Is your insurance company renewing your homeowner’s insurance? With the current state of the marketplace, insurance companies are getting stricter on their new business and renewal strategies. They may decide they no longer want to insure your home due to:

• The state you live in
• The age of your roof
• The type of roof you have
• Claims history
• And more!

Here are a few things to consider if your homeowner’s insurance is up for renewal or isn’t being renewed.

Prepare for Pricing Increases

If you find out your homeowner’s insurance is not being renewed, reach out to your current carrier to understand why and if there is something you can do to change their decision. If your roof is the issue, can you replace or repair it? If there are claims concerns, can you provide context?

Pricing is another major concern for homeowners and insurance companies alike. You may have noticed that a majority homeowners insurance carriers are activating large rate increases. This can happen, because insurance companies are losing money on homeowner’s insurance in your state or region. Unfortunately, insurance companies are like any other business and need to stay profitable, so they sometimes have to increase rates.

Pricing can also increase due to the annual inflation increase on the value of your dwelling. We are seeing insurance companies take an average of 10% inflation increase on replacement costs of homes. This means that your insurance costs could be increasing at least 10% just based on the home value itself.

Understand Your Terms

Changes of terms are also important to note. A big source of loss for a majority of our insurance companies are wind and hail losses. They are now adding a separate wind and hail deductible to make the insured take on more of the burden when turning in a wind and hail claim. We are typically seeing 1% as a deductible for this – for example, a $1,000,000 home with a 1% wind and hail deductible would pay the first $10,000.

Carriers are also adding “actual cash value” or “payment schedules” to older roofs. This means if you have a 15-year-old roof and have a roof loss, the insurance companies will not pay to fully replace your roof. They will pay a depreciated amount for your roof and then you will still have to pay the deductible. When you’re renewing your insurance, this can be an important financial burden that you should be aware of!

Our Team Can Help

If you have questions about your homeowner’s insurance and managing your risk when it comes time to renew your policy, our private risk experts are here offer guidance and support. Reach out today and let’s get started!