If you’re in the market for home insurance, you don’t want to make the mistake of going for quotes that you don’t personalize to match your situation. A lot of people make this mistake, and it can cost you dearly with your annual premiums. Since home insurance values can vary wildly from person to person, we’re going to outline the biggest reasons why you’d personalize your insurance plan to fit your needs below.
1. Discount Opportunities
Most insurance companies have discount opportunities available to entice new customers to join them or keep their long-time customers loyal. A lot of these discounts depend on your personal information. If they don’t have it, you can easily miss out on more than one discount that could save you money in the long run. For example, maybe you’ve recently upgraded your home security system, installed smoke alarms, or you put hurricane-proof windows in because you live in an area that is prone to tropical storms. If this is the case, there are usually discounts for that.
Additionally, getting married or removing what the insurance company sees as hazards from your property can add to the savings. Taking out a trampoline or pool reduces your liability risk, so the insurance companies will reward you for doing this by taking a small percentage off of your premium. No two households are alike, so having generic information in increases the risks of not getting all of the discounts you’re entitled to. Even if they’re smaller amounts, they can stack up over time. So, make sure to periodically update your information and see if your company offers any chances to save.
2. Different Coverage Tiers
Are you someone who has a lot of valuables in your home? Maybe you like high-end art pieces or expensive electronics. If so, personalizing your home insurance coverage and finding a coverage tier to match your needs is a great way to safeguard your items. Someone who doesn’t have a lot of these items won’t need a huge content coverage, but you may need it if you do have a lot of these items in your home. The goal is to get enough coverage so you could replace your items if something happened to them. If you don’t, this could be an expensive mistake that you have to remedy on your own.
Every insurance company offers different coverage tiers with riders. Most content insurance has a cap on how much they’ll cover, but they allow you to purchase more coverage on top of the coverage cap. Knowing the approximate value of all of your items and having a good inventory allows you to get the peace of mind that comes with knowing they’ll pay for your items if something goes wrong. If you’re someone who doesn’t have a lot of expensive electronics or contents, you can save money by scaling back in this area to fit your needs.
3. Lower Prices
You want to save money any way you can, and customizing your home insurance is one great way to ensure you’re getting the most coverage possible for the best price. Discounts can quickly add up for one, as we mentioned earlier. You can’t get all of them until you input your custom information. If you stay with one company for several years, they can also lock in savings tiers to help lower your monthly premium. You can take these lower prices and use the money you would have had from them to build up an emergency fund or set it aside to pay your deductible if you need it.
Customizing your insurance plan annually or bi-annually will also tell you if you should stay with the same company or go with another that is a better fit. It’s possible to outgrow a company, just like you can outgrow anything else. If you’re no longer getting the lowest prices and everything is as custom as it can get, it may be time to shop around for something new. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that their company will automatically update its policy, but this isn’t the case. You have to customize it to keep your rates as low as possible.
4. Learn How the Company Operates Better
As you’re learning what your home insurance company can and can’t do for you by personalizing your coverage, they’re learning the same about you and your unique situation. For example, maybe you didn’t know you lived in an area that was prone to tropical storms, so you didn’t know flood insurance would be a good idea. Getting an agent on the phone and giving them all of your information will help them tailor your insurance to your needs. They could point out riders or coverage options that would be beneficial to you that you may not have heard of.
In turn, this can grow your confidence in the company. How was the agent when you spoke to them? How difficult was it to get to a live person, and were they able to pull up your policy efficiently? Did they have any suggestions for you coverage-wise? The more you contact and work with your company to personalize your policy, the better feel you’ll get for how they work. You’ll usually know whether or not you can count on them if something should happen and you need to file a claim.
