Car Insurance - Reporting

So you have a new roommate and you do not even think about telling your car insurance company about it, are you going to be safe should you file a claim?  Maybe.  Any changes to the vehicles you have, lease, store and who drives them, has access to them, lives in your house need to be disclosed to your insurance company. If you think that not reporting saves you money in premiums, you may stand to lose much more if a claim is denied becasue you did not report. Review your policy today and make sure it reflects what is accurate. This is also a cahnce to see that you are getting as much discounts as possible, are you getting homeowner, education,job,member of an association, married discounts?

Car Insurance - one policy - can I stack UM/UIM?

Just a quick note that could be useful. In certain states you can stack coverage for your UM/UIM on 1 car, like in Florida. The advantage is that if you incur high medical bills that exceed your policy or the at fault policy you will have more protection. Additionally there may be circumstances where your UM doesn't cover you at all if you have non-stacked UM/UIM coverage. I suggest you do some research on line to find out why and what state offers stacked coverage for a single policy, it will cost a bit more but please get informed before you reject the "non-stacked" option. DO you ride a motorcycle with no UM/UIM whether you own it or not? check out stacked v non-stacked.

Home Value v Insurance Coverage

If your home’s market value has increased recently and the cost to rebuild your home in your region have remained constant – there should not be a direct effect on its replacement cost value. Increased market value of your home alone should not have to make major changes to your home insurance policy.

 Notify your insurance agent when you make major renovations such as adding a room, gutting bathrooms and kitchens for improvements, and installing swimming pools – anything that would require a homeowner to get permits. If you have replaced that old kitchen with granite or upgraded the cabinets, likewise in the bathrooms that would be a significant event to increase your insurance coverage, specifically Coverage A also known as building or dwelling coverage.

Adding replacement cost value to your home by remodeling the kitchen with newer – more expensive – materials typically requires some updates to your home insurance policy, since the cost of replacing these materials could exceed your previous coverage limits.

The short answer is that anything that adds to rebuilding your home due to improvements should be added to the limits of your home insurance.