Farmers Agent David Lorms participated in the Oak Forest Elementary School Parents night Thursday September 8, 2011 by handing out free finger printing kits and saftey coloring books for children. The finger printing kits are part of an Identification Packet that serves as the first step in an Amber Alert.

State Farm Seeks 10% Homeowners Rate Hike in Texas September 14, 2011

State Farm Insurance has filed notice seeking an average 10 percent increase in Texas homeowner rates. But company officials say discounts will be boosted to hold the actual premium hike to 1.4 percent statewide. The Dallas Morning News reports State Farm has also proposed a requiring customers to shift to a deductible of 1 percent of the home’s insured value. Current deductibles are often a flat rate, such as $500 or $1,000. Company officials said that the new deductibles are in line with the increased cost of home repairs. State Farm wants the changes to take effect Oct. 15 for new customers and Dec. 1 for existing policyholders. A new Texas law requires the state insurance commissioner to complete a review of the request within 30 days

Allstate planning 'dramatic' rate hikes within homeowners

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 1:25 PM ET

By Adam Cancryn

Allstate Corp. will combat mounting catastrophe losses with significant price hikes in its homeowners insurance segment, Chairman, President and CEO Thomas Wilson II said at a conference hosted by Barclays on Sept. 13.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters have cut into the company's profitability over the last three years and left its homeowners division with combined ratios exceeding 100%. Rather than hoping for calmer years going forward, Wilson said Allstate is adapting its business based on expectations that catastrophe losses will remain at these elevated levels. "We're assuming that expenses and losses will stay where they're at," Wilson said. "The first thing you've got to do is raise prices."

Allstate increased its homeowners rates by 8.4% in 2009 and 7.0% in 2010. It raised them another 3.4% during the first half of this year. However, the company plans on a few more years of "pretty dramatic price increases" before it is comfortable with the segment's disaster risk. At the same time, Wilson said the division has steadily reduced its exposure by cutting a significant number of policies in force.

Allstate will also reduce claims costs by redesigning its roof coverage products to age-rate the roofs it covers. The new approach will lower payouts for damage to older roofs. The fixed annuities segment has also dragged on Allstate's performance, Wilson said. The single-digit returns have been "subpar" while the broader economy struggles, but the company has no plans to radically alter the portfolio until interest rates start to improve.

"We're intentionally keeping returns low because we don't want to invest long term," he said. "When rates go up, we'll be able to reposition that business with different investments." Wilson also provided a brief update on Allstate's pending acquisition of Esurance, saying it is rethinking the company's marketing strategy. No major steps can be taken until the deal is closed, but Wilson said the insurer is considering bringing in a new advertising agency to lead the promotional push.

Safety Information given to Parents by David Lorms

David Lorms, Farmers Insurance Agent, passed out child safety information and identification packets to parents of studends of LU LU Stevens Elementary School on Parents night last Tuesday, September 30th, 2011. Pictured with Lorms is Principal Lucy Anderson.

Life insurance - Now is the time to get it started

According to a recent study published by the Life Insurance and Market Research Association, in 2010, 30 percent of U.S. households had no life insurance coverage at all.1

Taking steps to help protect your family’s financial future — it’s never too late or too early to start. For many of us, life is hectic and fast-moving and life insurance may not seem like a priority. Consider, however: Your ability to earn income is a significant asset to your family, and life insurance could help replace lost income in the event of your death. And if you do own life insurance, it’s important to review it and re-evaluate your needs periodically. Why? Well, as changes in your life circumstances occur, changes in your life insurance needs may follow. That’s why it’s a good idea to review and evaluate your needs at least every few years and certainly when big changes or life events occur.

Life is full of the unexpected
We can’t prevent or predict the unexpected, but we can prepare for it. Life insurance gives you the opportunity to help protect your family’s lifestyle, dreams and finances should the unexpected occur.

Life insurance can help your family:

Continue to pay the home mortgage
Maintain their current standard of living
Pay off debts, estate taxes and final expenses
Create a fund for college education
Create a fund for a family member with special needs
Help protect their dreams for the future
Take some time to think about life insurance and talk about life insurance. And call me — we can work together to help you be sure you have the coverage you want and the protection your family deserves.

Peak Hurricane Season is Here

The height of the 2011 Hurricane Season is here, which means a significant risk of flooding in both coastal communities and those far inland as well. In fact, some of the worst damage from recent hurricanes occurred hundreds or even thousands of miles from the coast—as far as New York state due to Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and through much of the Midwest and into Pennsylvania because of Hurricane Ike in 2008. While your customers may not be aware of the risk until your community is threatened with an impending storm, they need to know now that there is typically a 30-day waiting period for a flood insurance policy to take effect.

Encourage your customers to get covered now. Let them know that flood insurance is more affordable than they may think. The average flood insurance policy is around $579 a year and in moderate-to-low-risk areas, Preferred Risk Policies start as low as $129 a year.

Costly Consequences

Eight of the top ten most expensive federally declared disasters were caused by hurricanes. Just a few inches of water can cause tens of thousands of dollars of damage and last year, the average individual flood insurance claim was more than $24,000. Without flood insurance protection, many property owners have to absorb the financial losses on their own, potentially draining their savings.

Tools You Can Use to Market Flood Insurance

Visit FloodSmart.gov to find essential information and tools that will help remind your customers to prepare for the dangers of flooding all year long, and please share these interactive resources with your customers, colleagues and partners as well.

Cost-of-Flooding Tool: Gives consumers an estimate of how much they will have to pay to repair their properties based on various levels of flooding.
One-Step Flood Risk Profile Assessment Tool: Enables consumers to enter their address and learn about their property’s flood risk.
Hurricane Flooding Fact Sheets: Explains hurricane season risks.
Hurricane Season Widget: A simple interactive application that you can post to your website that includes helpful flood risk/flood insurance information and tips for your customers.
Levee Simulator: Demonstrates how levees work and the risks home and business owners face when they fail.

Condo coverage

As many of us consider downsizing, condominiums or co-ops may become an attractive alternative to the responsibilities that go along with single-family home ownership. But sometimes questions arise with regard to responsibility for and ownership of various parts of the property. Obviously, you — the unit owner — own your personal property, like your sofa and bedroom dresser. But what about the interior walls, plumbing and other parts of the property? Those questions often lead to concerns about insurance. How do you know what insurance you need?

Who owns what?
When a condominium or co-op is being built, the developer creates a declaration that provides the organizational structure. This declaration usually becomes the guiding document for the association and each unit owner because it outlines the common elements — parts of the property owned and shared among all unit owners — that are the association’s responsibility. The association normally obtains an insurance policy to cover association property and liability. As the unit owner, you buy insurance to cover your personal property and liability, as well as building property that’s defined as part of the condominium unit and for which you’re responsible under your association’s documents.

The “association policy” — Sometimes called the “master policy,” this is provided by the condo/co-op board, and generally insures the common areas for both liability and property damage — the roof, basement, elevator, boiler, pool and walkways, for instance.
Your individual condo policy — This covers your personal possessions and provides additional living expenses in the event your unit becomes uninhabitable due to damage caused by fire, tornado or other covered loss. Typically, your policy would include personal liability, unit owner’s building property and loss assessment coverage as well.

Let’s work together
Insurance coverage for condo or co-op owners can get complicated, so call me. I can answer your questions about the condo policy, explain coverage provisions and identify discounts for which you may qualify and deductibles you may choose. And if you’re sticking with your single-family home — or if you rent — I can help you with that as well. Forward this to someone you know — I can help them, too.