Ivy Turner planned to pay for his new roof with a loan, after a surprising discovery about his home insurance: His payout was about $10,400. His deductible was $4,280.
"I prayed on it," said the disabled veteran.
"His deductible was basically half the price of the roof, which is very unusual," said Roger Preble, owner of Roger the Roofer, who had come by Turner's home to give him an estimate.
Insurance agent Mark Lowey said it's not uncommon, anymore.
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"I've got some companies that are 3% deductible now. I've got one carrier that's at a 5% deductible," said Lowey, owner of Mark Lowey Agency.
He said folks may opt for those plans to save on premiums up front, as rates spike, which is what Turner thinks happened to him.
Lowey said typically over the last decade or so, we'd see a 5-10% rate hike each year. But over the last couple of years, it's been 20-30%.
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"Most people who are paying $2,000 in 2020 are now paying about $5,000 a year in homeowners insurance for an average home in the Dallas area," Lowey said.
He said depending on your renewal cycle, you may even see a 40% year-over-year increase.
"It's just a tremendous burden for a lot of people to undertake," he said.
Lowey said there are two main factors behind the increase: One being that there have been more natural disasters this year.
He said in an average year for Texas, those disasters cost five or six billion dollars. He said in 2023, "We've had 16 events that have totaled over $1 billion each."
Lowey said 2022 saw around $10 billion in damage.
"So it's just adding up and there seems to be no end," he said.
He said the second factor behind higher home insurance rates is inflation.
"The cost of construction, supply chain issues, resulting in increase in supply of product, construction, labor, materials," he explained. "And so carriers have raised the replacement value of the homes, which adds and compounds the natural disaster rate increases."
Not good news for North Texans, especially.
"The DFW Metroplex is one of the highest homeowner rates in the country by far," Lowey said.
Insurance hurdle turns into answered prayer
Turner didn't end up taking out a loan for his new roof.
"I just felt: This is the family," said Preble.
He decided to make it this year's Christmas Roof, Preble's annual free project.
"I just really believe that you can't be on your knees praying for God to bless you, and then those blessings come in, and then you just hoard the blessings you got to give back to people in the community," said Preble about why he started this project about five years ago.
He donated all materials, and his crew donated their time and talent.
"That's unbelievable. I've never had anybody do anything like that," Turner said. "We had that insurance check, so he gave it back and basically said, 'Merry Christmas.'"
A booming answer to Turner's silent prayer, on a silent night.
“I prayed on it. Prayer works," he said.
He hopes others remember to check their home insurance deductibles.
Lowey agreed, saying it's also important to make sure you're getting comparable coverage as you shop around for rates.
"There's a lot of parity in rates in North Texas among companies and carriers right now, so be very careful," he said. "If you do find a lower rate, make sure you're getting comparable coverages. You want to make sure that you're getting comparable deductibles, comparable replacement value, the house as well as the roof."
He said you also want to make sure you have coverage for things like slab leaks and seepage.
Lowey added that insurance agents like him can help you keep an eye on all those things.
The main thing is making sure you know what you're getting upfront.
"I've got some companies that are 3% deductible now. I've got one carrier that's at a 5% deductible. So you don't want to find that out when you have a claim. You want to know up front where you stand," he said.
