As much as we’d love to hear that your home insurance policy is your go-to bedtime reading material, it’s not necessary to review your coverages that often.

So, when is it a good time to review your policy?

• At renewal time. Taking a look at your home policy once a year is a good rule of thumb to follow – and just before your policy renews is the perfect time to do it. If you’d like to reduce your premium amount, you might think about increasing the deductible amount on your coverage (but only if you’re sure you can handle it financially if you have to make a claim). This is also a good time to make any changes to your payment plan.


• When you’re doing renovations. Maybe you’ve installed a tool shed in your backyard or added some much-needed square footage to your home. Or perhaps you’ve replaced your heating source or roof. For these types of significant changes to your property, make sure you let your insurer know so they can be included in your coverage.
  
  
  

  


• When you get expensive stuff. Have you recently purchased a pricy piece of art or inherited your grandma’s jewellery? Then it’s a good time to revisit your home policy and have these items insured separately since your basic home coverage might not be enough. (Read more about this in our blog post, “How to look after your most expensive stuff.”) 

• When you rent out a room or your basement. It’s important to let your insurer know if you’re renting part of your home while you’re still living there. Why is this so important? Let’s say there was a fire in your tenant’s suite. If your insurance company doesn’t know you were renting out the space, it could result in your home policy being cancelled. You might also want to increase your liability coverage since you have more people living in your home. As for your tenants, they’ll need to get their own insurance to protect their belongings.


• When you make changes that could impact others. Adopting a dog or installing a hot tub or backyard pool are definitely things that can make your life more enjoyable – but they also increase the risk of someone getting hurt. If these are changes you’ve made to your life recently, you might want to top up your liability coverage just to be safe.