A lot can change over the course of just one year. You could have a new driver in your household or a child who has just started college. Perhaps you or your spouse started a new job or welcomed a new addition to the family. Maybe you’re settling into a new house or you’ve started renting out a room. Change at home often means a change in insurance needs as well.
If you haven’t scheduled an insurance checkup in a while, it’s a great time to give us a call. It doesn’t take much time, and it’s an opportunity to ask about discounts and other ways to keep your insurance costs affordable and to make sure you’re carrying enough coverage on your home and automobile.
Some important areas to consider during an insurance review:
- Have you made any additions or alterations to your home that have increased the cost of rebuilding it in the event of a disaster?
- Have you purchased any big-ticket items such as jewelry or guns?
- Have you started a business in your home? Business activities are not covered under standard homeowners insurance policies.
- Have you started renting out a portion of your property or your entire home?
An insurance review is just one of a number of smart start-of-the-year moves you can make. Here are some others:
Order your credit report. You can go to annualcreditreport.com, order your credit report for free, view it online and/or print it out — all within just minutes. The website was created after the passage of a federal law that requires each of the nation’s three credit bureaus to furnish each person with one free credit report per year. Check your credit file at least once a year for errors that could lower your credit score.
Consider refinancing. Who would have thought that mortgage rates would remain near historic lows? Refinancing can lower your monthly mortgage payment, shorten the length of time it takes to pay off your home and if you have equity in your property, can even be a source of cash. Even if you weren’t able to refinance into a lower-rate home loan in the past, you owe it to yourself to visit a mortgage lender to see whether refinancing makes sense for you today. If you’re nearing retirement, look into 10- or 15-year home loan options.
Look for ways to save on recurring expenses. A new year is a great time to examine major spending categories, including your cellphone, cable service and utilities. Are you paying for any features or time you aren’t using? Could you go with a cheaper plan? What about your landline — do you really need it? Call your service providers to see if they have any less expensive plans, promotions or ideas to help you save money. Shop around or ask for a better rate from the companies you regularly pay money to.
Set your savings on autopilot. Consider having an amount from your paycheck automatically diverted into a savings account or other savings vehicle. If your employer doesn’t offer this option, have an amount automatically transferred each month from your checking account to your savings account or retirement plan. With automatic savings plans, you don’t have to remember to save. And you’ll be surprised just how quickly automatic savings add up.
