A captive agent works for one company and can only offer you that company's products. If their rates aren't competitive for your situation, you're out of luck.

As an independent agency, Houston Insurance works with mutiple carriers. We shop your policy across all of them and find the best combination of coverage and price for you specifically.

Houston Insurance was founded in 1894 by Joseph J. Houston and has been family owned and operated ever since.

Our office is at 541 Washington Street in Braintree, MA. We're licensed to serve clients throughout all of Massachusetts.

An insurance premium is the amount of money you pay to an insurance company in exchange for coverage.

A deductible is the amount you must pay yourself before your insurance starts covering a loss.

Choosing a higher deductible usually lowers your premium, while a lower deductible means you’ll pay less out of pocket if you need to file a claim.

If you are purchasing a vehicle from a dealership that participates in the Massachusetts DRIVE program, the dealer will start the Registration and Title Application (RTA) for you. They will then send the RTA to our office so we can provide proof of insurance, and apply the required insurance stamp.

Dealers can email the RTA to Info@HoustonInsurance.com or fax it to 781-794-1894. Once stamped, we will return it to the dealership so they can complete the registration with the RMV.

A vehicle cannot be removed from your policy until the license plate are cancelled in the RMV system. Please email Info@HoustonInsurance.com to let us know that you intend to remove the car, as we are not automatically notified by the RMV when plates are cancelled.

Once the RMV confirms the plates are cancelled, we will remove the vehicle from your policy, effective the date of the cancellation.

If you are refinancing your vehicle, your new lender will need an insurance binder as proof of coverage. You can email us the new loan information and for which vehicle to Info@HoustonInsurance.com. Once we receive the information, we will issue the insurance binder and send it back to you so you can provide it to your lender.

After the RMV updates the lienholder on their records, we will endorse your policy to reflect the new lienholder.

If you are transferring a vehicle to a family member, please email Info@HoustonInsurance.com with which vehicle and details of the new owner. We will prepare the Registration and Title Application (RTA) for you and provide a Form MVU-26.

You will then need to bring both the RTA and the form MVU-26 to the RMV to complete the transfer. After the RMV updates their records, we will remove the vehicle from your policy.

Your auto insurance extends to rental cars in the US and Canada, but it may not cover “loss of use” (downtime) charges. Most rental car companies provide this as an optional add on at time of purchase.

GAP insurance covers the difference between your car’s value and your loan balance if your vehicle is totaled.

We generally do not recommend purchasing GAP insurance from the dealer, as it is usually more expensive. Obtaining GAP coverage through your auto insurance carrier is typically more cost effective and provides likely the same protection.

Accident forgiveness is a feature offered by some auto insurance carriers that prevents your first at-fault accident from increasing your premium. To qualify, accident forgiveness must be on your policy before the accident occurs; it cannot be added after an accident has happened.

If your policy includes accident forgiveness, you can have a covered accident without it impacting your rates, helping you avoid a sudden premium increase.

Both comprehensive and collision are optional auto insurance coverages.

• Comprehensive: Covers non-collision damage like theft, weather, or hitting an animal.

• Collision: Covers damage from hitting another vehicle or object.

If you’re leasing or financing, your lender may require both.

A deferred driver has their own insurance and isn’t rated on your policy but may have permission to drive. While an excluded driver is completely uninsured under the policy and should not under any circumstances drive the vehicle they are deferred on.

A named storm deductible is a higher, separate deductible that applies only to damage from hurricanes or named storms, typically calculated as a percentage of your home’s value rather than a fixed dollar amount.

No, flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners insurance policy. You need a separate flood insurance policy.

Replacement cost is the estimated cost to rebuild your home today. Each insurer uses its own calculation tools and data, so estimates can vary slightly.

Email Info@HoustonInsurance.com and let us know when you sell your home or if you are in the process of selling your home. We will provide a cancellation form and cancel the policy on your behalf.