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.

If you live in the greater Deer Park, TX area, you may wonder if flood insurance is something you need. Fortunately, the team here at Shell Insurance Agency is here to answer all of your questions!

What you need to know about flood insurance

Many people are unsure if flood insurance is something that they need. The answer is an easy yes in some situations, as their home or business is located in a flood plain or their lender requires them to carry such coverage. But in situations where it is a little less cut and dried, you may wonder if flood insurance is something that you should have.

The first thing to understand is that water damage coverage is typically classified by the cause of the damage. For example, your homeowner’s policy may cover the damage caused by a broken pipe but does not provide protection against damage caused by excessive rain or another natural cause.

First, it makes sense to take a close look at your homeowner’s policy to understand what protection it offers for different types of damage. Next, sit down with a local agent who understands your area and the need for flood insurance at your home or place of business. 

Learning about the options you have available to protect your property can help you make the right choice for flood insurance.

Find out more today!

Shell Insurance Agency is your source for insurance in the greater Deer Park, TX area. We are proud to serve the insurance needs of our community and look forward to working with you too. If you would like to learn more about the flood insurance options available in our area, call or stop by today.

It seems that data rates are increasing at an alarming rate. Therefore, you have to be smart about keeping your identity safe. For this reason, more and more people in Deer Park, TX are making a smart investment in ID theft insurance.

What Is Identity Theft Insurance?

Identity theft insurance, which is available for purchase from Shell Insurance Agency as an add-on to your property insurance policy, provides coverage for expenses that you incur while restoring your identity. The exact coverage options will vary, but typically ID theft insurance will cover the following:

• Certified mailing fees
• Loss of wages
• Monitoring black market websites and chat rooms for information
• Notary fees
• Public records searches

It is important to note that these policies do not pay for direct monetary loss, such as money that is stolen from a bank account. In addition, some policies may cap your coverage if your ID is stolen or require payment of a deductible before coverage kicks in to pay for any expenses.

Peace of Mind

Identity theft insurance can provide you with peace of mind. Be sure to take the time to research the benefits to get a good understanding of everything that is covered by this type of insurance policy. Always read the fine print to ensure that you are making an informed decision and getting the coverage that you need.

If you are located in the Deer Park, TX area and you are interested in learning more about identity theft insurance, you are invited to contact Shell Insurance Agency. Our skilled and knowledgeable team of experts is here to provide you with answers to any questions and address any concerns that you may have about purchasing this particular type of insurance. Give us a call today!

If you own a home in Deer Park, TX, flood insurance is a must-have. Your home is the most valuable asset you probably own. The best thing you can do is to guard it by purchasing flood insurance safely. And since home insurance does not cover floods, it would help if you had a separate flood insurance policy.

Just because your home has not flooded before doesn’t mean it won’t do so in the future. Unfortunately, Mother Nature can knock any time, and you don’t want to wait to receive her wrath unprepared. That’s why you need to buy flood insurance from Shell Insurance Agency. This way, you will get coverage in the following areas:

Building property coverage

Flood insurance covers damages to your home in the event of an unfortunate event. Building property coverage covers the following:

• Plumbing systems and electrical
• Window blinds
• Water heaters and Furnaces 
• Refrigerators, build-in appliances, and cooking stoves
• Detached garages
• Solar energy, fuel tanks, and pumps
• Detached garages
• Staircases, anchorage systems, and foundation walls

Personal contents coverage

Your flood insurance also protects the contents of your home. You have to disclose your contents correctly to your insurer. Here is a list of the contents inside your home that the policy covers.

• Furniture
• Electronics
• Clothing
• Dishwashers
• Portable air conditioners and microwaves
• Dryers and washers
• Freezers and the food inside the freezers
• Certain valuables like arts but up to a specific limit

You can purchase flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or private insurers. Either way, you will have a policy that shields when floods strike.

Flood insurance in Deer Park, TX

Flood insurance protects the things you value. It’s essential to talk to your insurer also to learn what flood insurance does not cover. Ready to purchase a flood insurance policy? Contact us at Shell Insurance Agency for an affordable quote.