4 Reasons to Consider Switching Your Home Insurance

Homeowners need to buy homeowners insurance. This is essential to protect their assets. Without coverage, a disaster like a fire could force them to empty their checking accounts to rebuild and replace their home and possessions.

Many people buy homeowners insurance once and stick with the same company for years thereafter. While this can sometimes make sense, it's not always the right move. In fact, there are four potential reasons why property owners may wish to consider changing their home insurance coverage.

1. Your premiums are too high

There's a lot of variation in prices between home insurance companies. Unfortunately, homeowners would have no way of knowing that if they do not compare their options regularly.

Homeowners should get quotes from several insurers each year to see what the difference is in the cost of a policy. Shopping around could provide savings of as much as $500 to $1,500 annually, depending on the situation. In fact, when I personally shopped around for insurance last year, I was able to find a different company that would provide a policy for $350 less than I had been paying per year.

As long as the insurer offering the lower-priced coverage is offering the same protections and has a decent reputation, there is no reason not to make a switch from the company charging more. To find out if premiums are too high, every homeowner should get three or four coverage quotes each year -- or should work with an independent insurance agent who can help them shop around.

2. Your insurer isn't responsive

Home insurance coverage provides protection in case something goes wrong with a policyholder's house. The last thing a property owner needs when they experience a disaster at home is to have to fight with an insurance company to process a claim and get paid.

If an insurer has provided poor customer service when a policyholder has questions, that doesn't bode well for the future. Likewise, if a homeowner discovers an insurer has experienced a lot of complaints to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or has a below-average customer satisfaction rating with J.D. Power, then it might be a good idea to change companies.

It's best to have a trusted insurer with a good customer service reputation in place before disaster happens, so any homeowner dealing with an unresponsive insurer should make switching companies a priority.

3. You've made changes to your home

Changes to a home, such as putting in a swimming pool, building an addition on the house, or adding safety features such as an upgraded roof or hurricane-proof windows could change the costs of insurance or the coverage that's needed.

Whenever a change is made, it's a good idea to get several quotes from different insurers to see which company will provide the best coverage based on the current condition of the home and updated insurance needs.

4. You're thinking about bundling coverage

Finally, the last reason to potentially switch is to bundle coverage. A policyholder who has a home insurance policy with one company and an auto insurance policy with a different one may find that changing could help them score a discount of 10% to 25% on premiums.

In this case, it makes sense to compare what either the home or auto insurer would offer if the policies were bundled to make an informed choice about which insurer to stick with.

If any of these reasons apply, homeowners should explore their options to see how they can get better coverage at a better price to meet their needs.