Home insurance is your ace in the hole when it comes to replacing or repairing your home following a loss. Without home insurance, you’d be forced to cover the costs yourself, which could take all your savings, depending on the severity of your loss and how much you have saved. However, it’s not enough to have coverage; you need complete coverage. You need enough insurance coverage to prevent insurance gaps that would require you to pay for your home's repairs out-of-pocket.
Prevent Insurance Gaps by Getting an Annual Insurance Review
One way to reduce surprises and to be certain you have enough coverage is to get home insurance reviews annually. Annual home insurance reviews are conducted by your licensed insurance agent. During the process of the review, they ensure that you pay for enough insurance to cover the value of your home. Since homes appreciate and the cost of labor and materials increase year after year, you may experience a rate change following your review.
If You Renovate, Consider Increasing Your Home Insurance
You renovate your home to make it more comfortable for you and your family. Your renovation may include an additional room, or it may enhance the layout of your home to make it look modern. At any rate, your renovation should create more value for you. Renovations also increase the replacement costs associated with your home. Due to this increase, you may have to increase your home insurance coverage.
More Assets Means More Home Insurance Coverage
Like most people, you’ll acquire a lot of valuable items over the years. Fortunately, your personal belongings are covered by your home insurance policy. However, if you haven’t increased how much coverage you have for personal belongings in a few years, then you may consider doing so. If you experience a loss, you want to have enough coverage to ensure you can replace these items.
Don’t purchase home insurance and then ignore it for years. To ensure your home has adequate coverage, you have to maintain your home insurance over the years.