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1. Appraisal value and sale value are just numbers.
The appraisal value is what the county thinks your house is worth – and everyone fights that number so they can pay less taxes anyway. Appraisal value is what you could theoretically sell your home for. Sales price is what you actually pay for your house. Sometimes (most times) the appraisal and the sale price are a vastly different number than what you should insure your house for.

You should insure it for more.

2. Replacement cost coverage is there to help you replace your house – it’s what you want.
Unlike when you wreck a car, if you have a house fire or something else happens to your house, you are married to the land it was built on. You don’t just toss them the keys and buy another house; you rebuild. Most people don’t consider the cost of debris removal when it comes to their coverage. When your house burns, you will have to take away all of the burned up house bits and build a new house. I don’t know if you have done any major rennovations lately, but debris removal is pricey. Insurance companies build a lot of houses every year, and they know what it costs to rebuild – and to take away the trash. Every company has a “replacement cost calculator” that they use to make the estimate. They ask lots of detailed questions about the house to arrive at the coverage. If you have bought a replacement cost policy and haven’t answered a ton of questions about your house, your coverage may not be accurate.

I guess if you have a pickup, you could save a few bucks on removal…

3. Actual Cash Value is a fool’s game.
Actual Cash Value (or ACV) coverage is a differnt kind of coverage – basically, you pick the number that you think your house should be insured for, and then get ready to be angry at claims time. This is the kind of home insurance that people who want to “just insure the house for what I paid” get. Well, here you get less than you insure for – and I’ll explain. An ACV coverage covers the home for Actual Cash Value – Less Depreciation. That “less depreciation” is the kicker there – say you have an average house, built in 1974, that you paid $140,000 for – that house is 37 years old, and will be depreciated somewhere beteween one and two percent per year for 37 years. Even if it is only 1% depreciation, it means that your home would be valued at $88,000 – before you pay your $1500 deductible. If the place were to burn down, you would be doing well to put up a trailer where your house once stood.

Home Sweet Home

Your home reperesents a significant investment – but more important, it is your home, a place where you will be dry and out of the cold, where you will hang photos of your kids, your dogs – and photos of your kid’s dogs.  When people come to me with lower coverage than they need, or whith an ACV policy, or with a really high deductible, it is because they didn’t take charge of their insurance.  Generally, when they have these “bad” policies, the price difference is negligible when compared to a policy that actually covers them well.

Don't save pennies to cost yourself thousands.

1. If you poison someone at dinner, the liability portion of your home insurance is there for you.This one is based on a true story; one year when we were up north for the holidays, we went to eat at Uncle Bill’s house for the big meal. As he always had, Uncle Bill stored the turkey outside on the porch until it was time to cook. However, that year there was an unnaturally warm afternoon, and the turkey thawed quickly and then froze again that evening. When the turkey was cooked and served, everyone (except for Uncle Bill) ended up in the hospital with food poisoning. That year we only had family members in attendance, and no one filed suit. However, if someone had decided to sue, the liability portion of his insurance would have covered him.

This is a very bad idea.

2. If someone steals the presents you have in your back seat, the “personal property off premises” coverage of your home insurance will cover you.
First, if you are shopping for gifts and making multiple stops, be sure to keep all of your purchases in the trunk of your car. However, if you drive an SUV, that’s obviously not an option. Unfortunately the holidays don’t just bring out the good in people, they also present an opportunity for thieving scumbags to break your window and steal all of the presents you have purchased. If that were to happen, those gifts would be covered by your home insurance (or renters insurance if you don’t own a home). I would still bring along a blanket to keep your purchases away from prying eyes, but your insurance is there for you should something terrible happen.

There are few worse feelings.

3. If your tree burns down your house, you are covered.Once again, I’m going to first give you some good advice; water your tree, check the wires on your lights for shorts, and never go old school on your tree by using candles for light. Sometimes however, even if you follow my advice, bad things can happen. If the worst happens and your tree catches fire, your home insurance is there for you with fire coverage – and if your house is burned, you will need a place to celebrate that doesn’t stink of smoke and firemen’s sweat. That’s where the additional living expense coverage comes in; you will obviously need a place to live while your home is being repaired. You won’t be celebrating at home, but you also won’t have to impose on Uncle Bill (and risk that turkey dinner).

Super Hardcore!

4. If your party gets too rambunctious and someone gets hurt, you are covered.We have all been there; the party is bumping, the rug is rolled up, people are dancing, and then a scream as Aunt Josehine sprains her ankle and hits the floor. Luckily for you, your homeowner’s insurance includes “medical payments” coverage so you can rush her to the emergency room. The minimum coverage is $500, but more can be purchased if you are so inclined. I would certainly purchase more if you throw lots of parties – and if you have elderly aunts who like to cut a rug.

She will hit on your son's roommate too.

5. That new car you put a bow on is automatically covered.This one isn’t actually covered on your homeowner’s insurance, but it is covered by your auto insurance. When you purchase a new vehicle, your auto insurance automatically extends to the new vehicle for 30 days. That way you don’t have to risk spoiling the surprise by adding the car in advance of giving it to the giftee. This coverage extension isn’t here just to prevent spoiling surprises, it’s to ensure that your new purchase is covered until you can get hold of your agent. This 30 day courtesy extension doesn’t just happen during the holidays either, it is available to protect you year round.

Nice choice. This IS a good idea.

These are just five ways your homeowner’s (and auto) insurance protects you against disaster during the holidays. Obviously no one wants to rely on their insurance to save the holiday, but it is nice to know it’s there if a disaster should try to ruin the season. Here at The Phoenix, we wish you a very happy holiday, and hope that you don’t have to make a claim this time of year – but if you need to, we are here to help!

1. Identity theft coverage. Most people don’t know that their homeowners insurance can cover for identity thieving scumbags. Some companies’ packages come with up to $25,000 in coverage against false charges on your credit cards. Generally you don’t pay anything extra for this, as it is part the base coverage package that they put together for you.

This is just a dumb image, but how do you show identity theft?

2. Coverage for a grave marker. Tombstones are not only a little depressing to buy, but they are also very pricey. Most people invest that money when they are alive, and then they spend the rest of their lives hoping that their stone doesn’t get hit by lightning or backed over by a drunken hearse driver. Certain home insurance policies come with up to $5000 in tombstone coverage at no additional cost.

See what I did there?

3. Land Stabilization. Sometimes, like when the residents gain too much weight, the land under a house can become unstable. Some homeowners policies will cover for land stabilization when the instability is caused by a loss covered on the homeowners policy. Once again, this is a coverage that doesn’t cost you a dime, but is available to you should you need it.

4. Appliance breakage. This is a fairly new offering from insurance companies, but it can be a valuable one. This is a fairly inexpensive option on most policies, and is be a very worthwhile investment, especially if you have “vintage” appliances. For a fairly small deductible your dishwasher, fridge, washing machine, and other appliances can be covered against breakage. Against just plain wearing out, if you will.

This isn't going to be good for dog or dishwasher

5. Kidnap and ransom coverage. I have this coverage on my policy because I spend a lot of time flashing my bankroll at pool halls and telling folks that my parents are even richer than I am. That’s not true, but I like to live on the edge – and I have good homeowners insurance with ransom coverage. If they decide to just rob and murder me, my homeowner’s insurance won’t do me any good. If they kidnap me, I’m covered up to $50,000. Not too bad for the price – $0!

This has not gone the direction I thought it would.

The big home insurance package that you get in the mail goes over all of the coverage you purchased, but it’s always better to know what you are getting before you purchase; most of these coverages are freebies on “deluxe” homeowners policies – but you may not even want (or need) the deluxe coverage in the first place. Talk to your agent and really get to understand the policy that you are buying. Then make sure you have kidnap coverage and meet me at the pool hall – I hear there is a dice game starting at midnight.

It’s best to know what kind of insurance is available to you; many policies have coverage you may not know are there, but that are valuable. Likewise, many policies are loaded up with coverage that you may not ever need, but are still paying for. Don’t be held captive by your insurance company. Knowledge is power.

1. Here is a client that likes the one stop shopping aspect of what we do. John Likes to have his home insurance and auto insurance in the same place – and we make that easy. Even if both policies are not with the same company, you still have one number to call.

“My wife and I really like The Phoenix Insurance for a couple of reasons; we were able to get our homeowners insurance and our auto insurance in one place for one stop shopping.”

2. Richard is pleased because we saved him money on home insurance and auto insurance. He is a longtime client of ours, and we are pleased to have him as a client.

“I’ve been dealing with The Phoenix Insurance Company for a number of years and they have saved me a considerable amount of money on my home and auto insurance. I’m quite pleased with their service.”

3. We also do Commercial Insurance for Texas clients. Here is Jonathan Poole, the owner of  Prevail Rsources, who uses The Phoenix Insurance for his company’s commerical insurance and worker’s comp insurance. He thinks we are a great bunch of guys. To be frank I don’t know how you can get higher praise.

“Hi, I’m Jonathan Poole, owner of Prevail Resources, LLC. We use The Pheonix Insurance for our commercial insurance cover and our worker’s compensation cover ane they are a great bunch of guys and we really enjoy working with them.“

4. Finally, we have Hans, who is a bit of a low talker, it seems, and is the reason I have transcribed all of the other videos. Despite being hard to hear, Hans’ praise for The Phoenix Insurnace is effusive – we are speedy, timely, and he mentions how great our service is. You might have to crank the volume for this one.

“The Phoenix Insurance helped me a great deal with my home insurance and my auto insurance. They give great service; they are speedy, timely, and I was very pleased with my rates.”

Here are just a few of the many clients we have helped with home insurance, auto insurance, and even commercial insurance. While you may scoff at these videos and say “well, you just taped those yourself” I want you to ask yourself a question. Would you take the time to make a video for your insurance agent? These people would, and did. That’s how much they love to work with us. Everyone has a different reaon to work with The Phoenix – service, value, our general “greatness” that you cannot touch but can feel. Don’t you want to be so happy with your Dallas insurance agent that you would testify for them?

Lots of folks in Dallas only have renters insurance because their apartment complex made them purchase it. However, if you are going to pay for something, you should know what it’s worth to you, so here are 5 things you didn’t know that your renters insurance covers.

1. Your Laptop when it’s stolen out of your car – or anything for that matter.  Most people think that if someone breaks into their car and steals their laptop, their CD’s, their GPS, or anything else that it will be covered by their auto insurance. WRONG! Anything not permanently attached to the car (like a radio or the seats) would not be covered on the auto policy.  Those things are covered by the “personal property off premise” clause of your renters policy, which is generally 10 percent of your total property coverage.

Who steals a seat?

2. You can cover for breakage of expensive things.  When you have something expensive, like jewelry, sporting goods, or even your rare Pez collection, you can schedule those things on your policy, and cover them against breakage.  This is especially worthwhile for people with expensive bicycles, because even if you crash it because you were looking at the ladies as you rode by, it would be covered (without being subject to deductibles) if it is a scheduled item on the policy.

I think I saw her knickers, guvnah!

3. Coverage against your dog being a jerk.  Say your dog gets out of your apartment and bites your neighbor – you would figure your insurance to cover you for that (and mostly they will) but say you just have a jerk dog who wrecks things. He likes to wreck things so much that he has wrecked everything in your apartment, so he leaps onto the neighbor’s patio and commences to doing what he loves. That’s your responsibility, and thankfully, your renters insurance covers that.

Lets go for a little ride, Fido.

4.  You can talk all of the trash about that girl down the hall that you want. In the dog scenario, you are directly responsible for physical damages you can see – but if you are accused of slander, that is also covered by your renters insurance.  I would suggest you talk less trash about her, but we all know who you are inside and I think I’d be wasting too many of my precious five hundred words if I did – so I’ll just suggest you raise your liability limits. (And maybe consider counseling.)

5. Medical payments to somoene that is injured on your property.  So you finally made up with the girl down the hall, invited her and a few other people over, and are having cocktails. Chet is slicing limes because he always declares himself bartender, even though he is really bad at it, and suddenly the coppery smell of blood is in the air – and your kitchen counter looks like an Incan altar after a sacrifice. No worries! Just trundle Chet off to the emergency room and let your insurance pick up the bill under the “Medical Payments” coverage on your policy. Most renters policies come with a minimum of $500 coverage, but if you know Chet, you should consider upping your coverage.

I'll just have a domestic beer, Chet.

If you take time to learn about renters insurance and what it covers, you will see that it does have a lot of value – aside from getting you into that sweet apartment and getting Dish installed. Take the time to look at what you are buying and see what sort of benefits you can reap from it. Talk to a good agent and spend your money wisely. And stop worrying about Chet, he will be fine.

I'm taking your stuff, renter.

So why do people resist getting renters insurance (aside from an the irrational hatred that most people have for insurance companies)?

1. They think “I can’t afford a renters insurance policy”. Renters insurance is actually one of the most affordable types of insurance you can buy. A minimum coverage policy with $100,000 in liability insurance and $20,000 worth of coverage for your personal property can be had for less than a hundred dollars a year – less than $10 a month. I know you all spend that much on booze, at least.

But I just paid my renters insurance

2. I don’t have anything valuable, so I don’t need insurance. If this is true, why do you have locks? Even if you don’t think you have all that much, do me a favor and go to the store and price your favorite brand of underwear – then figure that if you have to replace EVERYTHING in your house, how many packages of underwear do you have to buy? Socks? Ed Hardy shirts? That stuff adds up quick, yo. If your place burned down, what would it cost just to replace your clothes alone? I’d be it’s more than you have in the bank right now – and certainly more than $10 a month.

Please don't replace this one.

3. My landlord’s insurance will cover my things. Oh really? Then why do you pay rent, if your landlord is so kindhearted? The landlord’s insurance covers HIS property – not yours. If someone breaks into your house and steals your TV and XBox, you will be watching shadow puppets and playing checkers if you wait for your landlord’s inurance to pay.

4. Renters insurance only covers my stuff, and despite what you say, I don’t care about it. That’s fair – if my argument above wasn’t compelling enough, then think about this; you and your friends are having a big party and Tommy falls off of the balcony. Tommy’s parents are going to sue somebody, and guess what – you are first on the list. Your renter’s insurance provides the liability coverage to protect you against that lawsuit, or the one brought against you by the neighbor that your little dog took a piece out of.

Back off my biscuits, man.

5. It takes too long to shop for a renters insurance policy. I know time is precious, but let’s face it – that’s just an easy excuse for you to avoid responsibility. All you need in order to get a renters insurance quote is a name, a birthday, and your address. It can take just a few minutes to get a simple renters quote, buy it, and protect your things – and yourself.

Then you can smoke in bed with no worries.

Can anyone read this thing? There are no numbers!

As I said in an earlier post, nothing is free in the insurance world. In addition, insurance companies tell you plenty of things that their market research has shown that you want to hear – but may not necessarily reflect the truth.

1. Offering you a “No Cancellation” guarantee. They don’t have to cancel your insurance to make you go away. If you have a series of accidents they won’t cancel you – but how long will you want to pay the higher and higher premiums they are giving you to make you go away?

2. Accident Forgiveness is not as simple as it sounds. They will forgive the “property damage” part of your accident if you have a fender bender – but if someone claims bodily injury, then that part of the claim will not be forgiven. Insurance companies generally don’t immediately surcharge you for an accident anyway, and if you are a good driver otherwise, you may never see an increase if you have one accident during your tenure with your insurance company.

They might not forgive this one, no matter what

3. We will waive your deductible for windshield chips! I’ve addressed this one once before, and that advice is still true. THERE IS NO FREE CAR REPAIR. Pay the $25 to fix the chip yourself and reap the benefits of lower premiums in the long run.

4. Name your own price.. I don’t even want to address this one, as it’s so ridiculous. You can always name your own price; just decide what kind of coverage you want. Want to pay nothing at all for insurance? Don’t have it! Want to pay less for your insurance? Don’t fall for crazy lies, instead call an independent agent.

5. “Guaranteed low price”. This is almost as patently ridiculous as “Name Your Price”. Maybe if you put this guarantee under your pillow at night, the “guarantee fairy” might come and leave you a quarter. No one can guarantee a low price, or any percentage of savings, or anything solid like that when it comes to insurance. Insurance pricing is not flexible, as it is based on statistics and facts. It can’t be discounted at a whim; coverage can be removed, but you can’t just lower the price to match someone else’s price. Insurance is not a TV.

Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside

So to sum this all up in a few words, DON’T FALL FOR MARKETING LIES. Marketing people will tell you anything that focus groups have told them you want to hear. Instead, be an informed consumer and seek out the truth. Most people want to save money on insurance, sure – but don’t let your desire trump your reason. The ads where they tell you all of these lies cost big money – and how do you think they make it?

That is you on the left, paying for State Farm’s commercials