Keeping your home adequately insured through a reputable company at a price you can afford has become a challenge for households all across the United States – not just in Florida and California. Home and condo owners today have to pay more attention to insurance in general and spend more time and money to keep it in place. United Policyholders offers free guidance to help you navigate the current marketplace, and is working hard to restore better options for consumers.
Whether you’re shopping for insurance or just want reassurance that your current coverage is adequate, it’s important to work with reliable professionals (agents, brokers, construction cost estimators, financial advisors, etc.) and ask them good questions. Download UP’s “Home and Insurance Check UP” for a list of our suggested questions. Take good notes on the answers you get, follow up in writing (email counts) to recap what you discussed, and keep your notes where you’ll be able to find them later. Be specific that your goal is to have enough insurance to cover repairs or rebuilding after a total loss. Avoid learning the hard way that your assets are not fully insured. Inadequate coverage (“underinsurance”) continues to be a very common and BIG obstacle to recovery for disaster victims. Here at UP, we’ll keep fighting to end underinsurance – but as a property owner, you have the biggest stake in making sure your insurance is customized and adequate.
When shopping for insurance for what’s likely your most valuable asset, (your home), we strongly urge you to shop for adequate coverage, then work on getting the price to where it’s affordable. If you tell an agent or broker that your top priority is the cheapest policy, you’re signalling that you don’t care about the quality of the protection, and you may end up paying a much higher price down the road if you have a loss and it’s not covered. A better approach is to be clear that you want adequate coverage on your home, and if trimming has to be done to get the price to where you can afford it, you’re willing to have it apply to your possessions and outbuildings, not your dwelling.
FAQs
What is an independent agent/broker? An independent agent or broker is an insurance professional that can insure you with one of several insurance companies. Careful consumers often prefer to use independent agents because they can gather competitive quotes for you to compare and they can recommend the best combination of price, coverage and deductible.
Why is it important to get a second opinion if I already have insurance? Home insurance is a product you buy one year at a time – yet most consumers (and agents) do not take the time to update limits and coverage over the years. Getting a second opinion can help make sure your policy limits are adequate to cover the cost to rebuild your home with today’s construction prices. By shopping around you are taking advantage of a competitive insurance marketplace which could save you money.
Can an independent broker help me find replacement coverage if I have been “dropped” or “non-renewed” by my insurance company? Yes, an independent broker is especially helpful if you live close to an area that has been devastated by a natural disaster. Some insurance companies get skittish after a disaster and pull their business out of the area. An independent broker will have knowledge of who is writing new policies in the area and who is not. They will know that you have more options then just the big named insurers and can write insurance with “non-admitted” insurers or an “insurer of last resort” if need be.
How can I find a reputable agent or broker? Word of mouth (friends, neighbors, family members and co-workers) is best. Second best is searching online and reading reviews. You’ll find a few agents and brokers in our Professional Help directory under “Insurance Shopping”. There’s also a company called Yapacopia that is a network of agents across the country. By visiting https://yapacopia.com/ you can be matched with an independent broker to get a review of your current policy and quotes for new policies.
Does Yapacopia support UP? Yapacopia helps UP provide a useful resource to insurance consumers. And because they are a Benefit Corporation it is part of their mission to give back to charities, like UP.
Please note United Policyholders is a non-profit organization that serves as a voice and an information resource for insurance consumers in all 50 States. We do not sell insurance or take money from insurance companies. Our goal in partnering with Yapacopia is to provide insurance consumers with a resource to find an independent broker – we are not endorsing individual brokers nor do we have relationships with the individual brokers who have signed on to Yapacopia.
We urge all insurance consumers to read our tips and articles on insuring to value and being a savvy consumer. Ask questions, take notes and follow up in writing when buying or updating your insurance. And above all – let your insurance goals be known. Being proactive before a loss can make all the difference in your ability to recover.