A Crash Course on Shopping Your Insurance Coverage

Shopping your insurance coverage every three to five years is perhaps one of the quickest, easiest ways to save money on your household or business’s operational expenses. Best of all, it requires very little involvement on the part of the policyholder if they work with an agent to do it.

There are a few things you’ll need to have handy when you start the discussion with an agent about having your existing insurance policies reviewed and shopped. Here’s a list you can reference to help you gather all the information needed to start the process of finding more affordable home, auto or business insurance coverage.

For starters, you should always have a copy of your existing policies ready to share with the agent who will be shopping your coverage. This is important so they can review your current coverage limits and evaluate whether they are sufficient or can be improved upon.

Here are some specifics depending on the type of coverage you’re having reviewed and shopped:

Auto Insurance

  • Names of each licensed driver in your household.
  • Birthdates of each licensed driver in your household.
  • Driver’s license numbers of each driver in your household.
  • Who the is the primary driver of each vehicle.
  • How the vehicles are used (e.g., commuting to school, work, etc.)
  • How many miles are each vehicle driven per day.
  • Are there any children in the household.

 

Home Insurance

  • How long you have you been at your current address.
  • If it’s been less than three years, your prior address.
  • How many mortgages do you have on your home?
  • The type of heat your home has (oil or gas).
  • The location of the oil tank if you have oil heat.
  • How recently updates were made to various parts of the home:
    • Roof
    • Electric
    • Plumbing
  • If you have any of the following on premises:
    • Fireplace
    • Wood stove
    • Outbuildings (e.g., shed, pole barn, etc.)
    • Swimming pool
    • Dog
    • Trampoline

 

Business Insurance

  • Your full name/ full name of the person that owns the business.
  • The legal name of your business.
  • Your business’s DBA (this is the name that the business is known by).
  • Physical address of your business.
  • Mailing address (if different from physical address).
  • The business’s EIN number.
  • The square footage of your business location. 
  • A list of business property and its value (e.g., computers, other hardware, etc.)
  • Annual income from the business.

 

Some insurance carriers may require you to share your Social Security number and/or those in your household’s Social Security numbers for purposes of providing you with a quote. So, it doesn’t hurt to have those details available as well.

 

At J. Hoffman Insurance, we review our clients’ policies every year before renewal to make sure everyone we work with has the best possible pricing and coverage we can offer. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or would like to have your existing insurance policies reviewed and shopped: 845-239-4787 or vicki@jhoffmaninsurance.com.