Texans love to brag. But it's not really bragging if you are just that good! New Years gives us a chance to brag about all the changes we have slated for the upcoming months ahead. We are going to lose weight. We are going to exercise. We are going to spend more time with our family. The pursuit of redoing personal finances is always up there in this list as well. One aspect that can be overlooked is an insurance check-up to make sure that your coverage still meets your family's needs. Since our life situations change over the years, here is a 4 item check list to make sure your personal insurance situation is in tip-top shape!
Annual Personal Insurance Review Checklist
- Have you remodeled or made an addition to your home?
- Has your employment situation changed?
- Have you acquired new items that need insurance?
- When was the last time you shopped your insurance?
Remodel or Addition
As we live in our Texas homes, we begin to learn what we love and do not like about our homes. Over time, this ends up in remodeling or adding on to our existing homes. Which usually means we upgrade the home in material ways. These upgrades will change the value of the home from not only the market value but also in the cost to replace the home if something were to happen to it. The Dwelling Value on your home is how much money you have to rebuild it in the event of a total loss. Major changes to your home can mean that this value is too low and leave you exposed to not being able to properly replace your home in the event of a loss! Make sure that you review your Texas Home Insurance policy so that you know you have enough coverage for your home.
Employment Changes
Major changes in your employment can drastically change your need for protection. Employment changes often lead to income changes in your household and those can have dramatic effects upon your insurance needs. What we find is that as Texans grow their income they tend to grow their budget rather than saving all of that increase. That increase can lead to buying bigger houses, more expensive cars, and unfortunately going deeper in debt. If something were to happen to you, the primary breadwinner of the home, do you have enough life insurance to make sure your family doesn't experience additional trauma of moving or selling everything? Review your total amount of life insurance coverage to eliminate debts and provide a buffer while your family adjusts to it's new normal.
New Items
As we roll through holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions we often buy family members presents. Some of these may be small and some may be large. If you have bought new jewelry, art, guns, or other expensive single items you may have a gap in coverage. These kind of items are subject to sub-limits on your home insurance. That means your ability to replace them in the event of a loss could be limited or even non-existent. Reviewing these items with your agent can make sure that you have accounted for the variables that can affect whether or not you can make a claim and get your precious items replaced.
Shopping Insurance
The reality of the insurance marketplace in Texas today is that you will see incremental increases in your cost every year. Rate reductions are just few and very far in between. This means that your prices will continually creep up. Simple math says that a 15% annual increase in your premiums will double your costs in five years. And while that may not be the norm, it is certainly not out of the realm of reasonable. This price movement is why we recommend that you shop your insurance every two to three years. It allows you to keep prices in check along with creating some discounts from being in one place for a period of time. Working with a local independent insurance agent like Insurance For Texans will help you maximize your ability to shop across the marketplace while letting them do the heavy work. Contact us today to find the right coverage for your family at the best price.
Ron Wadley is an owner and General Solver of Problems for Insurance For Texans. Ron is a resident of North-East Tarrant County in the Dallas-Ft Worth area. He loves riding his many bikes and watching his Baylor Bears play football and basketball. Send him your insurance questions at ron@insurancefortexans.com.