It Pays to Revisit Your Insurance Policies (Literally)

When we purchased our townhouse, I had no idea we'd have to purchase so many insurance policies to protect our investment. We have a condo owner's policy, an earthquake policy, an umbrella policy, and a personal articles policy for my engagement ring. We've owned our townhouse for nearly twenty years now, but last year, for the first time in many years, I contacted our insurance agent to ask if our condo owner's policy covers what it should, and if it covers anything it doesn't need to.



My query led to a series of emails and phone conversations, and we ended up reducing some excess coverage. Now we're saving over $100 per year on our condo owner's policy. Since our premiums have gone up and up over the years, it's a refreshing change.

You don't have to update your policies every year (although that would be ideal), but you should definitely check on them every so often.

I'll admit, sometimes we've revisited our policies and ended up paying more, like when we added coverage in case an earthquake forced us to move out for an extended period of time. But every time we've updated our coverage, I've felt better, because whether we're paying more or less, it means our policies are specifically tailored for our situation.