Between hail storms in Colorado, flooding in the east, wildfires in the west and scattered tornados, there hasn’t been much good news around weather except for the scarcity of damaging hurricanes this year—although the peak of the hurricane season won’t start until August 20.
Certainly, an annual check of one’s insurance policy is always a good idea, and after last year’s record-setting destruction and this year’s bad news, it seems more important for property owners to check sooner rather than later.
These disasters should be an eye-opener for every homeowner to check their insurance policy and discuss it with their agent or carrier. Is there enough coverage to rebuild the home? Have any additions or upgrades been included in the coverage? Is their contents coverage sufficient to replace their belongings? Are there risks that they are not covered for but should be? Do they need flood insurance? Do they need hurricane insurance?
“Is there enough coverage to rebuild the home? Is contents coverage sufficient to replace belongings?”
After recent disasters, many homeowners were either underinsured or not insured at all for that risk. United Policyholders, a non-profit information resource and a voice for consumers, released their latest survey of wildfire victims. In the six-month survey report of the 2017 North Bay Fires, 66% of the survey respondents reported being underinsured on their dwelling and the average amount of underinsurance was $317,000.
United Policyholders also offers ‘Roadmap to Preparedness’ resources. These are not a replacement for the conversations with your agent but might be a good place to start for some people.
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