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Insurance | Brent Norkus Preferred Insurance Agent
Brent Norkus is the preferred insurance agent for Gustan Cho Associates dba NEXA Mortgage, LLC. Brent Norkus of Goosehead Insurance is my personal insurance agent for my homeowners insurance, cars, motorhome, and ATV, motorcycles, boat, and all other insurance needs. Brent Norkus of Goosehead insurance can offer insurance through Goosehead Insurance in all 50 states. After going over hundreds of terms and premiums, Brent Norkus can get our borrowers the best terms and insurance than any other insurance company in the nation. Hands down. I have borrowers save over 50% on their homeowners premium on their homeowners insurances. Besides homeowners insurance, Brent Norkus can beat any insurance premium on their cars, business, and property casualty insurance premium. Give Brent Norkus of Goosehead insurance a try. Or ask any insurance questions on this forum and Brent Norkus will answer them.
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6 Replies
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Brent can do all 50 states? Goosehead. Cool
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Thanks for sharing your experience and your knowledge in the experience in the industry with us, Brent.
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How is the homeowners insurance market after the devastating damages in the North Carolina and Florida hurricanes, as well as the wildfires in Southern California?
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The market for homeowners insurance is undergoing some major changes due to the hurricanes that hit Florida and North Carolina and the wildfires in Southern California.
Here, we outline the state of the market as it is today:
Increased Claims And Premiums
Claims Surge:
- To no one’s surprise, hurricanes and wildfires have resulted in a dilapidated level of claims, thus straining the resources of multiple insurance companies.
- The insurers were liable to pay for the damage caused and were significantly affected financially due to their expenditures.
Rising Premiums:
- In response to the claims above, almost all insurers have increased the premiums for homeowners in the affected areas.
- Additionally, insurance has become less affordable for people throughout the state, especially for those who live in high-risk areas.
Stricter Underwriting Standards
Heightened Risk Assessment:
- The procedure follows a simple principle: the more loss, the more scrutiny.
- As such, we have stricter eligibility rules for underwriting, which makes it hard for homeowners who live in high-risk natural disaster zones to secure insurance coverage.
Policy Exclusions:
- Certain damages, such as flooding and wildfire risks, are common, so some policies do not cover them, and those often use the implement exclusion clause sink.
Market Consolidation and Competition
Insurer Exits:
- Some insurance companies have entirely left high-risk markets, reducing competition and policy availability.
- As a result, other consumers may end up paying higher amounts since their choices are limited.
Emergence of New Insurers:
- New actors might emerge to bridge new gaps in the market and provide expanded coverage products for high-risk areas, even though they will charge higher premiums or offer very restricted coverage.
Government Programs and Assistance
Federal Assistance:
- After large catastrophes, specific federal programs, such as the NFIP, attempt to cover losses.
- However, these programs also deal with solvency and the limits of available coverage.
State Initiatives:
- Certain states may also introduce steps to cool off the insurance market, such as reinsurance or changing laws so more people can insure their homes.
Impact on Housing Market
Home Values:
- The growing cost of insurance premiums has a ripple effect on the entire housing market.
- The increased insurance cost might fend off prospective buyers or sink home rates in high-risk regions.
Investment Decisions:
- Investors may think twice before acquiring assets in areas directly impacted by natural calamities, as this could unbalance the supply and demand ratio in certain areas.
Risk management has never been this easy.
Self-Insured Retention:
- Underwriters are beginning to emphasize mitigating strategies like bolstering homes against hurricanes and wildfires.
- Over time, homeowners can be incentivized to adopt measures that can lower their premiums, such as investing in fire or hurricane-proofing.
Claims Management:
- Underwriters or even third-party administrators can provide homeowners with educational resources about the risks they face and best practices for disaster preparedness, which can reduce claims in the long term.
- Like any other industry, insurers are impacted by frequent catastrophic events such as hurricanes and wildfires.
- Other problems include increasing premiums and more policies supporting tighter underwriting.
- As long as there is a lack of competition, these issues will persist for homeowners in these regions.
Change over time is inevitable as insurance strategies evolve around catastrophe management policies. Government policies that aid these areas will also tremendously affect how insurance functions shortly.
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How are new insurers adapting their products for high-risk areas?
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Coming into the market, a new insurer is observing how best to position its products in high-risk areas and is employing some very innovative strategies.
Here is how they are working on problems of high-risk areas like hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and so on:
Unique Coverage Extensions
- Tailored Coverage: New insurers are developing unique insurance policies for homeowners in high-risk areas.
- These policies may have safe local risk coverage limits and flexible endorsements.
- Modular Policies: Some companies will sell modular policies that let the homeowners choose and pay for specific coverages depending on their risk profile.
Technology and Data Analytics Adoption
- Risk Analytics: Insurers are implementing geo-information, predictive analytics models, and advanced data analyses to assess risk for particular sighted areas.
- Smart Home Technology: Some insurers reward or subsidize homeowners who actively engage with smart home technologies (such as fire alarms and flood sensors, which can benefit loss reduction simply in case of incident) that mitigate risks.
Adaptive Premium Payment Plans
- Pay-As-You-Drive Policies: Focused market new entrants are testing pay-as-you-drive policies, where premiums are paid proportionately to the policies’ set risk exposure and monitored in real-time by changes to the data.
- This tiered pricing system is quite interesting. New insurers design premium payment systems to allow for lower premiums by taking on riskier policies and adopting methods to mitigate the risk.
Education and Risk Mitigation Programs
- Homeowners Education: Some new insurers concentrate on intensive homeowner education and provide them with a number of risk mitigation resources to help reduce probable risks.
- Incentives for Improvements: They can also reduce their premiums or provide some rebates to homeowners who make certain improvements to their homes, such as using fire-resistant materials or setting up flood barriers.
Collaboration with Local Governments and Organizations
- Community Partnerships: Insurers are teaming up with other local governments and organizations to develop community
- Or region-wide risk mitigation programs that upgrade community facilities or preparedness activities.
- Support for Resilience Projects: Other insurers may also fund investment for resilience-building projects at the local level to achieve minimum disaster impact and thus serve the communities they cover.
6. Focus on Reinsurance and Risk Sharing
Reinsurance Arrangements: Emerging market insurers are seeking creative reinsurance arrangements to enable them to bundle risks with big established firms with a reasonable assumption of financial loss to access areas with high market financial risks.
Risk Pools: Cooperation among insurers to create risk pools can help mitigate the alarming financial impacts of catastrophic events, making insurance coverage in even the most high-risk regions possible.
Environmental issues
- Sustainability Initiatives: New insurers tend to focus more on promoting environmental sustainability by adding policyholder practices that include incentives for using energy-efficient appliances in upgraded homes and solar panels, among others.
New insurers creatively adjust their policies in high-risk zones using technology to offer holistic coverage. They are focusing on educational and preventive approaches to insurance. These companies hope to address the urgent concerns of natural disasters with creative, innovative approaches and collaboration with other community stakeholders to develop sustainable home insurance solutions.
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