March 18, 2013
A new year is upon us, which means two things: time to make a New Year’s resolution and time to pull out all of your insurance policies and give them a good look through. Doing a review at this time of year will always benefit you. You can easily look back at the last year and figure out what worked for you and what didn’t. You can also make more accurate predictions about what you’ll need in the next year since it’s so close, and you probably have an idea of any significant things that are going to happen in the upcoming year.
So one of the first things you need to do is pull out all of your policies: homeowner’s, auto, umbrella, dwelling, life, health, renters…whatever kind of policies you have, get them out and prepare to review them in detail.
Before getting started, the first thing you should do is take note of whether any significant changes took place over the last year that your policy doesn’t reflect. For example, did you get married and have a child? Hopefully you’ve already updated your auto and home policies with the new status, as well as any other policies. Significant changes in marital status, moving, new dependents or roommates, etc, are all going to be taken into consideration when it comes time for your policy to renew. Make note of any changes or any changes that may be coming up (such as if you have a wedding day coming up soon) and let your insurance agent know so that they can remember to call you around that time and make any updates at that point. Things like this can also give agents a good idea of what you could possibly be looking at in the future, and helps your agent be even more prepared to find you the best rates.
Next, review the coverage of each item that you have insured. In the case of a homeowners policy you should consider any changes in the market value of your house and if there are any new coverage requirements such as obtaining riders to cover jewelry or fine art. Automobiles rapidly depreciate in value and perhaps it no longer makes sense to carry collision coverage. You should also check to see if you are taking advantage of any special discounts that are available for maintaining different policies with one insurance company and even discounts offered for installing an alarm system.
Talking with your agent and reviewing your policy coverage is the best way to ensure that you not only understand your policies, but also that you are protected and confident with the coverage you have.In addition you may find ways to save money by taking advantage of discounts and changes to your policy coverage.
