Polk County
Driving in Polk County
Polk County's highways are home to an estimated 42,821 private and commercial vehicles. This number represents roughly 0.18% of all registered vehicles in the state of Texas.
Over 80% of adult drivers in Polk County drive alone to work, and almost two-fifth of those commutes exceed 30 minutes.
It is estimated that 20% of Texas drivers are uninsured and nearly 9,000 vehicles in Polk County alone can be uninsured or underinsured.
Auto Insurance Analysis:
Nearly 43 thousand vehicles registered in Polk County need some type of insurance coverage. Depending on the type of vehicle and its use, the required insurance may be: Collision Coverage, Gap Coverage, Ride-sharing Coverage, Comprehensive Coverage, Non-owner Car Insurance, Inland Marine, etc. Liability auto coverage is required for all vehicles on the road.
Nearly 27 thousand drivers commuting daily is one of the reasons why auto premium costs in Polk County tend to be higher, compared with less densely populated counties.
With 1 out 5 drivers uninsured in Texas, Uninsured Driver Coverage becomes increasingly important. Texans spend nearly $900 million annually to pay for Uninsured and Underinsured Auto Coverage.
Contact a Texas-licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance professional to find out more about auto insurance options in Polk County.
Polk County Housing
The average housing unit market in Texas is split between homeowners (62%) and renters (38%). Similarly to the rest of Texas, where the majority of homes are owner-occupied, only 24% of Polk County's approximately 27,808 housing units are offered for rent. The neighboring counties are also mainly made up of owner-occupied homes as well, with Tyler, Hardin, and San Jacinto Counties having the highest homeownership percentages, ranging between 80 to 84%, and Angelina County having closer to the state-average,, with around 66% owners and 34% renters.
Nearly 1 in 7 housing units in Polk County suffers housing issues, which include the following:
- Increasing housing cost
- Lack of plumbing facilities
- Overcrowding, or
- Lack of proper kitchen facilities
Housing Insurance Analysis:
In Polk County, there are nearly 28 thousand housing units that need insurance coverage. Having Homeowners, Condo Insurance, and/or Business property insurance (for apartment complexes) should be a bare minimum for all owners of these properties in order to safeguard the underlying financial investment from potential loss or damage.
Landlords of the nearly 7,000 rental units in Polk County purchase Landlord Insurance, which protects the property against the claims brought by renters.
Tenants purchase Renters Insurance in order to protect their assets from potential damage or loss. Renters' insurance policies provide coverage for tenants' personal possessions against theft and damage caused by fire, smoke, water, and vandalism. Renters are frequently required to acquire insurance by their landlords as a condition of the lease agreement.
Contact a Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance agent licensed in the state of Texas for consultation and advice on Homeowners, Renters, Condo, Flood, and other types of insurance in Polk County.
Polk County Health
At 23%, Polk County has one of the highest rates of residents without proper health insurance coverage among its immediate neighbors and is higher than the state average (near 21%). The next highest adult uninsured rates around the neighboring counties after Polk County are in Liberty County and San Jacinto Counties (ranging between 22% - 23%), while Hardin County, on the other hand, has the lowest rate at approximately 16%. The highest uninsured rate in Texas is in Gaines County, at nearly 36%, while the lowest is in Loving County, at closer to 11% of its adult residents.
Over 10,000Polk County adults (almost 1 in 4) report having health problems.
Nearly 34% of the Polk County population does not engage in any form of physical activity.
Around 40% of Polk County residents are obese (with a BMI of 30 or above), which is significantly higher than the state average of approximately 31% in Texas. Trinity County has the lowest obesity rate among neighboring counties, with nearly 25% of its residents classified as obese. Angelina County, on the other hand, has a similar percentage to Polk County, while Liberty and San Jacinto counties have the next highest obesity rate, with nearly 38% of their residents classified as obese.
On and off the state marketplace, Polk County has at least two health insurers that provide affordable and frequently subsidized Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance.
Health Insurance Analysis:
Although Health Insurance is the most critical type of insurance to have, over 10,000 people in Polk County lack it.
In the case of health insurance in Texas, there are lots of options, including Marketplace of Group ACA health insurance, multiple forms of Short-term insurance (with coverage spanning from one to three years), Hospital Indemnity, Accident & Health, and others.
If you are unable to obtain health insurance due to the high cost of coverage, lower-income individuals can apply for government subsidies, which can result in a significant reduction in the cost of insurance premiums. If you do not have any pre-existing conditions and want to save money, purchasing Short-term insurance can be a good option for you. Following a specified period of coverage, certain pre-existing conditions may be covered by some multi-year short-term insurance plans.
Contact a knowledgeable and licensed Texas health insurance agent for a consultation and guidance on the various health insurance options available in Polk County.
Polk County Mortality and the End of Life Statistics
Polk County residents’ average life expectancy of 73.7 years old is the lowest among its neighbors and is lower than the state average of 79.2 years old. San Jacinto County, with an average age of over 77 years, has the longest life expectancy among the neighboring counties in the area. Trinity County, on the other hand, is second to last in terms of age after Polk County, with an average age of 74 years.
Polk County was home to more than 10,000 seniors (aged 65 and older) in 2022.
Life Insurance Facts:
In 2021, 48% of Americans did not have an active life insurance policy of any type.
Premiums for life insurance are determined by the insured's age at the time the policy begins. The younger you are when you purchase it, the more money you save on premiums over the policy's duration.
Motor Vehicle Fatalities in Polk County
According to statistical data, fatalities from motor vehicle accidents occur at a rate of nearly 27 per 100,000 vehicles in Polk County, resulting in an average of around 12 fatal crashes each year on the roads. Drinking alcohol is a contributing factor in nearly 18% of all traffic fatalities in Polk County.
Nearly 800 collisions were reported in Polk County by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT) in 2020, with a total of 15 fatalities as a result.
Final Expenses – Polk County Funeral Home Cost
The cost of a funeral service in and around Polk County varies greatly from one funeral home to the next. Polk County has an average funeral cost of nearly $11,000, making it the most costly county in the surrounding area in terms of final expense costs. Polk County's neighbors: Angelina County has the second-highest average funeral cost, at approximately $7,200. Funeral homes in Hardin County and Liberty County average more than $6,000. Trinity County, on the other hand, tends to have the lowest funeral costs, with an estimate of roughly $5,000 per funeral.
Life Insurance Analysis:
With 46% of Americans dying with savings of less than $10,000, over five thousand of Polk County senior residents could be placing the unnecessary and frequently unbearable financial burden on family and friends. Instead of concentrating on their loss, the family must concentrate on finding some way to make ends meet. (Most funeral establishments require that the policy be "assignable" if life insurance is being used to pay for funeral services.)
The departed commonly leave behind unpaid taxes and other responsibilities that must be dealt with by the family in addition to funeral expenses.
Final Expense Insurance and Term Life Insurance are two types of insurance that are most common for "final expenses" up to $50,000.
The following are the variations of the most generally used life insurance coverages to leave money to the chosen beneficiaries (family, friends, charity, etc.):
- Term Life insurance
- Whole Life insurance
- Indexed Universal Life (IUL) insurance
For consultation and advice on life insurance options in Polk County, contact a knowledgeable life insurance agent licensed in the state of Texas.
