Your insurance agent is there to help with many things. As life goes on, changes happen and your insurance might need to be adjusted. Your coverage needs to be customized to you, and if you have a change in your life or to your home, you need to have your coverage tailored so it fits like a glove again. It’s important to keep your agent in the know so that you don’t have any coverage gaps. Here are 8 times you might want to pick up the phone or write an email to talk to your agent.
8 times that you should talk to your insurance agent.
1. When you buy a house.
Buying a new home insurance means getting home insurance, and that means calling an insurance agent. You need to make sure your home is protected from fires, burglary, falling trees, and so on by getting the right home insurance. This is why an agent can be a big help. They can help you make sure you have enough home insurance.
Keep in mind that you probably want to insure your home for its replacement cost, which is the amount it would cost to rebuild your home from the ground up if it were destroyed by a fire or another loss. The replacement cost value includes the expenses associated with building materials and the labor of the contractors. And of course, it’s also important to have enough coverage for the contents of your home.
2. When you’re renovating your home or when you’re making home improvements.
Home renovations can affect your home insurance. You could end up increasing the value of your home if you make significant changes to the house, which means you may need to increase your limits of home insurance. It’s a good idea to let your agent know about any major changes or renovations to the home and have a conversation about your insurance. It’s essential that you have enough insurance to cover the costs of rebuilding your home so you can put it back to the way it was before the loss.
Apart from renovating, home improvements that make your home stronger or safer – such as getting a security system, getting a new roof, or getting a new electrical system – can qualify you for home insurance discounts. So, if you’ve made an improvement to your home that makes it safer or stronger, you could be eligible for a home insurance discount.
3. If your teenager gets their driver’s license.
If your teen is getting their license, you need to set them up with the right car insurance. Teen car insurance can be very expensive, so you may want to add them to your policy rather than getting them their own policy. However, that’s a conversation that you can have with your agent. Talk to your agent about the fact that your teenager is about to start driving. Hopefully, they can help ease your anxiety about handing over the keys by setting you up with great teen auto insurance.
4. Getting married.
As far as car insurance goes, you could get a car insurance discount if you insure more than one car with your carrier. It might be worth checking to see what it would take to get you and your spouse onto the same car insurance policy.
5. Buying a car.
Well, if you’re buying a new car, you’re going to need the right insurance for it! It’s important to make sure you have the coverages you need to protect your new set of wheels. You don’t want to find out too late that you don’t have the coverage you thought you did for the new vehicle.
6. When you get valuable jewelry or art.
Maybe you’ve recently gotten some valuable jewelry or artwork. When expensive jewelry or art comes into your possession, you’ll need to let your agent know so you can chat about the best way to go about insuring your valuables. Oftentimes home insurance policies only give you a small amount of coverage for your values, so you may need to add coverage or even take out a separate policy for your valuables.
7. When you retire.
If you retire, you might qualify for a home insurance discount, so that could be worth a phone call to your agent.
8. If you want to bundle your home and auto insurance.
You might want to consider bundling your home and auto insurance (meaning getting them from the same carrier). That might help you save some money on your insurance because a lot of insurance companies offer discounts for bundling.
The above are a few occasions where it could be worth calling your insurance agent to tell them about your new situation. Remember, it’s so important to have the right insurance for your house, your family, and your finances. Don’t be shy – your agent’s job is to ensure that you’ve got the insurance you need.
Do you want to save money on your home insurance or auto insurance? We can help you get quotes for your coverage. We strive to be your insurance partner and advisor, so we’ll help you get the coverage you need at a great rate. Get started with home insurance quotes or auto insurance quotes with our online quote form or by calling us today.