How to Run a Home Insurance Checkup
If you don't have sufficient coverage, your out-of-pocket costs in a claim could be through the roof.
As summer approaches, so do the storms. Tornado activity often peaks in the spring and early summer, and the Atlantic hurricane season starts in June.
In 2024, there were 27 weather- or climate-related disasters that each had losses of $1 billion or more, according to the most recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In case severe weather or another catastrophe hits, now is a good time to make sure your home insurance coverage is up to snuff. It's also a good idea to make a regular practice of reviewing your policy before it renews each year, says Susan Meyer, insurance analyst at The Zebra, a site for comparing insurance quotes.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
ABCs of coverage.
First, assess some key coverages. Your dwelling coverage, otherwise known as Coverage A, pays to rebuild your home's physical structure, including framing, roofs, floors and chimneys, if it's damaged by fire, a storm, snow or other covered perils.
You may need to adjust your policy's dwelling coverage if you've renovated your home by, say, adding a bathroom or remodeling your kitchen. Rising prices for construction materials in recent years may push up the cost of rebuilding, too. Talk with your insurance agent or a local contractor to get an idea of the cost per square foot to rebuild your home.
Some insurance companies offer online calculators you can use to help determine how much coverage you need.
While Coverage A applies to your house, Coverage B protects other structures that are not physically attached to it, such as a fence, detached garage, shed or guest house. The Coverage B limit is typically set at 10% of the Coverage A limit.
If your dwelling-coverage limit is $400,000, for example, then your limit for other structures would be $40,000. Depending on the types of other structures you have on your property, you may need to increase the Coverage B limit.
Personal-property coverage, or Coverage C, protects possessions that you keep in your home, such as furniture, clothing and electronics. This coverage typically insures your personal property at 50% to 70% of your dwelling limit. If you make a high-value purchase, such as a diamond necklace or fine art, you may need to revisit your personal-property coverage.
While such items are protected by Coverage C, they may be subject to separate limits that insure them for less than their total value.
For example, your policy might impose a $2,000 limit for jewelry. You can purchase a rider that covers a specific item based on its appraised value. (Likewise, if an item depreciates in value or you no longer own it, you can lower the limit or remove the coverage.)
If you rent, you should get renters insurance to protect your personal property. You don't need to buy insurance for your home's structure, because your landlord is responsible for it.
Use the tool below to compare some of today's top home insurance offers, powered by Bankrate, and find a policy that works for you:
Protection against natural disasters.
Depending on where you live, you may need to get separate coverage that addresses certain events. For one, standard homeowners insurance includes coverage for wind-driven rain that comes in through your roof, but it doesn't protect your home if floodwaters enter it from the ground. For that, you need to buy a separate flood insurance policy.
Flood insurance is essential for those who live in high-risk flood zones. In fact, if you live in one of these areas and have a government-backed mortgage, your lender requires you to buy flood insurance. And given the rise in extreme rain events throughout the country, even those who live in regions not typically thought of as flood-prone may want to consider purchasing flood insurance.
You can buy it through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program. The average annual cost of an NFIP policy is $888 per year, according to an analysis of policyholder data from online insurance marketplace Policygenius. Renters who want to protect their belongings in case of flood damage also need to buy a separate policy.
Standard homeowners policies also exclude coverage for damage from earthquakes. In states at higher risk of earthquakes, such as California, buying an earthquake policy may be worthwhile. In California, the typical earthquake policy runs more than $1,300 yearly, according to LendingTree.
If you live in a coastal area that's susceptible to hurricanes, your policy may impose a separate deductible (the amount of money you must pay in a claim before coverage kicks in) for windstorms.
A hurricane deductible is typically a percentage of your dwelling coverage, often ranging from 1% to 5%. For example, if your dwelling limit is $200,000 and you have a hurricane deductible of 2%, you would pay $4,000 in a claim for hurricane damage. Some policies may apply the deductible only to named hurricanes; with other policies, the deductible may apply to all windstorms.
Keeping the costs in check.
Homeowners insurance premiums have climbed steeply. A 2025 report from the Consumer Federation of America found that U.S. homeowners saw their premiums rise by an average of 24% over the past three years. So it's as important as ever to make moves that help reduce your premiums.
One option is to raise your deductible. Increasing the deductible from $500 to $1,000 may lower your premium by 10% to 25%, depending on your location, insurer and home value, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
To ensure that you can pay a higher deductible out of pocket, stash away enough in your emergency savings to cover it.
Bundling your homeowners and auto insurance with one provider can also save money on insurance premiums. By adding certain protective home upgrades, such as motion-sensor lights or storm shutters, you may qualify for discounts, says Pete Piotrowski, chief claims officer at Hippo Insurance.
You may be able to get a lower rate by switching insurers. You can collect quotes from multiple insurance companies using sites such as Policygenius or The Zebra. Or work with an independent insurance agent, who can also help you make sure that your coverage is adequate. Search for one at .
If you live in a state that allows insurance companies to use credit-based insurance scores when making decisions about how to much to charge (California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Utah prohibit this practice), you can potentially lower your premium by practicing good credit habits, such as paying your bills on time and regularly checking your credit reports for errors or fraudulent accounts.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.
Related Content
