Most of us know and understand that having insurance is important. You don’t want to be without insurance when a problem strikes. What we may not realize is that protecting ourselves with insurance isn’t a once and done event. You wouldn’t wear the same pair of pants you did when you were five years old because they don’t fit. When you first purchased your homeowner’s insurance policy, you probably had the simple things like folding chairs and bar stools; but after a few years you are probably now lounging in your leather lazy boy chair while watching TV on your wall-mounted flat screen. Life is always changing, and your insurance policy should reflect that.
This doesn’t mean you have to call your insurance agent every time you buy a new piece of furniture or you have a cousin move in for six months. More significant changes should be reported immediately (like getting married, divorced or purchasing a new car), items like improving your home entertainment system or getting blue tooth in your car can be reported at your annual insurance review. Most agents reach out to their clients because they want to make sure to check on any changes and make sure you avoid gaps in the insurance. It is also important that you as the client reach out to your agent to make sure you are covered correctly.
You can also schedule you own annual review and call your agent to make sure they have updated information. All you need to do is jot down any changes that have occurred over the last year, even if you aren’t sure if it significant enough to mention. This will ensure that your insurance policies are best suited for your current life situation.
Some of the changes that you should mention to your insurance agent immediately are listed below. You should ask yourself these questions every year::
- Have I gotten married or divorced?
- Have I had a new baby or adopted a child?
- Is anyone in my house a new driver?
- Is anyone living with me who wasn’t before? Will this person be driving one of my cars?
- Do I have a personal umbrella insurance policy? Do I need one?
- Have I purchased any new properties?
- Have I started a home-based business?
- Have I purchased new furniture or new jewelry?
These are just a few life changes that are often picked up during an annual review. These are far from the only changes that can affect your coverage, be as thorough as you can when documenting and reporting things to your agent.
Most of the above examples seem obvious to report to your insurance. Most of us know that when your teenager gets his license, you need to notify your auto insurance carrier. Not everything is just as obvious, such as, life insurance. Let’s say you and your spouse have a new baby, you decide to purchase life insurance to provide for your child in the event something happens to you or your spouse. You are doing the responsible thing, planning. But let’s say five years later you have another child. Having a second child doesn’t necessarily flip the proverbial switch on like it does when you have your first child. We aren’t saying that you must call right away again to make changes on your life insurance, but you should think about updating the policy. Sometimes not changing the beneficiary can create havoc, legal battles and misdirected money. Protect yourself, your family and your personal belongings by making sure that each of your insurance policies get an annual check-up.
R.C. Keller & Company is a full service Trusted Choice insurance agency. We have protected the residents and businesses of Schaumburg since 1910. We offer a full array of personal insurance, business insurance and life insurance products. Call us at 847-907-4520.