San Antonio , in Bexar County, is home of the Spurs, home of the Alamo and home to more than one million people here in Texas. Many of those people own homes in San Antonio and have friends who own homes in neighboring Comal County. One thing all homeowners in Texas have in common is the need to purchase a home insurance policy.

A standard home insurance policy provides coverage for your dwelling and your personal property or contents within your house. You are also covered for liability. When you make material changes to your dwelling, such as installing a new roof or adding an addition to the house, you should always inform your insurer of the change. You may need more coverage, or you may actually qualify for a discount.

There is no need to keep your insurer posted if you go out and buy a television or a new dishwasher. Your property coverage does not require you to inventory every item inside your house to be covered in the event of a loss. Generally, your property coverage is equal to half the amount of your dwelling coverage, so if your house in Bexar County was insured for $200,000, you would be covered for loss or theft up to $100,000.

For most people, the basic standard property coverage is adequate. It will cover you if you go out and buy a new bedroom set or an expensive mattress. Of course it is a good idea to keep records and receipts when you make big household purposes.

You should inform your insurer if you buy certain items of high value that are excluded from your basic property coverage. Fur coats and diamond rings may not be covered, but if you inform your insurer of your $10,000 purchase of a diamond necklace, you can buy additional coverage, called a rider or endorsement, for those specific very valuable items.

As your independent agent, we would advise you to take pictures of your valuables, keep receipts and make sure you let us or the insurance company know that you want an endorsement to protect those valuables.

Acts of God are forces beyond human control that can be destructive to property or people. Your San Antonio home insurance policy most likely will cover some Acts of God and exclude others. Here in Bexar County , it is highly unlikely that you will ever need to be covered on your home insurance policy for damage caused to your house by an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

However, other acts of God like wind, lightning and flooding, or even sleet and hail, are possible perils that can occur in Bexar or Comal County, and cause serious damage to your home. The only way to really know whether if your San Antonio home is covered for an Act of God is to read your policy.

If you have an all perils type of home policy, it covers all Acts of God except those that are specifically excluded. A named perils policy is the opposite in that it only covers Acts of God specifically listed in the policy.

A good example of an Act of God that is always excluded from a standard home policy in San Antonio, Texas, or for that matter in the entire country, is flooding. It is clearly stated in every home policy that the policy does not cover, or excludes, damage from flooding. Since San Antonio is particularly prone to flooding, it is probably a good idea to get coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Sometimes, you can get into a dispute with your insurer based on whether or not an event was an Act of God. For instance, if your tree falls over during a rain storm was it the weather that caused it to fall or was it because the tree was diseased and ready to fall over on its own. We get clients who have to deal with such situations quite often. As your independent agent, we will be more than happy to review your policy and make sure that Act of God or not, your home is adequately protected.

For those who live in San Antonio, Texas and have past convictions, the best place to find homeowner’s insurance is through a local, independent agent. State laws govern insurance companies in the U.S., so it is important to have an insurance agent who is familiar with Texas’ rules and regulations. In addition to being a local agent, he should also be an independent agent. Insurance companies each weigh the risks of insuring someone with previous convictions, and only an independent agent will be able to compare policies at all the insurance companies that serve Bexar County and Comal County.

It may be tempting to hide previous convictions from an insurance company, but we, as independent insurance agents in San Antonio, never recommend keeping past convictions secret. Insurance companies calculate risk based on complex formulas, which take into account the risk of any type of conviction. They are able to distinguish between an arrest 10 years ago for disturbing the peace and a conviction last year for arson or fraud. Obviously, the latter two pose a greater risk to the insurance company.

Even if disclosing a conviction causes rates to increase, though, the details regarding the incident must be made clear. If they are not, they may violate the insurance policy and render any claims invalid.

If you or someone in your home, for convictions of any household member could affect a policy, had previous convictions, we understand. People make mistakes, and we are hardly the ones to lecture you. We would like, however, to help you find affordable home insurance. We would be honored, if you would let us see what coverage is available for you.