think it's time for the next portion of our show, which is called the Final Four.

Final Four.

So these are just 4 questions we ask all of our guests. And so you don't escape without answering them. So here we go.

Prepare yourself.

Yeah, lock and load. Here we go. First question, what's the—

Is it a lightning round? Do I have to answer quickly or—

Well, well, it just depends on, depends on how fast you want the episode to air, right? Yeah. First question, what's the must-have tool you won't leave your house without?

Um, I mean, I'd love to say my cell phone, but I can live without that. My must-have tool that I won't leave the house without. It's, it's, it's antiquated and it's old. I always carry a pocket knife with me unless I'm going to a concert or the airport, of course. Yeah. So you tend to get in trouble for that stuff. But yeah, it's something my dad said, always, always carry a knife. So my dad, my granddad and such.

Yeah, most definitely. Yeah, that's a wise man. Well, I don't know. I mean, that just, just because you chose that doesn't make him wise. That was, that was, if you go back and listen to our very first episode, Chris Craig and I participated in the final 4 questions ourselves, and, and his answer just so happens to be, um, pocket knife as well. So I don't really know how I feel about you based on that answer.

It means you got it right.

Yeah, exactly. I was about to say, that means I got the right answer. I want my prize now. Thank you very much.

Um, uh, it's funny. All right, second question. What's a job you walked away from? So this could be a career if you want it to be, or it could be just a homeowner type I know you said you're in an apartment, so that may change your answer a little bit, but a job that you walked away from?

Just can't beat this question.

Yeah, no, definitely. As far as profession goes, one job I walked away from— and this is, if you, if you're not happy, it doesn't— I mean, if you're not happy doing what you're doing, it's gonna be miserable no matter how much you're getting paid. And it was just, yes, I do work for a corporation, but that's one thing that's— it's very nice I work for Allstate, but it is very much like we run— we do have certain guidelines and stipulations that we have to follow, but it's very much the agency owner runs that agency as long as he's not doing anything psycho. We determine who we hire. We determine who we fire, which we haven't

in a while, but we kind of control the day-to-day operations there. The job I had prior to that, it was corporate and you didn't care. You were a number, things like that. So I would just say I walked away from that job not because I didn't feel appreciated, just because it was going nowhere and I was spinning my wheels.

Mm-hmm.

Now, as far as in the home goes, like I said, I'm in an apartment, but I've done enough projects with my father at a house. I'm trying to think of a job that we just straight up walked away from. Something plumbing related. We know enough to make us dangerous, but when you have to start digging holes and going after pipes that are underground, that's something that we walk away from and we definitely call a professional on that.

Oh yeah.

Now if you ask my mom, there's a lot of other things we should have walked away from a lot sooner. Yeah, and in my defense, I walked away long before my dad did. I knew when to walk away, but you can't necessarily tell the guy who's the homeowner, or at least on paper.

Especially when he's your dad.

Yes, exactly. So there's a lot of DIY things that he may not should have DIY'd. No, I'm kidding. He's a very handyman and he passed a lot of that on to me.

Now they're DI-done.

They're renting. That's good.

That's good. All right. Third question. How do you wind down at the end of a long day?

At the end of a long day, I usually like— I try not to bring work home. I'm only 10 minutes from the office, so sometimes that's hard. But I'll usually come sit down, turn something on Netflix. I may or may not enjoy adult beverage at the time, or I usually do if I worked out I usually try to do it before work. It sets the day and the tone better. The long days don't typically happen. I'll just try to unplug, whether it be TV or reading or something of that nature, doing something I enjoy, whatever that may be.

That's a good answer. I love it.

Absolutely.

All right. You're in the home stretch. Here we go. Last question. What's one of the best pieces of wisdom or advice you've ever received?

Um, again, it's from my dad. Uh, never stop learning. Uh, just always, always learn something, even if it's a little something. Never stop learning. Uh, I mean, he's, uh, I'm gonna say it, he's 62 years old and he still learns something new every day, whether it be job-related or, or just some random tidbit of information. So just always, always try and learn something new. It exercises your brain And it could be something random, it could be something big, or it could be something small, but never, never, never stop learning.

Awesome.

Key to youth.

Absolutely. Well, that's good, man. We just want to say thank you for taking the time to join us today. I think you've given us a lot of really helpful information, and there's a real big possibility that someone else out there has a question for us, or maybe wants to add something to our episode that we didn't add, uh, feel free to send us an email at info@homeownersshow.com and, uh, go to our website at homeownershow.com as well. Um, so yeah, Craig, you got anything else?

Yeah, if, uh, you listened to our episode last week and you have your own tale from the pit, uh, some, some scary stuff to talk about with, uh, projects you took on in the home, send us that email, send us that video, tag us in it and share it with us so we can get it up on the next episode where we have more Tales from the Pit. Um, yeah, I— like I said at the beginning, hit that subscribe button, notification bells. Do it now. Thumbs up.

Yep.

Because we love you.

That's it.

Jared, thank you, man.

Yeah, no, thank y'all. Y'all have a wonderful night.

You too, bud.

All right, man. Well, uh, we're here every Tuesday whether y'all like it or not. So, uh, if you don't see us this Tuesday, wait till next Tuesday. We're gonna be there. We got all of our episodes up on our website. Go find us. Until then, see you next time.

See ya.