Wondering if you need umbrella insurance? First, let’s define umbrella insurance and why it is usually recommended. Most people are familiar with auto or home insurance and their own coverage limits. Umbrella insurance goes a step further with its coverage. In the event of a lawsuit or accident, umbrella insurance can offer more coverage once regular limits have been reached.

Umbrella insurance may be used to cover legal fees, for example, if they exceed your insurance liabilities. If you are not covered by an umbrella policy, you would have to pay out of pocket for any amount over your limits. Lawsuits and accidents are pricey, so umbrella insurance is typically recommended if you have assets like a vehicle or home. 

While umbrella insurance is not required in Texas, it is highly recommended. Essentially, the more potential risk of your assets, the more likely you are to need umbrella insurance. Make sure to verify your claim and coverage with an agent in your area. If you are in the Austin, TX area, contact the knowledgeable team at Southwest Insurance Center. They can provide the most up to date information and umbrella insurance coverage options.

Landlord liabilities, serious bodily injury liabilities, and even libel or slander may potentially be covered with umbrella insurance. Umbrella insurance is one of the answers to life’s unexpected events. This personal insurance can absolve many worries with its extra coverage.

Depending on the amount of coverage and your assets, you may have to raise your insurance liability limits. Get in touch with the Southwest Insurance Center, serving the Austin, TX area to confirm your current coverage and get specifics on umbrella insurance policies.

Southwest Insurance Center serves the Austin, TX community by offering insurance coverage. We are committed to helping our clients find the policies they need regardless of their situation. We embrace our role as an independent insurance agency and we work hard to provide a valuable experience.

Clarifying Some Common RV Insurance Statements

Many residents in the Austin, TX community enjoy riding their RV to get away from the stress of everyday life. However, it’s important that you have protection while you are traveling around. RV insurance covers your vehicle if you are involved in an accident or if the vehicle is damaged due to inclement weather. The policy also covers any of the personal items that you have in the RV if they are stolen and vandalized. While you are researching different policies, here is the truth regarding some aspects of RV insurance.

What About Extra Coverage?

Perhaps you’ve heard that adding extra coverage isn’t necessary if you don’t have valuable items. The truth is that you should consider adding extra coverage regardless if you have valuable possessions on your RV or not. If you add any accessories to your RV, adding extra coverage is important because it allows you to protect them if severe weather causes damages.

Am I Covered During An Emergency?

Yes, you are covered if your RV is damaged and you have to find a temporary place to stay. You can also amend your policy to include emergency assistance if your RV has engine troubles.  

Storage Coverage Is Important

If you plan to place your RV in storage when you aren’t using it, make sure that you have coverage. Accidents can happen at any moment. Storage coverage will protect your RV if someone tries to steal or vandalize it while you aren’t using it.

Consult With Southwest Insurance Center

Visit our website today to learn more information about RV insurance policies.

In the Austin, TX area, the warm weather can make it a great place to own a motorcycle. Those that live here will be able to enjoy having one due to the efficient mode of transportation that it provides. While a motorcycle can be a fun and efficient mode of transportation, they are still an important responsibility that you need to carefully cover with insurance. There are many benefits that come when you get insurance for your motorcycle.

Coverage for Your Asset

One of the key advantages that come when you get motorcycle insurance is you will receive coverage for your asset. If you have a motorcycle, you will have invested money into the purchase and ongoing maintenance of it. The last thing that you will want to have happened would be to lose that investment if the motorcycle is damaged or stolen. With motorcycle insurance, you can receive coverage for this.

Liability Coverage

Another advantage that will come when you get motorcycle insurance is liability protection. Anyone that gets a motorcycle could cause an accident when they are operating it. If this does happen, you will have to pay for the damages caused. While these can be significant, a motorcycle insurance policy will offset the risks by providing you with liability coverage.

There are many reasons that someone should get a motorcycle insurance policy if they buy one in the Austin, TX area. If you are going to get a motorcycle and want to further evaluate your insurance needs and options, you should call the team at the Southwest Insurance Center. If you do call the Southwest Insurance Center, you can learn a lot more about the options at your disposal. This will help to ensure you remain properly covered. 

There are no state laws in Texas that require boat owners to obtain insurance. You should, however, consider purchasing a good indemnity plan if you own watercraft in Austin, TX. The best boat insurance policies prevent significant financial losses and may protect you from lawsuits. Southwest Insurance Center can help you create the boat insurance plan that best suits your budget and lifestyle. 

What does boat insurance cover?

Boat insurance acts as a standard auto insurance plan by covering the following: 

• Personal injury to individuals involved in an accident;
• Theft of the vessel;
• Damage to the vessel in an accident;
• Medical bills of those injured in an accident.

It may also be possible to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist protection that guards you against financial loss if your boat is hit by another driver who lacks adequate coverage. 

Does boat insurance pay for a new boat?

The best boat insurance policy will pay for a new vessel in the instance that your boat is damaged beyond repair. Not all policies, however, are equal. 

Some boat insurance plans act as liability auto insurance coverage, which means they only pay for individuals injured and property damaged in an at-fault accident. You are responsible for all damages to your boat when you have this type of indemnity plan. 

What type of policy should you choose?

Not everyone in Austin, TX can purchase a boat. You should, therefore, buy a plan that speaks of your accomplishment. While it may not be necessary to purchase the most expensive policy, you should certainly consider buying a boat insurance plan that at least pays to replace your vessel. 

The agents at Southwest Insurance Center can help you fully understand what a boat insurance policy covers. Call them today to request a quote!

Some whole life policies offer a savings and investment account with them so you can protect your beneficiaries while saving and investing tax-free or tax-deferred. You might think you already have a 401K so what is the point?

Southwest Insurance Center, serving the Austin, TX metro, wants you to understand why you need both accounts to best protect your financial future. Traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) have a maximum amount that you can contribute annually. Once you reach that amount, you cannot place more funds into the IRA that year. That limits the amount you can invest tax-free or tax-deferred.

The cash value account tied to a life insurance plan has no such limitation. You can contribute to it after paying your life insurance premiums and do so to your heart’s content. The money in your cash-value account also gets invested in much the same way the funds in your IRA does. Many cash value accounts use the S&P index as their fund index. As it earns, so does your investment account.

This type of dual-purpose insurance policy provides the standard type of death benefit of other permanent insurance policies. When you die, your beneficiaries receive a payment, the death benefit, which is the value of the policy you purchase.

But providing an investment account now and a death benefit to your beneficiaries isn’t the only way this type of policy helps you. You can borrow from or against the cash value account throughout the time you have the policy. That lets you build credit more safely since you have the collateral in the cash value account to repay the loan. If you already have pristine credit, you can choose to withdraw from the cash value account although this may incur a penalty.

Contact Southwest Insurance Center serving Austin, TX to learn more about life insurance with cash value savings and investment accounts. You can boost your retirement savings while you protect your family from the financial effects of your death.

At Southwest Insurance Center we know many small and medium-sized business owners who work diligently every single day to make sure that their company provides quality services, has integrity, treats employees right, and has a path for growth in the future. Many business owners have so much to do and consider in a single day that their commercial insurance is simply a box checked off when the policy is purchased without much more thought. We want to make sure our customers in and around Austin, TX are always protected to the max so here are some scenarios where you may want to upgrade your commercial policy. 

• If your company added or moved locations. Your policy in one location likely is not one size fits all, be sure that you are covered anywhere you conduct your business. 
• If you add employees. More employees mean more people to protect, and more risk so you should always evaluate your policy as your company grows. 
• If you have increased in monetary value or assets. Congratulations on your success. Now you should know that even without changing a single element in your company, success itself actually increases your risk for lawsuits and leaves you with more to lose if something goes wrong. Many people add an umbrella policy to specifically cover liability and their increased assets as the company grows. 
• If you add a service. Did your company get its start selling graphic t-shirts that you designed yourself and now you also sell banners and deliver them around town? Or maybe you made floral bouquets and now you added edible arrangements? Whatever it is, you will be most protected if you update your commercial insurance to reflect all of your business services. 

Contact us at Southwest Insurance Center if you have any questions about insurance for your growing business. We serve the communities in and around Austin, TX. 

Those that are living in the Austin, TX area should consider purchasing a home as it provides many great benefits over the long run. If you are going to purchase a home, you should also carefully consider all of your insurance needs. One form of insurance that you should consider getting is dwelling fire insurance. There are several benefits that come when you get a dwelling fire insurance policy. 

Offers Protection for Specific Risk

One advantage of a dwelling fire insurance policy is that it can give you coverage for a specific risk. When you get a dwelling fire policy, it will give you coverage related to expenses that you incur due to a fire, explosions, and smoke damage. This can be used to help repair or rebuild your home or to repair or replace your personal belongings. It is a more specific form of coverage than a standard home insurance policy. 

Can Cover Lapse in Home Insurance

Depending on where you live and what the local risks are, it may be challenging to get fire protection through your base home insurance policy. Since this could be a real risk that you need to protect against, it is important that you cover these lapses as well as possible. One of the best ways that you can do this is by getting a dwelling fire insurance policy as it will give you the coverage that your base policy may not offer.

There are a lot of situations when someone in the Austin, TX area should get a dwelling fire insurance policy. If you believe that this form of insurance is right for you and your situation you should call Southwest Insurance Center. The team at Southwest Insurance Center can address any of your questions and concerns to ensure you receive proper coverage and support. 

A comprehensive insurance policy is a great idea if you have a newer car and want to make sure you are properly compensated if something happens. If you have questions about what your auto insurance covers, the agents at Southwest Insurance Center have the answers you need. The agency offers its services to the residents of Austin, TX, and many of the nearby communities. 

Your Lender Requires It

If you have a loan on your vehicle, your lender may require that you purchase comprehensive insurance. This ensures that if your vehicle is damaged in any way or stolen, they will be able to recover the cost of your loan.

Covers All Types of Damage

Comprehensive auto insurance covers all types of damage. Damages caused by break-ins, collisions, theft, or storm are all covered. With this type of policy, you may also be able to get a rental car and towing benefits as well.

Sense of Security

Many people choose a comprehensive auto insurance policy because it offers them a sense of security knowing they will not be left without a vehicle if the unthinkable happens. The policy will pay off their vehicle and they will be able to purchase a new one to replace it.

If you live in the Austin, TX area, you can find out everything you need to know about comprehensive auto insurance policies just by talking to one of the agents at Southwest Insurance Center. Place the call and one of the agents will be more than happy to discuss all of your options with you. They can go over your existing policy with you and discuss ways you can improve your coverage.

You make investments, investments of time as well as investments of money. Life, however, can jeopardize these investments through any number of unforeseen problems. No one can be protected from everything all the time, but there are steps you can take to help protect the investments you have made. At Southwest Insurance Center, serving Austin, TX, we love having the opportunity to educate our clients and future clients on important insurance topics and ways to help them protect their investments. Keep reading to learn what you need to know about umbrella insurance. 

What Is Umbrella Insurance 

You may be familiar with homeowner’s insurance, auto insurance, life, and health insurance. So, what is umbrella insurance? Umbrella insurance is an additional type of insurance which you can purchase to supplement any insurance you already have. The purpose of umbrella insurance is to keep you protected in the event that your regular policy does not cover the extent of expenses incurred during an event. This can apply to car insurance, homeowner’s insurance, health insurance, and others. 

Who Needs Umbrella Insurance?

Anyone can benefit from umbrella insurance, however, individuals who are more at risk of liability, as well as individuals with substantial assets should definitely consider investing in this additional type of coverage. In this way, you can be sure that your finances are not put in danger if an event super cedes a current policy. 

What is Covered Under Umbrella Insurance?

Umbrella insurance can be very flexible. These types of policies can also be customized to suit your particular needs. An umbrella policy can cover expenses that supersede an auto policy, homeowner’s policy, health policy, or others. 

If you would like to learn more about umbrella insurance, please contact our friendly staff at Southwest Insurance Center serving Austin, TX today. We will be happy to answer your questions.