The Danger of Just Renewing your Property Insurance
Unless you tell your insurer not to auto-renew, most policies will automatically roll over at the end of your contract. If this happens, it could mean you’re potentially missing out on a better-suited policy with a different provider.
In the same way that inflation rates can increase the cost of living, they can also impact the cost of your property insurance. If you auto-renew your policy, the process is automatic, which makes it easier for you as you don’t need to do anything. However, there can also be major downsides to auto-renewal. The amount of cover you need since you last took out a policy may have changed, simply auto-renewing may mean you are not fully protected.
Things to consider when renewing your property insurance:
- It’s important to check that the amount of cover you need hasn’t altered. It may have increased or decreased depending on your circumstances. If you have made any home improvements or changed anything that would increase the rebuild value of your home, you would need to let your insurer know.
- Underinsurance occurs often, which then leaves the policyholder with insufficient insurance to cover the cost of the insured property or items, which can cause huge risks. In the unfortunate event where you may need to make a claim, being underinsured may result in economic losses.
- People often make the mistake of insuring their property at the market value. Instead, you should be insuring your property for the rebuild or reinstatement value, which is the cost to rebuild your property from scratch, including all groundwork, surveyors and architects’ fees.
As prices change each year, it is always best to review your policy before renewing. By auto-renewing with your insurance provider, you may expose yourself to risks you are not aware of causing financial loss or potentially voiding your policy.
It is beneficial to compare insurance cover and value from different providers, and by doing this in good time before your current policy ends, you can make sure you have the right cover at the right price. At 1st Choice Insurance, our team use their specialist knowledge to find the most competitive insurance rates that offer the best level of cover. With experience in arranging property owners’ insurance for our clients, we can advise on the best level and type of cover for your needs.
