With birds harmoniously chirping, the budding of colorful flowers, and longer days, spring inspires an energy and motivation that may have been hibernating during the winter months. The sunnier weather actually slows our bodies’ melatonin production, allowing us to “awaken,” which is when we tend to notice the disorganization and disorder the winter months left on our homes.¹
Before you open a window to air out the dust bunnies or grab the Clorox to begin your dirty-home detox, you may want to add “update insurance” to your spring-cleaning to-do list.
Here are some tips on determining the adequacy of your coverage this spring:
- Toys and Vehicles: Did you take insurance off of your boat or RV as you retired it for the winter season? Maybe you were gifted a brand-new car, motorcycle, or ATV over the holidays (lucky you!)
Before you satisfy that itch to take the convertible for a spin down back roads, be sure to review and update your auto insurance policy to both satisfy any legal obligations and ensure your safety.
- Changes to the Home: Have you finally decided to build that addition to your home this spring? Does the warm weather have you thinking about a pool? Home improvement projects typically require home insurance policy changes. Upgrades like new electrical and plumbing systems, home protection services, and rooftop replacements can help decrease your home insurance premiums.²
More square footage means more home to cover. New decks, pools, and hot tubs add both luxury and liability to your home, which means you may want to increase your personal liability coverage.2 Talk to your insurance agent about the implications of your updates.
- Gifts and Valuables: The winter is filled with gift-giving opportunities. Additionally, as you clean and organize the house, you may uncover new inventory worth covering. “Having an updated home inventory can help you estimate how much your belongings are worth. Once you know the replacement value of your possessions, you can determine whether your home insurance policy is offering enough coverage for your belongings.”³
Typically, homeowner and renter policies have rather limited coverage on items like jewelry, fine art, high-tech gadgets, and antique firearms. We recommend talking to your agent about insurance for valuable items to understand the extent of your coverage and to update item appraisals.4
“Just as it is important to look at your wardrobe, electronics, and other personal items to see what needs to be tossed, fixed, updated or stored for the coming months, everyone should do a thorough evaluation of their insurance coverage at least once a year,” says Jeanne M. Salvatore, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer of the Insurance Information Institute. “So why not make a policy review part of your spring-cleaning ritual?”5
Talk to one of our qualified agents today to determine how the past year’s changes or this coming year’s anticipated alterations could potentially affect your coverage.
- https://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/stories/why-spring-cleaning-thing
- https://quotewizard.com/home-insurance/remodeling-and-homeowners-insurance
- http://www.allstardirect.com/importance-updating-home-inventory-spring/
- https://www.hardtinsurance.com/blog/spring-cleaning-5-tips-to-keep-your-insurance-up-to-date.aspx