As fall gets underway, many Northeast Georgia families are settling into a new routine. School is back in session. College students have moved into dorms or apartments. Summer projects may finally be finished. A new car may be sitting in the driveway. A teenager may be driving more often. Maybe there is a new piece of jewelry, a new dog, a pool, a boat or a major change in the family.
Those changes can happen one at a time, which makes them easy to overlook from an insurance standpoint.
The good news is that an insurance review does not have to mean sitting down and reading every page of every policy. A much easier place to start is with one question:
What changed?
What changes should you tell your insurance agent about?
Contact your insurance agent when changes to your home, household drivers, vehicles, valuable property, liability exposures or family responsibilities may make the information used to insure you outdated. Not every change requires a policy change, and the effect varies by insurer and policy. But reviewing important changes before a loss is usually much easier than trying to sort them out afterward.
Georgia's insurance regulator advises consumers to review home insurance needs at least annually and notes that additions and remodeling can increase a home's replacement cost.
1. You Improved, Added to or Changed Your Home
Maybe you finished a basement, added a screened porch, built a deck, remodeled the kitchen, added a detached structure or completed another substantial improvement.
You may think of it as a home project. Your insurance agent may need to think about whether the information used to insure the property still reflects the home as it exists today.
That does not mean every repair or improvement automatically requires more insurance. It means significant changes are worth discussing.
Homeowners coverage is generally based in part on the cost to repair or rebuild the insured home, not simply its real-estate market value. A substantial addition or improvement can affect those rebuilding considerations. Georgia's insurance regulator specifically notes that additions and remodeling may increase replacement cost.
Ask your agent: Does our current policy information accurately describe the home we have today?
2. The Drivers or Vehicles in Your Household Changed
This is especially easy to miss in families with teenagers and young adults.
A child gets a driver's license. A college student takes a vehicle to school. Someone moves back home. A household member starts using a different car regularly. A vehicle is added, replaced or used differently than it was before.
Insurance companies can have different rules about household members, youthful drivers, students away at school, vehicle location and vehicle use. That is why this is an area where assumptions can create problems.
For college students, the answer can depend on where the student lives, whether the student takes a vehicle, who owns it and the insurer's rules.
Ask your agent: Are all household drivers, student arrangements, vehicle locations and regular uses accurately reflected?
3. You Bought Jewelry, Collectibles or Other Valuable Property
A new engagement ring, anniversary gift, piece of art, collectible, musical instrument or other valuable item may deserve a closer look.
Homeowners policies commonly provide personal-property coverage, but certain categories of valuable property can have special limits or different loss-settlement provisions. The details vary by policy.
NAIC consumer guidance recommends keeping a home inventory, updating it when you buy new items, and discussing valuable jewelry, art, antiques, and similar property with your insurer or agent.
A simple fall project is to walk through the house with your phone and take current photos or video. Record major purchases and keep receipts or appraisals where appropriate.
Ask your agent: Have we purchased anything this year that should be specifically discussed, scheduled or documented?
4. Your Liability Exposure Looks Different Than It Did Last Year
Some household changes are not primarily about the value of the house or belongings. They change the chance that someone could be injured or that your household could face a liability claim.
Examples might include a swimming pool, trampoline, dog, recreational vehicle, boat, rental property or other changes in how your property and vehicles are used.
These do not all affect insurance in the same way. Carrier underwriting rules and policy terms vary.
NAIC consumer guidance specifically identifies pools and trampolines among household features that may affect liability needs and suggests discussing them with an agent.
A personal umbrella policy is designed to provide additional liability protection above certain underlying policies, subject to its terms, limits, exclusions and required underlying coverage. A household may want to review umbrella coverage when its assets, drivers, property or liability exposures have changed.
Ask your agent: Has anything changed that makes it worth reviewing our liability limits or umbrella coverage?
5. Your Family or Financial Responsibilities Changed
Insurance needs often change because life changes.
Marriage, divorce, a new child, a child becoming financially independent, a new mortgage, a significant income change, a new business responsibility or another major family transition can all be good reasons to review the bigger picture.
This is where home and auto insurance may overlap with life insurance and beneficiary questions.
The goal is not to turn every life event into an insurance sale. It is simply to make sure insurance decisions made several years ago still make sense for the life you are living now.
Ask your agent: Have our family responsibilities changed enough that any of our insurance decisions deserve another look?
The 5-Minute "What Changed?" Insurance Checklist
- Home: Did we renovate, add space, build something or make a major improvement?
- Drivers and vehicles: Did anyone start driving, move, go to college, add a car or change how a vehicle is used?
- Belongings: Did we buy valuable jewelry, art, collectibles, electronics or other significant property?
- Liability: Did we add a pool, dog, boat, recreational vehicle, rental property or another exposure?
- Family: Did marriage, divorce, children, a mortgage, income or other financial responsibilities change?
If the answer is yes to one of those questions, make a note.
You do not need to decide whether you need different coverage. That is the point of the conversation with your insurance professional.
What if nothing major changed?
That is useful information, too.
An annual review can still be a good opportunity to confirm deductibles, liability limits, home replacement-cost information, vehicle use and other policy details. But the review does not need to become an exercise in changing coverage just for the sake of changing it.
Sometimes the right answer is that the current information and coverage still fit.
Why an Independent Insurance Agent Can Help
Insurance can become complicated because one household change can touch more than one policy.
A college student might raise questions about auto, renters and personal property. A home renovation might raise questions about replacement cost and liability. A new recreational vehicle might involve a separate policy and an umbrella review.
As an independent insurance agency, Cowart Insurance Agency works with multiple insurance companies. That gives our team the ability to help clients look at the household as a whole and explain the questions in plain English.
Cowart Insurance Agency has served Northeast Georgia families since 1976.
If something changed at your home or in your family this year, tell us what changed. We can help you determine what deserves a closer look.
FAQs
What changes should I tell my homeowners insurance agent about?
Significant renovations or additions, new structures, pools, home-business activity, valuable purchases and other material changes to the property or how it is used are worth discussing. Whether a policy change is needed depends on the insurer and policy.
Should I tell my insurance agent about home renovations?
Yes, substantial renovations or additions are worth reviewing. Georgia's insurance regulator notes that additions and remodeling may increase replacement cost.
When should I tell my insurance agent about a teen driver?
Contact your agent when a household member is approaching licensing or begins driving so you can understand the insurer's requirements. Do not assume every carrier handles permits, licensed drivers or youthful operators identically.
Does insurance need to change when a child goes to college?
Sometimes. The answer can depend on the student's residence, vehicle, ownership, household status and insurer rules.
Should I tell my insurance agent about new jewelry?
It is wise to discuss valuable jewelry and similar property. Some policies have special limits or conditions for certain categories.
When should I consider personal umbrella insurance?
An umbrella review may be useful when household assets, drivers or liability exposures change. Eligibility, required underlying limits and covered exposures vary.
How often should I review my insurance?
A yearly check-in is a useful baseline, and major household changes are another reason to review sooner. Georgia OCI and NAIC both encourage regular homeowners-insurance reviews.