We closely monitor the impact of climate change on home insurance rates & as a result we analyze many disparate data sources including Census data, NOAA’s sea level riser data & TIGER shape files. The current publicly available data to understand the impact of rising sea levels & climate change is a census designation of coastal counties. However, just because a county is designated as coastline does not mean that all places within the county are adjacent to the coast & most impacted by rising sea levels.
We went one level deeper & studied census tracts within coastal counties & analyzed which census tracts were ...
Choosing the right home insurance company is much more than picking a company offering the lowest premiums. Owning a home is a major financial accomplishment and one of the biggest investments you will make in your life. You must protect your investment by choosing an insurance company with the perfect blend of coverage options, financial strength and dedicated customer service. Although an affordable premium is an attractive option, it should never be the only option.
When you apply for a homeowners insurance policy, the carrier’s primary concern is always the risk. Greater the risk of you incurring a loss and submitting a claim, higher the cost of your policy. That being said, there are some specific factors carriers look at that may influence your home insurance quotes. Some of them are listed here
If you rent a home or apartment, you may have heard of renters’ insurance, which protects your belongings in the event they are stolen or damaged under certain circumstances. Here’s everything you need to know about renters’ insurance.
The clean energy movement is a buzz with its latest breakthrough: The Tesla solar roof. Unlike bulky solar panels that jut out of your roofline and call attention to themselves, the Tesla solar roof is made of smooth tiles that look like a regular roof – some would say they’re even more aesthetically pleasing. They collect energy from the sun and store it until your home needs it, eliminating the need for electrical power from another source.
Consumer interest in these revolutionary roofs is off the charts, but companies that provide homeowner’s insurance are a little more dubious. The ...
Berkshire Hathaway is the big daddy of the insurance world. In that world, Ajit Jain, Warren Buffett’s likely successor, runs the Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance division and is the central piece of the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance machine.As part of our analysis of the big picture drivers of the insurance industry, we looked at Ajit Jain’s contribution. Here are some charts & data explaining Ajit Jain’s contribution to Berkshire Hathaway.
At vHomeInsurance.com. we love data, visualizations and showing complicated data & figures in simple and understandable ways. We have been experimenting with different tools to visually show our extremely detailed location specific Homeowner Insurance data (e.g. See Houston Home Insurance).
Here we have given a detailed step by step guide on how to use Google Fusion Table data, a free service by Google to visualize and represent data on a map.
Step 1: Go to Google Fusion Tables
You must have a Google Account to start using Fusion Tables. If you don’t have a Google Account sign up ...
One of key macro trends affecting your home insurance rates is the increased risk of climate change & its resulting impact on extreme weather events. Here for example is a chart from Allianz Global from on some of the costliest storms for the Insurance industry.
Of course, Post Sandy home insurance rates sky rocketed to sometimes more than $20,000 in rare cases. These rate increases are not just a post sandy phenomenon. Munich Re one of the largest re-insurance companies in the world put our research asserting that rising sea levels had increased the risk of catastrophic events.
To understand ...
Arizona, Nevada and Maryland were the top 3 states in the adoption of Energy star certified homes in 2013 at 48%, 28% & 24% respectively. Adoption is the percentage of Energy star certified homes of total homes built in 2013.
After the top 3 states, the following 9 states came next and had an adoption rate of more than 10%
Vermont: 18.9%
Delaware: 18.9%
North Carolina: 14.7%
Texas: 14.1%
Iowa: 14.1%
New Hampshire: 13.2%
Idaho: 12.9%
Ohio: 11.2%
New Mexico: 10.7%
The performance of Arizona, Florida & North Carolina is especially notable since ...
Energy Star certified homes must be at least 30% more energy efficient than national guidelines or 15% more efficient than state guidelines, whichever is stricter. However, the process of certification requires a close co-ordination between the home owner, the builder & the energy rater.
Building science principles to get Energy Certifiedare multi faceted & home owners needs to familiarize themselves with different inter-related concepts including:
Comprehensive Thermal Enclosure System through air sealing, insulation, and high-performance windows
More energy efficient heating and cooling systems through High-efficiency systems that deliver better moisture control & improved indoor air quality
Water Management System to protect roofs ...
Arizona has one of the highest adoption of Energy Star certified homes at 48% of total homes in 2013. About 11, 500 homes were Energy Star certified in 2013 alone bringing the total to about 126,000. One of the key reasons behind any successful energy star programs is an incentive program to jump start & increase the adoption of making your house more energy efficient.
Here are some key Energy Star partnerships in Arizona to increase adoption rates:
