Imagine wading through your water-filled home or business finding many of your most cherished and vital possessions waterlogged and forever ruined. Unfortunately, each year many Texans don’t have to imagine this scenario and instead face it head on. Texas consistently has some of the highest fatality rates and property damage costs due to flooding. Let’s face it, next to fire or tornado/hurricane damage there are few things in the insurance world that are worse than a flooded home. And just because your property may be located outside a floodplain doesn’t mean you’re not at risk.
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New Appointments Increase Auto Carriers to 13 and Property Carriers to 20
Today, Hettler Insurance Agency announced it is appointed to quote State Auto Insurance Company and Hippo Insurance. Hettler Insurance is now an authorized agency with 13 different companies for vehicle policies and 15 for property (homeowners, renters, condo).
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Steady economic growth, a low cost of living and growing population make Lubbock, TX a great place to call home and live. Over 300,000 people call Lubbock home and the city is expected to grow 7% through 2022. Our diverse economy and job market outpace many other areas of the United States.
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Should You Stay or Jump?
Jim and his wife Nancy just celebrated their second year in a beautiful new home. The celebration didn’t last long, however, when the couple discovered their homeowners policy increased 35% versus the previous year! Even worse, the rate hike occurred without any claim activity and very little credit changes.
Maybe you’ve also felt Jim’s pain. It’s an all too common experience for homeowners in the Lone Star state.
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Wildfire Risk & Getting Insurance
Texas is second only to California as the state most at risk for wildfire, according to analytics company CoreLogic. At least 715,300 Texas residences are at high or extreme risk of wildfire.
A dry environment goes hand in hand with wildfire. West Texas and the Panhandle are receiving less rainfall each year, earning long term drought status. There is a high risk of wildfire affecting Lubbock and surrounding communities during certain months of the year.
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The Tiny House Trend
Most people have heard of the tiny house trend. But just how tiny are these homes? There’s no official definition, but most people consider a house less than 400 square feet as tiny. The average tiny house is only 186 square feet. This includes the living area, bathroom, kitchen and sleeping loft. Compare this to the average American house, which is currently 2,600 square feet, according to The Tiny Life. Tiny houses can be mobile, or set on permanent foundations.
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Now that the year is almost over, it’s time to evaluate 2016’s storm season in Lubbock and the greater south plains. We interviewed Joel Mowery, Co-Owner of SERVPRO of Southwest Lubbock. Together with Ron Hettler, President of Hettler Insurance, we have two experts on protecting property and restoring what is lost after a disaster.
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Halloween is known for bats, vampires, ghosts, witches, candy, and… insurance claims? These can be the spookiest of all. And Halloween is one of the biggest days for the kind of trickery that leads to insurance claims.
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All Texans know that we live in the greatest state on earth. As such, we don’t like to be bothered by problems that divert us from advancing our business, socializing or just relaxing with some Friday night football. So it’s no wonder that many folks don’t want to face the frightening and highly inconvenient problem of climate change. But it’s here, and a spate of recent weather extremes are affecting the insurance industry.
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Solar energy has become increasingly popular across the US. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar panel installation increased 16 percent from 2014 to 2015. More impressive, for the first time, solar overtook natural gas in new installations.
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