Thursday, January 9, 2014

Have you reviewed your policies lately?

Do you know how much coverage you have on any of your policies?  Do you have your policies combined and are getting all the discounts you should?  Did you go with the cheapest insurance just to have it?  When was the last time you talked to your agent or insurance company?

A study done by Trusted Choice pulled 930 U.S. household and showed that 40% of people are not confident or somewhat confident that they have adequate and appropriate insurance coverage for their needs.

Trusted Choice independent insurance agents identify the following 5 "mistakes" as some of the more common errors they see:

1) Not knowing your limits: Iowa state minimum is 20,000 per person, 40,000 per accident, and 15,000 property damage.  Most cars now are worth way more than 15,000

2) Disregarding discounts: Do you have your home at 1 agency/company and your auto at another?  If you combine them you get a multi-policy discount.  There is a general list for discounts such as automatic payments (EFT), accident free, or good student.  But many companies also offer their own.

3) Consider insurance in estate planning: Is your home deeded in your name or is it in a trust account?  If it listed in the trust account you may not be properly insured.  Being listed in the trust account changes the owner of the home.

4) Not assessing your biggest asset: Did you buy a new home and decided to rent out your old home and not tell your insurance agent?  This changes the policy, too.  You are no longer living in it and maybe don't have tenants yet. Then the property is vacant and if it is vacant for too long your coverage could be void.  Do you have your higher value items insured?  Your wedding ring, fine art, musical instruments, silver, or golf items.  All it takes is an appraisal to have them added to your homeowners.

5) Taking the cheapest route:  Did you call around for quotes and the only question you asked was how much is it going to cost me?  Most companies don't agree with the state limits and would like you to have higher ones.  If you called 5 different agencies and asked for the price, you would get 5 different answers because they all quoted different coverage for you.

In reality all it takes is sitting down with your agent and reviewing your policy.  A lot changes in a year: did you get married, have  a child, new job, buy a new house or car?  Please make sure to visit with your agent today.