By Teresa McUsic
Special to the Star-Telegram
After years of record losses, the Texas home insurance market is starting to stabilize -- making this a good time to check around and make sure you are getting the best price for your policy.
The Texas Department of Insurance is a good place to start.
The department has released an updated and enhanced price-comparison guide for home and auto insurance. It uses data provided by the insurers writing new policies in the top 80 percent of the market statewide.
The new guides can be found on the department's Web site, www.tdi.state.tx.us, or you can request one at (800) 599-7467.
The guides have been updated from past issues. Now insurance shoppers can click on a map of the state to find comparative rates among insurers by region and city.
The new guides also offer expanded versions of typical home and auto policies. Now shoppers can find their closest profile based on eight different homeowner options (twice as many as previous tables) and seven types of drivers.
For example, my Arlington house is a 14-year-old brick veneer, which puts me closest to Owner 5, a policyholder for a 15-year-old brick veneer home.
Based on the guide, my annual premium could range from $601 to $1,773 for a HO-A Amended policy, the most common homeowner policy written in Texas today. The table is based on a home valued at $100,000 with $40,000 in content and a 1 percent deductible.
The auto price comparisons list estimates based on seven hypothetical driver profiles, up from four profiles in the previous rate guides. Profiles vary by age, sex and use of vehicle (drive to work or pleasure.) Because only liability insurance is required by the state, comprehensive policies on individual cars are not included in the guide.
The guide's pricing formulas do not include an array of discounts most carriers offer, but they do give homeowners a ballpark figure to work with, said Jerry Hagins, Insurance Department spokesman.
"You can't go to the bank with the tables," Hagins said. "It provides a starting point to make informed comparisons."
Such insurance shopping makes more sense given that the homeowner's insurance market in the state has been stable, he said.
"It's really important as the Texas homeowners market stabilizes and gets more competitive for people to shop around," he said. "It's to their advantage, and we enhanced our comparison tools for consumers to do that."
Consumers should know that the state requires carriers to offer some discounts on home insurance, but others are optional.
The following discounts are mandatory, although Lloyds insurers and reciprocal exchanges may offer different percentages because of their exemption from rate regulation:
• A hail-resistant roof can save you up to 34 percent, depending on your county's history of damaging hailstorms. Check the department's Web site for a list of roofing products that qualify.
• You can get a 15 percent cut for an eligible burglar alarm system and a 5 percent discount for deadbolt locks and other burglar-proofing devices. Both discounts may require inspections by the crime prevention unit of your local police department or sheriff's office.
• An approved sprinkler system can shave 8 percent off your homeowner's premium.
• Companies may give voluntary discounts for such things as permanently marking personal property as a theft deterrent, installing a "dry hydrant" to provide water for fighting fires at a rural residence, buying a "companion" auto policy with the same company and having a good claim record. Ask about those discounts when you shop.
In addition to a price comparison, the guides include a complaint index based on complaints received over the previous year on each insurer, an important point to consider when shopping around. A list of the possible discounts provided by each insurer is also in the guide.
The guides also provide contact information for all companies listed, an AM Best financial rating and shopping tips.
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