Insurance

Can My Roommate File A Renter’s Insurance Claim?

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Renters insurance in Highland Village, TX, helps you replace your belongings if they are stolen or damaged. But what happens when your roommate needs to replace their belongings?

Policyholders Can File a Claim

Whether your roommate can file a claim depends entirely on whether they are listed on your renters’ insurance policy. Some roommates choose to be listed as co-policyholders, while others may be added as additional insured individuals. Only the people named on the policy are allowed to file a claim.

Covered Events

If your roommate is listed on the policy, coverage applies only to events and belongings included in your renters insurance. Many policies offer protection for losses caused by theft, certain natural disasters, wind damage, and similar incidents. An agent at Thompson Insurance Services can help you understand exactly what your policy covers.

Keep in mind that many policies exclude certain high-value belongings unless you purchase extra protection. Items such as expensive jewelry, artwork, or high-end electronics often require scheduled personal property coverage to receive full reimbursement in the event of a loss.

Coverage Limits

Every renters’ insurance policy includes coverage limits, which represent the maximum amount the insurer will pay for any covered claim. For example, if you experience $10,000 in losses but your policy limit is $5,000, the insurer will only reimburse up to $5,000. Reviewing your limits regularly helps ensure they match the value of your belongings.

Agents at Thompson Insurance Services can help you understand your coverage in detail so there is no confusion during the claims process. Contact us today. We proudly serve the Highland Village, TX, area.

How Umbrella Insurance Saves You From Bankruptcy

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Lawsuits happen to ordinary people every day, and the financial consequences can be devastating. A single accident or unfortunate incident could wipe out your savings, retirement accounts, and future earnings. Thompson Insurance Services, serving Highland Village, TX, wants to explain how umbrella insurance acts as your financial safety net when life takes an unexpected turn.

When Basic Coverage Isn’t Enough

Your auto and homeowners insurance provide liability coverage, but those limits might be inadequate when facing a serious lawsuit. If you cause a multi-car accident with severe injuries, medical bills and legal settlements can easily exceed your standard policy limits by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Once your primary insurance is exhausted, plaintiffs can pursue your personal assets, including your home, investments, and wages.

Real Protection for Real People

Umbrella insurance kicks in after your underlying policies reach their limits, providing an additional layer of coverage typically ranging from one to five million dollars. The cost remains surprisingly affordable because umbrella policies rarely pay out, but when they do, they prevent financial ruin. This coverage also extends beyond auto and home incidents to include personal liability situations like libel, slander, or accidents caused (or allegedly caused) by your children.

Who Needs Umbrella Coverage

Many people, not just the very rich, can benefit from umbrella insurance. If you own a home, have retirement savings, or earn a solid income, you have assets worth protecting. Young professionals with high earning potential face particular risk because future wages can be garnished. Parents with teenage drivers, homeowners with pools, or anyone who frequently entertains guests should seriously consider this coverage.

Don’t gamble with your financial future. Contact Thompson Insurance Services, serving Highland Village, TX, to learn how umbrella insurance can safeguard everything you’ve worked so hard to build.

Umbrella Coverage – Increased Liability Protection for Your Place of Business

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Do you operate a large business that serves many clients? If so, your standard liability insurance policy may not provide sufficient coverage for unexpected risks. Here are some situations that might prompt you to consider acquiring an umbrella insurance policy.

Injury Risks

Your products or services could potentially cause an unexpected injury. If any of the goods or services you offer carry inherent risks, you may need to increase the amount of liability coverage available to you.

An umbrella insurance policy serves as a safety net, providing supplemental coverage to help cover out-of-pocket legal costs, medical bills, and other unforeseen expenses. This additional protection ensures your business is prepared for situations that exceed the limits of your standard liability policy.

Threat of Damage

Accidents happen—whether it’s a delivery driver or an onsite worker causing damage to another party’s machinery, or equipment within your business, causing harm. These scenarios can lead to significant financial and legal challenges.

If your business faces considerable risks of property damage, an umbrella insurance policy can provide the extra liability protection you need. This coverage can help manage high legal expenses and other costs associated with resolving disputes or legal battles.

Conducting a Business Risk Analysis

Performing a thorough analysis of your business operations is a smart way to identify injury and damage risks. This evaluation will help you make an informed decision about whether adding umbrella insurance to your business insurance policy is the right move.

Learn More About Umbrella Insurance

Do you have questions or concerns about umbrella insurance? Contact one of our agents at Thompson Insurance Services. Our team, serving Highland Village, TX, is ready to schedule a consultation and help you explore your options.

Does Renter’s Insurance Cover Tornado Damage?

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If you’re a renter, you may be aware of the importance of renter’s insurance in protecting your belongings. It often provides reimbursement for theft. However, many renters also lose everything when there’s a natural disaster, such as a tornado. So, does renter’s insurance cover tornado damage?

Windstorm Damage

Many renters’ insurance policies include windstorm coverage, which means your policy may cover damage to your belongings due to a tornado. This coverage includes damage to personal belongings you have inside or outside the home, but it won’t cover damage to the building itself.

Exclusions Apply

Most renters insurance policies in Highland Village, TX, specifically exclude natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes. There may be fine print that excludes tornadoes, too. It’s always important to speak with a professional at Thompson Insurance Services to ensure you’re covered during common natural disasters.

Common Coverage

These insurance policies commonly cover your personal belongings. However, the landlord’s homeowner’s insurance policy covers damages to the structure. Some policies include additional coverage for lodging expenses. Cars on the property usually aren’t covered because car insurance policies cover them.

Every Policy Is Different

Renter’s insurance tends to differ from one company to the next. Some include lodging expenses as a standard part of the policy, while other companies require you to purchase additional coverage for reimbursement for lodging. Consider what you want in your insurance policy, and then contact a professional agent to ensure you have the coverage you need.

Here at Thompson Insurance Services, we understand the importance of proper coverage. Our agents will work with you to understand your needs and create a policy to protect you during a crisis. Contact us today to learn more. We’re currently serving the Highland Village, TX, area.

Umbrella Insurance vs. Excess Liability: What’s the Difference?

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If you live in the Highland Village, TX, area and are considering an umbrella insurance policy, Thompson Insurance Services is here to assist. We understand you may have questions about this type of coverage, and we’re more than happy to answer them. Whether you already have a policy and need to make updates or you’re exploring a new policy for the first time, our trusted agents can help you secure the proper protection for peace of mind.

Understanding Umbrella Insurance

An umbrella policy is designed to provide coverage beyond the limits of your current auto, home, and other policies. It’s more than just added coverage; it doesn’t increase those policies’ limits. Instead, it offers a blanket of expanded coverage for more than just what your other policies typically handle. Many people think this kind of coverage is only for people with high levels of assets, but an umbrella policy is valuable coverage for anyone.

Excess Liability Can Also Provide Protection

Excess liability differs from an umbrella policy because it only increases the protection limits of the policies you already have. In other words, there’s no ongoing or overarching blanket of protection from this kind of coverage. Having higher coverage limits can be helpful, but you won’t get the expanded kind of coverage an umbrella policy provides.

Discuss Your Options With an Agent

Contact us today at Thompson Insurance Services if you’re in the Highland Village, TX area and want to learn more about umbrella insurance. We can provide you with quotes from multiple insurers and help you choose the right one to meet your needs. Having that extra layer of protection can be a great way to have more peace of mind and feel secure as you navigate through life.

How to Collect Renters Insurance

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The unfortunate news is that an incident has occurred at your rented property. It could be a burglary, a storm causing a tree branch to break a window, or even an outburst from your father-in-law over a Cowboys’ loss. Regardless of the cause, the silver lining is that you had the foresight to secure renters’ insurance! Now, it’s time to claim what you’re entitled to.

Seven Easy Steps

Firstly, if necessary, file a police report to have a legal record of theft or vandalism to present to your insurer. As per your rental agreement, your landlord should be the next person you inform. Following this, notify your renters’ insurance company and provide them with the necessary documentation. Take photographs of the damage to include with your claim and maintain organized records of all related information. If you need to relocate while repairs are being made, your policy’s additional living expenses coverage may cover this, provided you keep all receipts. You can complete your claim once you have gathered all the documentation and receipts. It would also be beneficial to update your home inventory at this point.

Contact Thompson Insurance Services in Highland Village, TX

Insurance is always a wise choice whether you’re a renter or a homeowner. If you’re in the Highland Village, TX area and are considering renters’ insurance, please get in touch with Thompson Insurance Services. We will promptly connect you with one of our friendly and skilled agents who will go above and beyond to help you find the insurance policy that best fits your unique needs.

What Types of Policies Can Umbrella Insurance Supplement?

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Many residents of Highland Village, TX, have assets that they wish to protect effectively. Primary insurance policies offer sound protection; however, umbrella insurance can potentially add millions in additional liability protection. At Thompson Insurance Services, we can help you supplement various primary policies with secondary umbrella insurance.

Extending Home and Auto Policies

Umbrella insurance is designed to serve as an additional layer of security on top of your primary insurance policies, most importantly, your home insurance and auto insurance.

Both of these can come with substantial liability protection, but a tragic accident might result in a lawsuit so expensive that it surpasses either of these policy’s limits. Umbrella insurance may offer additional protection, thereby more effectively shielding you against significant lawsuits.

Adding onto Boat and ATV Policies

Umbrella insurance can also supplement insurance policies that cover "toys.” Boat insurance, ATV insurance, RV insurance, and other similar policies might all benefit from an umbrella policy.
We at Thompson Insurance Services often recommend that anyone with a boat or ATV consider umbrella insurance. A boat or ATV accident could seriously injure multiple people.

Supplementing Landlord Policies

Many landlords in Highland Village, TX, supplement their landlord policies with umbrella insurance, particularly if they rent out multiple or multi-unit properties. If a tenant sues, legal fees and a settlement might exceed a landlord policy’s liability coverage.

Find Umbrella Insurance

Contact us today if you need to supplement one or more primary insurance policies. One of our insurance agents can help you find umbrella insurance that effectively complements your primary policies.

Renter’s Insurance Fundamentals: What You Need to Know

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Renter’s insurance is a useful, usually voluntary, investment created for residents of Highland Village, TX, who rent their living space. It protects your finances in the case of potential liability and losses and provides tremendous peace of mind. Here are some key fundamentals:

  • Deductible: If you file a claim, your payout will be the full amount minus your deductible. The deductible is the amount you agree to pay out of pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in.
  • Exclusions: The renter’s insurance does not cover damage to the home’s structure or water damage. Your landlord must handle these components. 
  • Personal property coverage: Renter’s insurance covers your belongings, like clothing, electronics, and furniture, in case of fire, theft, and other disasters.
  • Additional living expenses: If a disaster occurs that your policy covers and forces you to live somewhere else temporarily, your renter’s insurance will cover it.
  • Liability coverage: It provides liability coverage for accidental property damage and injuries you cause to others. This also extends to legal expenses in the event someone sues you. 
  • Actual cash value vs replacement cost: When you first get your policy, you must decide between replacement cost and actual cash value (ACV). ACV coverage factors depreciation into the value of your reimbursement. Replacement cost coverage, on the other hand, reimburses you for what your items cost at today’s prices. 
  • Optional coverage: It’s possible to add optional coverage for your valuable belongings that is higher than the per-item limit of your policy.

Renter’s insurance is a wise investment that protects your belongings and provides liability coverage. It’s an excellent way for renters to know that they’re protected if disaster strikes. If you have any more questions, our experts at Thompson Insurance Services are happy to help.

What is not covered by umbrella insurance?

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Once your auto or home insurance has reached its upside limit, you may resort to umbrella insurance as an additional layer of protection. This type of insurance surely offers a significant security blanket, but it does come with its boundaries. In this blog post, we aim to shed light on the areas not covered by umbrella insurance:

Umbrella Insurance: What Falls Outside its Protective Canopy?

Here is an outline of key areas that umbrella insurance does not cover:

  • Your injuries. Umbrella insurance isn’t designed to cover your personal injuries. Its primary objective is to cover personal liability claims. Hence, if you seek coverage for medical expenses due to an injury, you need separate healthcare insurance or a suitable coverage policy.
  • Damage to your property. Unfortunately, umbrella insurance does not cover damages inflicted on your property. Therefore, you should arrange separate coverage policies to shield your items and assets.
  • Your business and associated expenses. If you run a business, be aware that umbrella insurance doesn’t cover your enterprise’s financial losses. Therefore, you need a separate business umbrella policy that caters to your business’s protective needs.
  • Intentional illicit activities. Any illegal acts committed purposefully evade umbrella insurance coverage. Consequently, if you are involved in unlawful actions or events, an umbrella insurance policy won’t help.

Obtaining Suitable Umbrella Insurance Policy

If you reside in Highland Village, TX, or neighboring areas and are considering procuring an umbrella insurance policy, Thompson Insurance Services, a local insurance company specializing in multiple insurance types, stands ready to assist. Contact Thompson Insurance Services today to enjoy proper coverage tomorrow.

Does Renter’s Insurance Cover Appliances I Own?

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Renters comprise thirty-six percent of American households, and few can afford to lose their possessions, including appliances. While rental insurance policies cover renter-owned appliances, you should consider several nuances to confirm you have the coverage you need. The Thompson Insurance Services team, serving Highland Village, TX, can help you understand your renter’s insurance options.

Which Appliances Are Covered and When?

Like home policies, rental policies cover renter-owned appliances when stolen or damaged due to a covered peril. The policies cover kitchen and laundry appliances, televisions, computers and printers, video game consoles, vacuums, and other possessions. The policies cover perils such as fire and smoke, leaky pipes, theft, and vandalism but generally exclude damage from earthquakes, floods, electrical surges, or lack of maintenance.

Renters Insurance Considerations

All insurance policies come with coverage limits and exclusions, so you should review these with your agent. Policies limit the reimbursable amount in the event of a claim, with policies often capped at $3,000. Renters often have appliances exceeding that value, so most should consider adding an endorsement to raise the limit and ensure their appliances are covered adequately.

Policies commonly do not cover damage from power surges unless the surge was due to a lightning strike. Likewise, damage from wind, floods, and other natural events is not covered, but you can add it with an endorsement.

In addition, rental policies are often limited to items kept at the rental property, not at work or other locations.

Working with Thompson Insurance Services

Thompson Insurance Services, serving Highland Village, TX, has experience with all aspects of renters insurance. We will happily talk with you and structure a policy that meets your needs. So, call us or stop in today to obtain the renter’s insurance that fully protects your household.