Should You Let Your Policy Auto-Renew?

Automatic renewal is an easy way to ensure the continuation of your insurance coverage through the years. You shouldn’t, however, allow an automatic renewal to result in a total lack of oversight in your insurance policy coverage options. Before your policy auto renews, ask yourself the following 3 questions. If you answer any of them with a, “no,” then some adjustments may be in order.

1. Are your limits still adequate?

The coverage limits you set when you initially applied for your insurance policies may be accurate based on the value of the insured property and expense of potential liabilities at the time you took out the policy, but over the years, liability-covered expenses such as medical payments and lost wages can increase and your property can grow in value. If you do not increase these limits before your policies auto renew they will not be providing coverage that you desperately need.

2. Are all insurable incidents covered?

When you initially take out insurance policies you may opt out of certain coverage options; for instance, you may decide to only purchase the state-required auto coverages and opt out of something that could better protect you such as uninsured motorist coverage. Over the years these decisions may come back to haunt you as you find the insufficient coverage taking a bite out of your savings. Instead, adjust your insurance coverage before your policies auto renew, thus ensuring that you have as complete coverage as possible.

Of course, you may have opted out of some coverages because you didn’t need them at the time you applied for insurance. For example, when you initially take out your home insurance policy your house may not have been in an area considered a non-flood zone, but after a few years your neighborhood might have been reclassified. Since home insurance doesn’t cover flood damages, you could be leaving yourself completely exposed by not addressing this reclassification.

3. Can you afford your deductibles?

When you auto renew your insurance policies you are accepting your deductibles as-is. But you may find that you actually can't afford the same deductible now that you could a few years ago when your other financial burdens were lighter. Monitoring your deductibles and adjusting them before your policies renew can lighten your self-insurance burden and allow your policies to work harder for you.

If your policies are getting ready to renew, or you simply want an insurance review to help ensure that your family and assets are fully protected by your Chicago Auto Insurance, give us a call at Oxford Insurance today!