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*(Update)* The insurance industry is experiencing historic increases in reinsurance costs for 2023 as a result of a number of severe weather events coupled with a reduction of market capacity due to reinsurance carriers exiting the market as well as a sharp increase in the cost of capital due to rapid inflation. Reinsurance costs are increasing by well over 50%, driven by a 30% increase to Hurricane Base rates. Please understand this if you notice your home policy premium increasing.
A Major Renovation
Whether you give your kitchen an overhaul or redo the master bath, these are high value areas of your home, and your insurance company needs to know you have improved them. Give them a call and let them know what type of materials you used and what features you may have added, such as a jetted tub or granite countertops. This will ensure that if insurance ever has to pay to replace your house, you will get those updates back.
An Addition to Your Home
If you add square footage to your home via an addition, it’s important to let your insurance company know right away, as this has a large impact on your replacement cost. Remember that insurance will only cover permitted additions to your home, so be sure you have all the right permits on file and everything is up to code. Some additions, such as certain types of sunrooms, do not actually count toward the total square footage, so discuss the coverage for that type of addition with your insurance agent.
New Floors, New Windows
Anything you replace or upgrade should be reported to your insurance company. Whether you replace your carpet with hardwood floors, or install new windows, doors, or other features, all of these things are important to the reconstruction cost of your home.
If you aren’t sure if a certain upgrade or change has any bearing on your insurance, it’s always best to put in a call to your agent just to be on the safe side. You don’t want to make a claim down the road only to find out that the policy was outdated and you weren’t covered for the improvements you have made to your home. Although most policies do have some protection built in for this, the safest bet is to be sure you keep your policy up to date. It’s always worth a call to your agent or insurance company to let them know things have changed at your home.
