Can I add or remove coverages in the middle of my policy?

When you buy a new house, it’s not shocking to be filled with trepidation, excitement, and questions like, “Can I decide to do business with a different home insurance company or add or remove coverages whenever I want to?”

Thankfully, your home insurance can be just as unique as you are; you can customize it at any point during your policy, and, in this day and age, you can typically update your policy at any time of day too. Most insurance companies offer a customer service line that you can call outside normal business hours, and you can usually access your policy through the company website as well. You’ll just need to be sure that you have your login information handy.

Now, if you would like to obtain affordable home insurance, don’t add or remove coverages for the sole intention of paying less every month. Your coverages should never be gouged for the sake of your bank account because if something were to happen, like if a tree were to collapse onto your roof, you could face paying for most of the damage by yourself.

There are smarter ways to secure cheaper rates on your home insurance. For instance, when you shop for home insurance quotes online, compare the rates that competing insurance companies can offer you, as well as how much coverage they can provide you with.

If avoiding common home insurance pitfalls is one of your main priorities, keep reading to learn how you can make sure that your insurance policy always meets your coverage needs.

If you want to see what a change in your home insurance could look like for you, enter your ZIP code to get free insurance quotes.

When should a home insurance policy be updated?

Understanding when to update your Homeowners Insurance 101 policy is a crucial aspect of responsible homeownership. For example, if you were to purchase some heirloom furniture and didn’t know that you should update your personal property insurance limits, you could run the risk of not receiving any kind of reimbursement if that furniture was destroyed in a fire.

Here’s a good tip for updating your home insurance policy: Whenever you experience a major life event, your insurance policy should be adjusted to reflect those changes.

But what counts as a major life event? If you’re not sure that you’ll be able to recognize when you should update your policy, feel free to refer back to this list of possible situations in which you might consider updating your insurance coverage:

• Buying new, expensive furniture
• Running a business from your home
• Gaining a roommate
• Building additional features onto your home

These events are considered to be major because the coverage limits you had before may not provide you with sufficient coverage. But before you run out to completely rewrite your policy, it’s homeowners insurance 101 to make sure that you know exactly what your policy already provides you with and know the difference between additional coverages vs. coverage extensions.

Now, you may be scratching your head and wondering, what are additional coverages?

Read more: How quickly do changes I make to my policy go into effect?

Additional Coverages

Additional coverage is great to have because you have protection for indirect losses that may not have had any protection in the original write-up of your policy. This is not to be confused with coverage extensions. With a coverage extension, you can have additional coverage on items that your policy already provided coverage for. Additional coverage insurance options for homeowners insurance might include medical payments coverage, umbrella insurance, and unattached structures coverage.

Additional coverage of property removed covers you for situations in which you might remove a covered object or structure from your property in advance of a potential peril, like a bad storm.

Is homeowners insurance expensive?

Your insurance rates are influenced by a wide variety of factors, so no two policies will necessarily have the same annual rates even if the policies are for similar houses. For instance, if you and a neighbor both have ranch-style homes with three beds and two baths, you might think your rates would be the same; however, if you had added a state-of-the-art kitchen and marble floors throughout your house, you could have much higher rates.

If you would like to know what you could potentially pay to protect your home, you can take a look at the average rates offered by some of the best insurance companies in the business:

Average Annual Homeowners Insurance Rates by Company

Insurance Company	Average Annual Homeowners' Insurance Rates
	$2,871
	$1,731
	$1,724
	$1,518
Lemonade	$1,461
	$1,236

Now, when you shop online for insurance, you should do your best to be thorough in comparing the quotes you receive. If you would like to see what could affect your home insurance rates, add or remove coverages on the quotes. This way you can see if an insurance company will be able to meet the financial constraints of your budget while providing you the protection you need at any stage of your life.

Can a homeowner switch to a new insurance company?

You should also be sure to update your policy whenever you go through a major change in your life. Insurance companies offer a wide variety of discounts that can help you get the coverage you need at the rates that fit your budget. Shopping online can also help you find the best coverage at the best rates.