Travelers, Safeco and Progressive Insurance are 3 of our favorite homeowners insurance and automobile insurance providers to quote and sell in Oklahoma because…..

1. they offer excellent coverages

2. their claim service is what you expect it to be and

3. they offer rate stability….they don’t price gouge you on your renewal.

You can always get a quote easily on our website. Click here to get one now.

Most Independent Insurance Agents represent 10 or more companies homeowner insurance companies in Oklahoma and they are usually willing to quote any of them.  That is where Statewide Insurance Agency is different….we only quote products of companies with proven track records of price,  coverage and service stability.

Furthermore, you do not have to ask us to review your home insurance policy when it renews…..we do it automatically as one of the agencies most important processes.

Please consider Statewide Insurance Agency the next time you need a quote on your home or car insurance in Oklahoma.

The post Compare Home Insurance Quotes in Oklahoma City first appeared on Statewide Insurance Agency.

The post Travelers Home Insurance first appeared on Statewide Insurance Agency.

Our agency has represented Safeco Insurance as an Independent Insurance Agent for the past 9 years.  We represent many home and car insurance companies but Safeco is our largest.  In a typical year,  they payout out over $1M to our customers in home insurance and car insurance related claims.  Safeco Insurance pays all of our customer’s claims quickly and fairly and is very easy to do business with!   So why are you seeing negative reviews on the internet??

The Biggest Reason:  Lead generation companies that sell home and car insurance leads to insurance agents are cleverly disguising their objectives by hosting insurance review sites that offer customers a place to voice their opinion.  Unhappy customers are 10 times more likely to want to share their story than a satisfied customer making it easy to provide a forum for, and attract, unhappy customers.   Their objective is to create doubt about the company you are looking at so that you will be more likely to get a quote from them or the advertiser on the site.

How do you know if a site is trying to manipulate you with fake reviews?  This one is easy…. if the review site is trying to offer you a quote or if it has advertisers on the site trying to entice you to get a homeowners insurance quote, you are probably being manipulated.  If you are not being asked to get a quote, there is a much higher probability that the site is legitimate.  Keep in mind that Safeco and other nationwide carriers are very large.  They pay out hundreds of millions of dollars each year and some consumers are not going to be happy with the settlement of their claim…..which brings me to my last point…

Why are some consumers dissatisfied with their claim payment (regardless of the company)?  Again, I think this question is pretty easy….there are 3 reasons:  First, the agent that sold the policy failed to explain the coverages in an understandable way or the agent didn’t understand them will enough himself/herself to explain them.   Second, the agent sold lesser/inferior coverage just to make the sale.  Lastly, the consumer didn’t ask enough questions to understand what he/she was buying and/or the consumer doesn’t have the legal, technical expertise to interpret the written policy contract.

Violation of the written insurance contract leads to bad faith lawsuits that will cost an insurance company dearly.  Any competent attorney will take this type of case if the contract has been violated.  My point is that insurance companies rarely violate the written contract and so the problem goes back to consumers not knowing what they have purchased due to the shortcomings of the agent or their failure to do their due diligence in shopping.

Von Nix, Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter

The post Safeco Insurance Ratings: Fake Homeowners Insurance Reviews in Oklahoma first appeared on Statewide Insurance Agency.

Update: February 23, 2020

Here is my latest update for home insurance in Oklahoma….*

1.  Progressive Insurance:  They still offer an excellent value and are a good long term choice for many consumers
2. Safeco Insurance (a Liberty Mutual Company):  This is, by far, the biggest change on my update.  Bundling discounts with Safeco pretty much require you to place your home and car insurance with them; however, their package is going to be very strong for consumers with good credit and good loss history.
3. State Farm Insurance:  They offer excellent service and good long term value for some consumers.  Their pricing varies quite a bit but they are worthy of consideration.
4. Allstate Insurance:  They have aggressive growth strategies in Oklahoma and so their pricing is good in some areas for some consumers…I’m not sure about their rate stability and consumers should ask about discounts that diminish or totally go away after the first year!
5. Encompass Insurance (an Allstate Insurance Company):  For many years Encompass was the “high value home” solution offered by Allstate.  Now Encompass is available for dwelling coverage as low as $150,000 and as high as $3M.  They have excellent coverages and they are becoming increasingly competitive.

• Disclosure – Statewide Insurance Agency represents Progressive, Safeco and Encompass but not State Farm or Allstate.

Protecting Oklahoma Homes From Storms

Get quality homeowners insurance at lower cost.

The post Oklahoma Homeowners Catch a Break on Insurance first appeared on Statewide Insurance Agency.

Statewide Insurance Agency offers Oklahoman’s that are looking for home insurance options so that the proper balance between cost and coverage is achieved.

The discussion that follows explains the difference between Replacement policies and Market Value/Actual Cash Value policies. We understand that no one size fits all Oklahoma consumers when you are getting quotes for your homeowners insurance.

It is quite common for insurance companies to offer quotes on homes in Oklahoma City for more than the market value. This often poses the question from Oklahoma homeowners, “Why is my house being insured for more than it is worth?” Before determining how much to insure a house for, it must be decided how the insurance company will value the house if there is a claim. One method offered is to value the property at Replacement Cost, which as the name implies, is intended to pay to replace the property, without regard to the original or current purchase price and without regard to depreciation.

In most situations, the Replacement Cost option is going to result in a higher claim payment then if the property was insured at its current value (sometimes called Actual Cash Value coverage – ACV). An insurance company is only obligated to pay up to the limit of insurance; therefore, the house may need to be insured for more than it is worth. In order to obtain Replacement Cost Coverage, the house will need to be insured for the amount it would cost to replace it.

Most property depreciates in value over time. A television set would not be sold today for the same amount it was purchased for ten years ago; it would be sold for less, most likely much less than the original purchase price. A policy containing a replacement cost provision would pay today’s cost of a new television set of like kind and quality which would be more than if the policy only paid for the value of the ten-year old television set (see ACV coverage above).

On a larger scale, the cost to rebuild or replace an entire home could be significantly more than the home was purchased for or could be currently sold for. Even for a home built this year, the cost to rebuild it very easily could differ from the original cost. There are several factors to consider when making an attempt to measure the cost of replacing a home, such as:

No economies of scale
Cost of preparing the home to be rebuilt
Access to the home site may be limited or obstructed
Increase in labor costs due to high demand, as in the event of a catastrophic event
Increase in material costs, possibly due to shortages or discontinued
There are several methods used to estimate the replacement cost of a home. Some of the factors insurance companies use are:

Building materials
Type of foundation
Attached or detached garages
Square footage
Location of the home
Fireplace
Upgrades
Number of rooms and baths

Replacement Cost Coverage is an option many homeowners should consider when looking for homeowners insurance. Obtaining this coverage will require the house be insured at the estimated Replacement Cost value, which typically is a higher amount than the market value. With the limit of insurance being higher, the premium will also be higher. Certainly no one wants to pay more for insurance, but the difference in a claim payment could be several thousands of dollars.

https://okstatewide.com

The post Looking For Homeowners Insurance in Oklahoma? first appeared on Statewide Insurance Agency.

Our Specialty: Home and car insurance in Oklahoma….we don’t try to be experts in all lines of insurance.

Our Experience:  As of this writing, every staff person has an Oklahoma Agents License to service and sale and our staff of 7 has 108 years of combined personal insurance experience.

Our Motivation:  We desire slow, steady growth through long term client relationships.

Our Commitment:  To place your best interest above our own.

Statewide Insurance Agency

“Okstatewide.com – when you tired of fighting homeowners insurance in Oklahoma”

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While self-storage units may be a useful way to de-clutter your home, having the right insurance coverage is the best way to financially protect your belongings—no matter where they are.

If you are planning to rent a storage unit for your belongings, take the following steps:

• Ask your insurance professional about off-premises coverage. Some standard Oklahoma homeowners insurance and renters insurance policies include coverage for personal possessions kept off-premises including a storage facility. Off-premises coverage includes theft and damage from fires, tornadoes and other perils listed in the policy. However, it does not cover for damage caused by flooding, earthquakes, mold and mildew, vermin or poor maintenance. And check the coverage limits, as these vary by company.

• Find out what type of financial protection is provided by the storage facility. Most facilities provide reimbursement based on the square footage of the unit. Check both the coverage limits and whether it is provided on an actual cash value or replacement cost basis. Most storage facilities will also offer a variety of supplemental insurance packages; ask your insurance professional if it would make sense to buy this additional coverage.

• Consider special insurance or storage for expensive items. If you intend to store valuable property, such as art, antiques, jewelry or furs, there may be dollar restrictions under your standard Oklahoma homeowners or renters insurance policy for theft. Ask your insurance professional about adding a floater or endorsement [1] to your policy in order to fully cover these items. There are also specialized storage facilities available for these types of items, as they often need to be kept at specific temperature and humidity levels. Small items such as jewelry will cost less to insure if they are kept in a bank safe-deposit box. Keep in mind contents in a safe-deposit box are not insured by the bank.

• Create an inventory of items to be kept off-premises in storage. Add the items you’re moving to the storage unit to your home inventory so that you can keep track of your belongings and make sure you have the right amount of insurance to protect them. To make creating your inventory as easy as possible, the I.I.I. has a free home inventory tool, Know Your Stuff® [2], which includes secure online storage so you can access your inventory anywhere, anytime.

The I.I.I. offers the following tips for choosing a safe storage company:

• Look for a secure facility. Fencing that secures the entire property and access control are the minimum security measures a storage business should offer. But, ideally, the storage building should have onsite security features such as 24-hour video surveillance cameras and coded security pads. Also, find out about the facility’s procedures in cases such as a fire or flood.

• Look for a unit with climate control. Very high or low temperatures, as well as dampness can quickly cause damage to appliances and furniture. And make sure that rising ground water from snow or rain is unable to penetrate the storage.

• Consider a storage company that offers insurance. If your renters or homeowners insurance does not provide off-premises coverage, you may want to opt for one of the company’s coverage options. Keep in mind that any facility should also have its own insurance to cover damages to the property or injuries that occur on the premises.

• Check that the facility is clean and well-maintained. If a storage facility is not routinely and thoroughly cleaned, there is a good possibility no one is monitoring for bugs and rodent infestations. Verify that the facility has a permanent, reliable pest extermination contract in place before you trust them with your belongings.

http://www.iii.org

The post Self-Storage Facilities: Insurance and Safety Tips for Storing Your Stuff first appeared on Statewide Insurance Agency.

There are two primary types of homeowner’s insurance: replacement cost and actual cash value. In a replacement-cost policy, the structure is insured for the cost of repairing the damage or building a comparable replacement, regardless of its age. If mandated by the local authorities, the repairs and construction will have to incorporate any upgrades required by the building codes in force at the time of the rebuild.

A key provision is that in a replacement-cost policy, there is no reduction in the payout because of depreciation. A 10-year-old roof is paid out the same as a nearly-new roof. For example, a 15-year-old roof is destroyed in a hailstorm. The roof has multiple layers of shingles, and the sheeting is deteriorated. New building codes require a full tear-off, including new sheeting and rafter repair. A replacement-cost policy will cover the supplemental work, even though the rafter damage isn’t a direct result of the storm.

As the name implies, an actual-cash-value, or ACV, policy pays out the fair market value of the damaged portion of the home at that time of the loss, minus depreciation. For example, a 15-year-old roof destroyed in a hailstorm may only be valued at $2,000 to $3,000. After the typical $1,000 deductible, the homeowner may only receive a single lump-sum payment of $1,000 to $2,000 to apply to the cost of repair or replacement of the roof.

Another consideration is the insurance coverage on the contents of the home. This comes into play after a major loss such as a fire or tornado. Replacement-cost policies pay for a comparable item, without regard to the age or condition of the original.

Some policies may be hybrids, with replacement cost on portions of the house, but ACV on other parts, such as the roof or windows. Contents are often rated at ACV. This is done for many reasons and there is nothing wrong or unprofessional about it. However, the policy owner needs to understand each part of the coverage — what is included and what is excluded.

The difference between replacement cost and actual-cash-value policies is significant, and homeowners need to make an informed choice. The primary reason to choose ACV is cost. The premiums for an ACV policy are significantly less than a full replacement policy. For many homeowners, ACV may be all they think they can afford. However, after a major loss, that cheap policy may not even pay back the premiums paid over many years.

Oklahoma City Homeowners shouldn’t wait for a disaster to take a second look at their insurance. A licensed agent can go over the existing coverage and explain not only what potential payouts might be, but also ways to economically upgrade. Feel free to call us at 405-285-2929 today, and we will answer any questions you have about homeowner’s insurance.

By the way, Statewide Insurance Agency offers Actual Cash Value home insurance policies as well as Replacement homeowners insurance policies!

“We shop up to 10 companies to find you the best coverage and price on your Oklahoma home insurance”