6 reasons to review your homeowners insurance

Set it and forget it. That’s most people’s philosophy when it comes to homeowners insurance. We review it only when we do something major, like buy a new house. But many other reasons should prompt us to revisit our policy. To ensure you’re adequately covered and are getting the best rate possible, call your insurance agent when you experience any of these events:

1. You remodel your house

By making significant changes to your home, such as renovating your kitchen or bathrooms, and especially when adding rooms, you increase the value. To make sure you’ll be covered if you have to rebuild, you may want to increase the amount of insurance you have.

2. You get new housemates

If your housemates are not on your policy, their personal belongings would not be covered if they were destroyed or stolen. Your insurer may allow you to add your housemates to your policy or offer them a separate renters policy.

3. You add a swimming pool or hot tub

Your homeowners policy might not have enough coverage for the risk posed by a pool or a spa in terms of the increased cost to replace those items if damaged, as well as the liability that someone could be seriously injured on your property. Consider increasing your homeowners coverage to match the exposure of adding a new pool or hot tub.

4. You buy or inherit items of significant value

Most homeowners policies limit coverage for certain high-ticket items, such as fine art, cameras, musical instruments, and jewelry. For these types of valuables, you might want to buy a “floater,” or personal property endorsement, which provides additional coverage for individual objects.

5. You get a dog

Pets can increase the risk of injury to others, so it’s wise to evaluate your policy’s liability limits. A typical homeowners policy provides liability coverage if your dog bites or otherwise injures someone. Review your policy contract carefully because some homeowners policies do not cover certain dog breeds.

6. You make your home safer

Installing a monitored fire or burglar alarm may provide a break on your premium. In addition, some insurers will lower your premium when you install a new roof, new plumbing, or new wiring, and most will give you a discount for bundling your policy with your auto insurance.