By Katharine Marrs
Spring is here! Sunshine, cool breezes, and a great opportunity to refresh your living space – and your insurance policy! It’s a great idea to review your insurance coverage periodically to make sure it will respond the way you would like it to in the event of a claim. Here’s a couple of life changes that might indicate an update to your policy is needed.
Renovations and Updates
Have you made any improvements or upgrades to your property? Your home is likely one of your biggest assets, and the homeowners insurance policy is designed to protect the full value of that investment. If the value has increased through renovations, we may need to adjust the limits so that you have adequate coverage available to rebuild in the event of a loss. Let us know about any added square footage or updates to HVAC or plumbing. There may also be a premium credit for some updates, especially a full roof replacement. Keep copies of completed work invoices from your contractors, as we may need to provide that documentation to the insurance carrier.
Household Members and Vehicles
Did someone move in or out of your house? If your parents moved in to be closer to the grandkids or one of your teenagers left the nest, we may need to make some updates. Insurance carriers typically require that all drivers in the household be listed on the auto policy, since they have access to the vehicles at the house and opportunity to drive them. Let us know about any new residents please!
Be mindful of where your vehicles are located. Are they all parked at home every night? Or does one of your children have a vehicle with them at college? In most cases, a child can remain on your auto policy as long as they still consider your home as their permanent address, however, we would want to provide the alternate garaging address to the insurance carrier.
You may be eligible for a premium credit if your child is a student away at school (at least 100 miles away) and does not have a vehicle with them. For a little extra peace of mind with a youthful driver, consider adding another layer of protection with an umbrella policy.
Occupancy
Are you taking advantage of the spring real estate market to purchase a new home? We can help make that a seamless process. Let us know the details of the new location and we’ll work with over 20 different insurance carriers to find a policy that’s a great fit. That’s one of the advantages of working with an independent insurance agency like Howard Hanna Insurance Services.
We can also update the mailing address on your existing policies to the new home to make sure you don’t miss any important documents.
If you’re moving out of your existing home, the policy you did have will no longer provide appropriate coverage for that location. Homeowners policies are designed for properties that the owner is occupying. If you’re renting it out, we can help place coverage as a landlord/dwelling policy instead. Maybe it’s going to be vacant while it’s on the market. We can provide coverage for that too.
Additional Interests and Mortgages
Have you paid off the mortgage on your home or the lien on your vehicle? Congratulations, that’s a huge accomplishment! Share that information with your insurance agency so we can update your policy. Even more importantly, check the billing for the home policy. If you had an escrow account set up with your mortgagee, that account will be closed once the loan on the property is satisfied, and you’ll be responsible for paying the home premium yourself. Installment pay plans or automatic payments may be available.
If you’ve completed a refinance or otherwise changed mortgage companies, notify us so that we can update the policy. For escrow billed policies, a prior mortgagee wouldn’t pay the premium if they receive a bill because they no longer have an interest in the property. To avoid any non-pay notices or cancellations, let us know when the change is made so we can help with a smooth transition.
Contact Info
We love to stay in touch with you! If you have a new phone number or email address, let us know so we can update your file. We are always happy to schedule a review of your current coverage. Call us at 412-696-0310 or email us at insurance@howardhanna.com.
About Howard Hanna
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services proudly provides real estate, mortgage, title, and insurance services across 15 states. As the largest family-owned and -operated real estate brokerage in the United States, Howard Hanna operates more than 500 offices with 15,000 sales associates and staff. The company’s proprietary Hanna Success System helps its agents achieve 53% more business than agents at the top 1000 brokerages nationally. Learn more at www.HowardHanna.com.
