Identity theft is a surprisingly common problem that Americans face, with a new theft occurring every 22 seconds. Identity thefts are expected to increase over time, with many expected to experience financial loss. You should consult an insurance agent for protection if you’re somebody with a high risk of identity theft. Identity theft insurance is one method of many in protecting yourself in this situation. At Shell Insurance Agency, we’re offering identity theft insurance to the people of Deer Park.

How Do I Know if I Need Identity Theft Insurance

Because the internet is now such a pervasive platform, many use it for banking purposes. Americans have a 1 in 6 chance of losing money to a scam. If you have some of your money stored in a digital storage space – like an online banking account or a payment processor – then identity theft insurance comes highly recommended. 

What to Expect From Identity Theft Insurance

There are various types of protection against identity theft, and insurance offers its own set of benefits. In an identity theft insurance plan, you can expect payment if your identity is stolen. It can also cover additional theft-related fees, like legal aid, application charges, or lost wages on the job. When shopping for this insurance, find policies matching your needs.

Finding Identity Theft Insurance from Deer Park, TX

Ready to purchase an insurance plan that covers situations like identity theft? If so, please contact our Deer Park agency at 713-527-2209. Our team would be happy to discuss insurance options with you. 

Torrential rainfall, hurricanes, and floods can all cause significant damage to your Deer Park, TX landscape. From Shell Insurance Agency, here are three wise ways to flood-proof your yard and keep your property safe.

Identify Low Areas in Yard to Elevate or Fill In

1. Look for standing water: Areas, where water collects and stands after a rainstorm or sprinkler use, can indicate low spots in the yard.

2. Measure elevation changes: Use a laser level or another tool to measure elevation differences across your yard. Low spots will have a lower elevation than the surrounding area.

3. Look for drainage patterns: If you have a large yard, look for signs of water draining away from specific areas. This could indicate that those areas are lower than the rest of the yard.

Install Sloping Landscapes to Guide Water Away From House

Installing sloping landscapes around your home can help prevent flooding by guiding water away from the house and its foundation. Sloping landscapes are designed to direct surface runoff away from the house, preventing it from pooling around the foundation and causing water damage. They also help prevent water from entering the home in heavy rainfall or floods. By directing water away from the house, sloping landscapes help reduce the risk of flooding, property damage, and costly repairs.

Choose Plants That Can Withstand Flooding

Flood-tolerant plants can be an excellent asset for properties prone to flooding. They have deep roots that help stabilize the soil, preventing erosion and reducing the risk of landslides or mudslides. Additionally, these plants can provide a buffer against rising waters and help absorb excess moisture, thus lessening the impact of flooding on your property.

At Shell Insurance Agency in Deer Park, TX, we provide flood insurance to protect you and your property. With us, you can trust that you’ll be getting quality coverage and the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re covered in case of a flood. Contact us today to discover more!

Shell Insurance Agency is here to serve the insurance needs of the Deer Park, TX community. If you have questions about ID theft insurance and how it can help to protect you, we are here to answer them. Call our office or stop by today to find out more.

Top reasons why you should have ID theft protection

1. ID theft insurance is an effective way to avoid serious financial problems. When your ID is stolen, it can lead to a lot more headaches than just having your accounts changed. Hackers typically use the data they steal to open credit accounts and mortgages. Protecting yourself from this financial risk is smart in today’s environment. 
2. You can maintain tighter control over your data and information. It can feel like a challenge to successfully protect your privacy and personal data in today’s online world. With an ID theft protection policy, you can access the resources necessary to keep your personal data and online information safe. 
3. It is an effective way to protect your credit profile and score. We all know how important a healthy credit score is to obtain a loan or open a credit card account. Ensure you have the protection you need to keep a strong credit score. An ID theft policy can alert you to unusual activity before it becomes a problem. 

Contact us today!

If you live in the greater Deer Park, TX area, Shell Insurance Agency is here to help with all your insurance needs. Most people spend a lot of time online and protecting your data, and privacy only makes sense! Give our office a call today and learn more about this important type of insurance. 

You bought a home that doesn’t sit in a flood zone, but when FEMA updated its flood maps, you received notice that you do own a home in a flood zone. Here’s how to handle that problem.

Shell Insurance Agency knows that your Deer Park, TX home means a lot to you. That’s why you insure it. When you purchased your home, it may not have appeared in a flood zone on any map. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducts regular research in the area of floods and updates the US flood maps accordingly. Your community can also decide to re-visit the flood maps and update the flood zones.

FEMA and Community Agencies Can Re-map

When the agency updates the flood maps for Deer Park, it can result in your home and others moving into a flood zone that requires federal flood insurance. Typically, this occurs due to a flood or series of flash floods striking the area.

Re-mapping causes homeowners who previously did not need to purchase flood insurance to need to do so. The Agency requires this to ensure that each homeowner can repair or rebuild after a flood, since homeowners’ insurance does not cover flood or rising water damage.

Updating Your Insurance Coverage

While it’s rare that this occurs, it can happen. Shell Insurance Agency can help you obtain flood insurance locally. Our insurance policies meet the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which works in conjunction with FEMA.

Let us help you properly insure your Deer Park, TX home against flood. Contact us if you find that either FEMA or your community updated the flood map for Deer Park and your home or business now falls within a flood zone that requires coverage.

When you purchase ID theft insurance from Shell Insurance Agency, you probably hope you’ll never use it. Things happen in Deer Park, TX, just as they do in the rest of the US, so taking careful preventative measures helps you avoid needing to file a claim.

Using the advice from the US government and identity theft expert Frank Abagnale, we’ve put together this quick list of precautions to help you keep your identity safe.

1. Keep your Social Security card in a safe place, such as a safe or safety deposit box, stored with your other critical identifying documents. Don’t carry your number with you; memorize it. Only provide your Social Security number when necessary.
2. Avoid sharing personal information, such as your birthdate or bank account number, unless you must for an application or payment.
3. Use a credit monitoring service like Lifelock or Experian Dark Web Scan + Credit Monitoring monitors the three major credit bureaus – Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. The service needs to notify you in real-time of an identity compromise.
4. Use a micro-cut shredder to credit offers, shred receipts, account statements you still get on paper, and expired credit cards so no dumpster diver can access your personal information.
5. Collect your mail daily and put delivery on hold when you go out of town.
6. Know your billing cycle date and contact your bank or creditor if your statement doesn’t arrive on time.
7. Compare your receipts with your bank statement and credit card statements to balance your accounts and catch unauthorized transactions.
8. Review all three of your credit reports annually to check for incorrect information, especially accounts you don’t recognize. You can get a free credit report from Annualcreditreport.com.
9. Always use a credit card, so you use the bank’s money, not your own. Credit cards protect you from unauthorized charges. You typically only have liability for $50.
10. Avoid using debit cards since they provide a bank account gateway. Examine any ATM or gas station pump card reader carefully before using it. Skimmer attacks place an artificial card reader over the legitimate reader to steal your card number, then your cash.
11. Activate all of the security features on your smartphone and other mobile devices.
12. Create passwords you can remember that an identity thief would find difficult to guess or hack. At a minimum, you should use a different password for each website. Each should consist of at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one digit, one special character when allowed, and not more than three repeating characters. Typically, each password must consist of at least eight characters.
13. If a company with which you do business experiences a security breach, change your password for their site.
14. Install virus-detection software, malware detection software, and a firewall on your home computer, tablet, and smartphone.
15. Use a virtual private network (VPN) when using public Wi-Fi. Also, update your firewall settings before signing onto public Wi-Fi.
16. Freeze your credit files with the credit bureaus, Innovis, and the National Consumer Telecommunications and Utilities Exchange if you know you don’t need to apply for a loan or a credit card. The freeze prevents costs nothing and stops anyone from being able to apply for credit or utilities in your name.

If you don’t already have ID theft insurance, contact Shell Insurance Agency serving Deer Park, TX. Let us help you protect your identity.