Frequently asked questions - homeowners

1. Does Helpinsure.com sell Homeowners insurance coverage?

No, Helpinsure.com is not an insurance company nor do we provide Homeowners insurance. Helpinsure.com helps Texans shop for Homeowners insurance. The Web site - www.helpinsure.com - and toll-free number - 1-866-695-6873 - are a free and secure service of the State of Texas and the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI).

2. What does Helpinsure.com do and what can it do for me?

By filling out one form - either online or through our toll-free telephone line - you have the potential of providing your information to multiple insurance companies and agents. The result is one more way to help you shop for homeowners insurance - one that we hope is more efficient and more effective.

You can:

1. Provide contact information and details about your home. In turn, insurers and agents will have safe and secure access to that information to allow them to contact and offer coverage to consumers they select from the Helpinsure.com database.
2. Review a list of current providers offering Homeowners insurance in Texas. You are encouraged to contact the listed companies or the companies' agents to discuss your insurance needs.
3. Visit Helpinsure.com's Learning Center to read more about Homeowners insurance and the Texas insurance market or ask our toll-free operators to send you copies of our provider list, rate guide or other consumer tips.

3. Do the companies in your 'provider list' have to write me a policy?

No. The companies listed may use their own guidelines for deciding which homes to insure, as long as they do not violate the state's laws against discrimination. TDI does not guarantee that you will receive homeowners insurance coverage as a result of providing information to Helpinsure.com.

4. How do I sign up?

To sign up, just fill out our online form or call our toll-free number at 1-866-695-6873 and let our staff help you fill it out.

The form asks you about 30 short questions, including information on how to contact you, where your home is located, the kind of home you have and a few survey questions about your Homeowners insurance experiences.

5. What do I need to know before I sign up?

Completing the form online or by phone will not guarantee an offer of coverage. You also need to know what will be done with the personal information you provide us.

Your application - minus the survey portion - will be posted to a restricted area of Helpinsure.com for review by insurance companies and agents interested in offering homeowners coverage.

Although TDI will not publish this information, some of the information may be considered public under Texas law and would have to be released if requested.

6. What happens to my information?

Your information will be maintained for 30 days. Records entered one day will become available to insurance companies and their agents the next day. Our hope is that within 30 days you will receive one or more offers from insurance companies to provide you with Homeowners coverage. Before the information is removed, employees of the Texas Department of Insurance will contact you by mail, telephone, fax or e-mail to determine (1) whether you have obtained coverage or (2) whether you want to re-enroll in the program.

Completing the form online or by phone will not guarantee an offer of coverage.

7. What happens after I sign up?

This is a new program. Our hope is that you will receive one or more offers from insurance companies to provide you with Homeowners coverage. We are talking with companies and agents on a daily basis in an effort to encourage participation. However, we cannot force an insurance company to sell you a policy.

8. Do you have list of companies currently selling homeowners insurance?

Yes. We have a  list of current providers  offering homeowners insurance in Texas. You are encouraged to contact the listed companies or the companies' agents directly to discuss your insurance needs. Understand that even though the companies listed may be selling in Texas, they are not required to offer coverage to everyone. Companies may decide they are not writing homeowners insurance at this time or in certain areas of the state. However, state law prohibits a company from rejecting coverage for a homeowner for reasons considered discriminatory.

9. Is there something more I can do?

Yes. Here are a few more suggestions:

• Don't limit your shopping just to big-name companies. Many companies write homeowners insurance in Texas, but they have varying underwriting guidelines - meaning one company might accept a house that another might find unacceptable.
• Check our Homeowners Insurance Price Comparisons at http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/rghome.html. The guide lets you check "sample" rates for your county, as well as consumer complaint information and financial rating information for each company listed.
• Use the Yellow Pages aggressively. You might want to concentrate on independent agents who represent several companies. These agents can shop their companies for one that is less stringent in its underwriting guidelines than companies that may have turned you down.

10. What if I receive no offers and I can't find coverage on my own?

Be willing to accept a policy with a surplus lines carrier if necessary. Large independent insurance agencies usually are licensed to sell surplus lines insurance or they have contacts with others that can tap that market. Surplus lines companies are "eligible" to do business in Texas when licensed companies are unwilling to write the coverage. As a temporary measure, a surplus lines policy would at least let you obtain a mortgage loan and have basic insurance coverage until the normal market opens up again.

In most cases, you will find that surplus lines policies offer less coverage at a higher cost. You can read  more about surplus lines  in one of our on-line consumer publication,  Understanding Surplus Lines Insurance . You may also want to check surplus lines companies at the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas Web site at www.slsot.org or look at their  list of eligible surplus lines companies .

Remember you will have to obtain surplus lines coverage through a surplus lines agent. You cannot obtain coverage directly from a surplus lines company.