"Insurers in general don't like to cover vacant homes. That's because such occurrences as theft, vandalism, fire and water damage are far more likely to happen in vacant houses than occupied ones and the resultant damage is more likely to be worse because no one is around to report it or stop it......" Vacant Homes for sale, insurance carriers
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Vacant Homes for Sale... Insurance carriers
Vacant Homes for Sale....Insurance Carriers:
Vacant Homes for Sale... Insurance carriers
Vacant Homes for Sale....Insurance Carriers:
"Insurers in general don't like to cover vacant homes. That's because such occurrences as theft, vandalism, fire and water damage are far more likely to happen in vacant houses than occupied ones and the resultant damage is more likely to be worse because no one is around to report it or stop it......" Vacant Homes for sale, insurance carriers
Learning About Vacant Homes....
Learning about Vacant Homes:
Rental-Property-Insurance.com"Homeowner’s insurance is something that every homeowner must have in place at all times. But one issue concerning homeowner’s insurance has been occurring a lot lately and causing a variety of problems for homeowners who have a bought a new home yet have not sold their old one yet.
And that is the issue of insuring vacant homes.
In today’s market, it is not uncommon for homeowners to buy a new home without selling their old one first." Vacant Homes
Learning About Vacant Homes....
Learning about Vacant Homes:
Rental-Property-Insurance.com"Homeowner’s insurance is something that every homeowner must have in place at all times. But one issue concerning homeowner’s insurance has been occurring a lot lately and causing a variety of problems for homeowners who have a bought a new home yet have not sold their old one yet.
And that is the issue of insuring vacant homes.
In today’s market, it is not uncommon for homeowners to buy a new home without selling their old one first." Vacant Homes
Real Estate News on Twitter, Do you Twitter?
Now you can keep up with Real Estate news on Twitter with your free Twitter account. Inman News blog now offers info via Twitter:
"you can now keep track of all the breaking real estate headlines from Inman News via Twitter.Just head over to InmanNews profile on Twitter, sign up for your own account and click the 'Follow' button. Do the same on any other accounts you find and you'll instantly start receiving automatic updates from them.
I found a few other sources on Twitter you may consider following adding; CNN, BBC, The Financial Times and the New York Times - you may even want to do a search for your local news outlets too (I found The Oregonian, for example).
Do this and you can stay on top of all the news as it hits and never be caught off guard.".... from Inman News Blog
More Information:
Real Estate News on Twitter, Do you Twitter?
Now you can keep up with Real Estate news on Twitter with your free Twitter account. Inman News blog now offers info via Twitter:
"you can now keep track of all the breaking real estate headlines from Inman News via Twitter.Just head over to InmanNews profile on Twitter, sign up for your own account and click the 'Follow' button. Do the same on any other accounts you find and you'll instantly start receiving automatic updates from them.
I found a few other sources on Twitter you may consider following adding; CNN, BBC, The Financial Times and the New York Times - you may even want to do a search for your local news outlets too (I found The Oregonian, for example).
Do this and you can stay on top of all the news as it hits and never be caught off guard.".... from Inman News Blog
More Information:
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Flood and Wind Insurance Reform in Congress
The National Flood Insurance program, administered through FEMA which is in turn part of the Department of Homeland Security, is currently how the vast majority of Long Islanders and people all around the country buy their flood insurance when needed. The idea of the program was that because flood is catastrophic in nature, meaning that it can affect large numbers of people at the same time, that only the taxing power of the federal government was enough to make sure that when the time came to pay huge claims, the money would be there.
The problem is that the rates being charged in the program are not nearly enough to pay the claims, so additional monies have had to be put in over the years by Congress, and those funds basically come out of taxes paid be everybody, not just those in the flood hazard areas. There are some social arguments back and forth about whether that's right or wrong, but after Katrina, it was decided that the program needed to be revised to be 'actuarially sound', meaning that it would collect enough premium dollars to pay the claims, without resorting to general tax revenues or other bailouts. The difference is many billions of dollars, and the answer they have come up with is to include more people in the flood hazard areas and also to increase rates.
But since a couple of the people whose homes were destroyed in Katrina happened to be influential members of Congress, they are not looking to stop there. In trying to judge who was responsible to pay the claims of Katrina, there was a lot of finger-pointing on the part of insurance companies who denied some claims that they felt should have been paid under flood coverage. However since many of the affected residents had been told that the work of the Army Corps of Engineers, in building the levee system, would protect them from flood, they did not carry flood insurance and so were left with no way to rebuild.
What is being proposed is to move windstorm coverage from the private homeowners insurance industry to the government-backed flood insurance program, and price it accordingly. Interestingly, this has the insurance industry up in arms. Although as we know here on Long Island, and particularly as you get farther out on the South Shore of Suffolk County, many insurance companies are shying away from providing policies at all because of the windstorm exposure.
Now this sets up an interesting position for the insurance carriers. On the one hand, they are arguing that wind insurance should NOT be taken out of their hands and put into the Government hands. In general, a founding principle of our country was private ownership, and that the Government should not set itself up as a competitor to private industry. But there are many cases (Medicare, Workers Comp...) where private industry was not up to the task and the government stepped in.
To me, it seems simple enough - if covering losses for hurricanes is a money-losing proposition for insurance companies (which one would have to think it must be if they won't write more coverage) then why would they care if the government took it over? And virtually any argument that could be made for or against the government covering windstorm could be easily turned into the same argument for flood insurance. So which is it? The coverage is too risky and they don't want it, or it's profitable and should be left in private hands? The answers being given by the industry suggest they are trying to play both sides of the fence.
As for me as an agent, I have to say it doesn't really matter. I sell both the government flood insurance as well as home insurance for all kinds of waterfront property. Our job is to deliver, explain, and service the product. So I have no great stake in the outcome here, but I know a snow job when I see one.
The problem is that the rates being charged in the program are not nearly enough to pay the claims, so additional monies have had to be put in over the years by Congress, and those funds basically come out of taxes paid be everybody, not just those in the flood hazard areas. There are some social arguments back and forth about whether that's right or wrong, but after Katrina, it was decided that the program needed to be revised to be 'actuarially sound', meaning that it would collect enough premium dollars to pay the claims, without resorting to general tax revenues or other bailouts. The difference is many billions of dollars, and the answer they have come up with is to include more people in the flood hazard areas and also to increase rates.
But since a couple of the people whose homes were destroyed in Katrina happened to be influential members of Congress, they are not looking to stop there. In trying to judge who was responsible to pay the claims of Katrina, there was a lot of finger-pointing on the part of insurance companies who denied some claims that they felt should have been paid under flood coverage. However since many of the affected residents had been told that the work of the Army Corps of Engineers, in building the levee system, would protect them from flood, they did not carry flood insurance and so were left with no way to rebuild.
What is being proposed is to move windstorm coverage from the private homeowners insurance industry to the government-backed flood insurance program, and price it accordingly. Interestingly, this has the insurance industry up in arms. Although as we know here on Long Island, and particularly as you get farther out on the South Shore of Suffolk County, many insurance companies are shying away from providing policies at all because of the windstorm exposure.
Now this sets up an interesting position for the insurance carriers. On the one hand, they are arguing that wind insurance should NOT be taken out of their hands and put into the Government hands. In general, a founding principle of our country was private ownership, and that the Government should not set itself up as a competitor to private industry. But there are many cases (Medicare, Workers Comp...) where private industry was not up to the task and the government stepped in.
To me, it seems simple enough - if covering losses for hurricanes is a money-losing proposition for insurance companies (which one would have to think it must be if they won't write more coverage) then why would they care if the government took it over? And virtually any argument that could be made for or against the government covering windstorm could be easily turned into the same argument for flood insurance. So which is it? The coverage is too risky and they don't want it, or it's profitable and should be left in private hands? The answers being given by the industry suggest they are trying to play both sides of the fence.
As for me as an agent, I have to say it doesn't really matter. I sell both the government flood insurance as well as home insurance for all kinds of waterfront property. Our job is to deliver, explain, and service the product. So I have no great stake in the outcome here, but I know a snow job when I see one.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Mortgage Rates Increase
Mortgage Rates Increase
"Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit 6.13%, up from 6.03%, the fourth increase in the past five weeks, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped below the 6% threshold in the second week of January and stayed there for six straight weeks as the economic slowdown stirred concerns about a possible recession....." Mortgage Rates Increase
"Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit 6.13%, up from 6.03%, the fourth increase in the past five weeks, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped below the 6% threshold in the second week of January and stayed there for six straight weeks as the economic slowdown stirred concerns about a possible recession....." Mortgage Rates Increase
Mortgage Rates Increase
Mortgage Rates Increase
"Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit 6.13%, up from 6.03%, the fourth increase in the past five weeks, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped below the 6% threshold in the second week of January and stayed there for six straight weeks as the economic slowdown stirred concerns about a possible recession....." Mortgage Rates Increase
"Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit 6.13%, up from 6.03%, the fourth increase in the past five weeks, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped below the 6% threshold in the second week of January and stayed there for six straight weeks as the economic slowdown stirred concerns about a possible recession....." Mortgage Rates Increase
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Borrowing from a 401K should be last resort
Borrowing from a 401K should be last resort
Cash-strapped consumers are developing a bad habit: using their retirement
savings to tackle everything from credit-card debt and late mortgage payments to
income tax bills.
In 2007, 18% of employees reported taking out a loan from
their 401(k) or 403(b) (the employer-funded equivalent for public educators and
nonprofit employees), up from 11% in 2006, according to the Transamerica Center
for Retirement Studies, a nonprofit. ... .Borrowing from 401k last resort
Borrowing from a 401K should be last resort
Borrowing from a 401K should be last resort
Cash-strapped consumers are developing a bad habit: using their retirement
savings to tackle everything from credit-card debt and late mortgage payments to
income tax bills.
In 2007, 18% of employees reported taking out a loan from
their 401(k) or 403(b) (the employer-funded equivalent for public educators and
nonprofit employees), up from 11% in 2006, according to the Transamerica Center
for Retirement Studies, a nonprofit. ... .Borrowing from 401k last resort
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
You and Your Liability Umbrella
In the world of meteorology, whenever it looks like rain, an umbrella is good to have around. In the world of insurance, a Liability Umbrella can protect you from getting soaked as a result of losing a liability lawsuit.People are suing each other today more than ever. Verdicts amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars are being awarded by juries across the country in increasing numbers. If you accidentally injure someone or damage their property, you could be the one being sued. Even though your underlying policies may provide substantial liability limits, it is not uncommon today for juries to award damages that exceed those limits.
Coverage amounts are written in increments of $1 million and supplement your present policies to provide additional personal liability protection.
So, how does it work?
Typically you'll have insurance on both your home and your vehicles. Those policies can cover both loss through physical damage and protect you if you are sued. You can get sued for any number of things but usually you'll get sued if someone is injured at your home or injured as the result of an auto accident that is your fault.
Courts can award damages to cover doctor costs, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of future income, loss of companionship (in the event of a death) and many others -- the list can be almost endless.
A Liability Umbrella steps in and pays when the limits of those policies are exceeded in the judgment. A $1 Million Umbrella gives you an additional million dollars of protection over and above BOTH your Home and Auto policies
Example: Your auto policy will pay up to $250,000 in personal injury damages when you are found at fault for an accident. You happen to hit a doctor one rainy Saturday night and he can't work for a couple years. The court awards $750,000. If you have a $1 Million Umbrella, your auto insurance pays $250,000 and your umbrella kicks in with the additional $500,000.Obviously, umbrellas can go a long way to protecting your hard-won assets. I've seen cases where the judgements exceed their protection. They have to either go into the equity of their homes and pay from there or they get put on the LIFETIME MONTHLY PAY PLAN and have to sacrifice significant portions of their earnings for many, many years to pay the judgment. NOT a pretty picture.
The saddest part is that Umbrellas are generally extremely cost effective.
You can get a $1 Million Umbrella usually for under $300 a year. Many companies (including
mine) will give you a sizable discount if your home and autos are insured with the same company. That can bring your cost down to the low $200's. In some cases a $2 Million, $3, or even a $5 or $10 Million Umbrella will make sense. Generally the more your net worth the higher your limits should be.
Liability Umbrellas are sensable, cost effective and serve to protect EVERYTHING you've worked so hard to accumulate throughout your life.
Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121
eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com
Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com
Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com
My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California
Monday, March 10, 2008
Can the Fed cut Foreclosures?
Can the Fed cut foreclosures in 2008?
With the tough times of 2007 over and done, the big question in real estate is whether 2008 will be any better.
Mortgage reform legislation has passed in both the House and the Senate, the President has recommended an interest-rate freeze for certain loans and HUD has introduced the FHASecure program. These efforts, however, have had little practical impact because final legislation from Capitol Hill has been neither completed nor signed, the President’s proposals are voluntary and as of mid-December the FHASecure program had only funded several hundred loans......Foreclosures
addl information: Foreclosures
Can the Fed cut Foreclosures?
Can the Fed cut foreclosures in 2008?
With the tough times of 2007 over and done, the big question in real estate is whether 2008 will be any better.
Mortgage reform legislation has passed in both the House and the Senate, the President has recommended an interest-rate freeze for certain loans and HUD has introduced the FHASecure program. These efforts, however, have had little practical impact because final legislation from Capitol Hill has been neither completed nor signed, the President’s proposals are voluntary and as of mid-December the FHASecure program had only funded several hundred loans......Foreclosures
addl information: Foreclosures
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