Your home insurance policy should be molded to suit your situation and needs.
As your situation and needs evolve, so must your home insurance policy.
If you haven’t reviewed your home insurance policy in a couple of years, now is the time to do so. Get a free home insurance quote in minutes right here.
WHAT IF MY HOME INSURANCE POLICY IS NOT UP TO DATE?
Probably the worst-case scenario related to an out-of-date home insurance policy is you not being covered for a major loss.
If you submit a claim for a loss and it’s determined that the cause of the loss was something not included in your insurance policy your claim may be denied.
When you’re reviewing your home insurance policy, you want to make sure it will cover you in the event of something like a total loss fire.
HOW TO REVIEW YOUR HOME INSURANCE POLICY
When you sit down to review your home insurance policy it’s best to have a plan to help you try and identify some things that may need to evolve with you.
The goal is to know exactly what you’re insured for and what you’re not insured for.
A few questions you can ask yourself:
- Have you made any home improvements recently? A new deck, finished basement, pool installed, kitchen renovation etc. These types of things could have an impact on the replacement value of your home (meaning you could use a bump up in coverage amounts) or come with special risks that would need to be mentioned in the policy to be covered.
- Have you made recent purchases of high content that should be covered like TVs, electronics, art etc?
- Has the real estate market in your area changed, resulting in a higher or lower home resale value? This may not affect your insurance limit, but good to know for comparison.
- Do you have kids away at college and need their belongings covered?
- Do you have any new collecting hobbies that should be covered (sports cards, coins or stamps)?
- Has an elderly parent moved in with you?
- Have you begun renting an empty room to a tenant?
- Do you have GRC (guaranteed replacement cost) or has your insurer done an updated evaluation recently?
In addition to these self-evaluation tips and suggestions, one of the best things to do when reviewing your home insurance is to speak directly with your insurance company for help.
Between your knowledge of your situation and their knowledge of the insurance business, you should be able to dig into every corner to make sure your policy is tight.
REVIEW YOUR HOME INSURANCE POLICY TO SAVE MONEY
Do you feel like you’re paying too much for your home insurance?
Reviewing your policy is also a great opportunity to see if you might be able to lower your insurance premiums.
- Are there new discounts offered by your insurance company that were not offered the last time you reviewed your policy? Such as the monitored alarm discount.
- Are there insurance discounts that you now qualify for that you did not before now? Such as the loyalty discount and mortgage-free discount.
- Have you considered bundling your home, auto and business insurance together with one company to save money?
- Have you considered raising your deductible amount to lower your monthly payment amounts? A $5,000 deductible can save you as much as 33% on your home insurance.
You should want a relationship with your insurance agent the same as you do other financial advisors like an accountant or investment broker, your home is the highest-value asset you own, so get to know your insurer and the agent you deal with to help you keep a firm grasp on your home insurance situation.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
