Choosing Texas Homeowners Insurance can be confusing if you don’t know where to start looking. You have to decide what kind of coverage you want, how much coverage you need, and what company you want to deal with. There are many different ways to find affordable Texas homeowners insurance. Find out some of the best options for finding cheap home owner insurance in Texas.
By far the best way to find affordable Texas homeowners insurance is by going directly to the insurer. The least expensive home owners insurance providers in Texas were Amica & Texas Farm Bureau. With these two insurers, the least expensive monthly premium was $1,534 or just 29% less than the state average of $2,013. Between the two of these insurers, you would pay the same amount as you would for personal injury protection (PIP), property damage due to fire, theft, and hurricane coverage. Keep in mind that PIP is not available with flooding insurance, but flooding and hurricane coverage is very valuable if you own or rent your property, since you may be required to take action in the event of severe weather.
One of the cheapest ways to find homeowners insurance is to get a quote from AMEX. AMEX is one of the more well-known insurers, and they offer a variety of homeowner insurance policies. Many people already have AMEX quotes, so this may be a good way to get a few different prices in one place. AMEX states that they cover losses due to all types of disasters, such as fires, hurricanes, and water damage. AMEX also offers a variety of optional additions to your homeowner insurance policy, which will increase the price, depending on what additional protection you choose to purchase.
As an example, one of the optional extras that AMEX includes in their homeowner’s insurance is liability coverage. This is important, especially if you live in a neighborhood that has a high crime rate or where your property is at stake. For example, if you have a small business that gets involved in an unfortunate accident and you or one of your employees gets injured, liability coverage will help you pay for medical expenses and legal fees. The average cost of liability coverage is about $300,000, and this covers the payment of attorney fees. If you get the minimum amount of liability coverage that is required by your state, this will be the coverage that you will be paid for by your Texas homeowners insurance policy.
Some people don’t realize that the state of Texas requires that you purchase flood insurance. The flooding risk that you face is generally based upon the area that you live in. The average cost of a flood in these areas is between eight and ten dollars per square foot. In order to purchase an adequate flood insurance policy, you should add up the total cost of your damaged properties and divide it by the total square footage of your home. Your homeowner’s insurance premium should reflect the amount of coverage that you want to have for your flood insurance policy.
Another popular way that homeowners in Texas can lower their premiums is to add the additional policy that is referred to as “residuals”. Residuals are simply excess funds that are left over from the claim payments that you have made on your homeowner’s insurance policies. Most insurers will allow you to choose between two different methods of adding these amounts to your policy. Some insurers may require that you use one of two forms of insurance – a “full” residual policy or a “limited” residual policy. When you choose between these two options, you will be able to pay out more to your insurer in the event of a loss – but you will pay more to the insurer each month in order to pay off your premiums.