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Insurance Coverage Options

August 31, 2022 Our family’s automobile and homeowners’ insurance coverage period end in September. This has typically been a decision essentially on autopilot for us, but our experience on Project Money provided us the encouragement needed to take a closer look at what options we may have and how it may impact our budget.Our experience with our insurance provider predates our marriage, Robin’s first policy with them was when we were still dating – so it’s been a long-term relationship. Over the years we’ve been happy with them, and the agents have been good to work with the few times that we’ve had claims. The last time we had really took a close look at our options outside of our current provider was back in 2017 when we moved to our current home. Outside of that it has just been the typically annual review of the policy renewal paperwork to ensure that our coverage limits and types are still appropriate.Taking a brief look over our policies from the last few years, what was initially surprising to me was our automobile insurance is within $40 of our rate from ‘19/20. That figure had fluctuated up and down during the period between due to a variety of things (different vehicles/coverage limits, moving violations, and discounts applied). Overall, I think our renewal rate is favorable though – with that increase of $40 covering better cars with better coverage than we had in ‘19/20.The more impactful of two though – at least from a premium standpoint has been the homeowners. Initially our rate was static but jumped in ‘21/22 and has jumped again – more significantly this time for ‘22/23. Looking through the paperwork the cause is clear – coverage limits on the home. I know this is something I should have anticipated with home prices elevated as they are and correlated with the increase in property taxes. But nevertheless, is something that will impact the budget.Our approach to reviewing out options is going to be two-pronged. First reaching out to our current provided to see what/if any effect slight changed to our deductible or coverage limits would have on our premiums, as well as confirming that we are taking advantage of all discounts available to us. The second will be to get quotes from other providers to see how competitive our current rate is. You might also be interested in As the year comes to a close, so does Season 14 of Project Money. In preparation for writing our final blog post we reflected over what has occurred over... In the last week we had to take Robin’s car, a 2019 VW Atlas, in for a couple of recall notices we had received. Nothing completely out of the ordinary... One of the topics we had mentioned in our posts from earlier this year was an employee stock purchase plan offered by Robin’s employer. We have never participated... Being part of Project Money has pushed our family to take a more active role in managing our finances, necessitating weekly conversations that have spurred... With Thanksgiving behind us, the countdown to Christmas has “officially” begin. This year, as part of our Project Money journey, we have been planning... I had been putting this off for a few weeks/months now, optimistic that Fall might stretch on a little bit longer – but this past week’s winter weather... Over the last few weeks, we have been working to refocus, and get back to some of the basics as we start to head into the end of year holiday season... Over the past few weeks and months, I had seen several news reports about I Bonds, usually with a corresponding endorsement of their attractiveness as... We have reached the point of the year where we have one foot firmly planted into heating season and thought we would reflect on what energy saving tips...