Penn. Insurance Department Encourages Consumers to Conduct Annual Insurance Review

A lot can happen in 12 months, and changes from last year such as remodeling the home, purchasing a new car, or a birth or death in the household, could affect the insurance premium.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department is encouraging consumers to take a look at their insurance policies and offering some simple tips for consumers to save money and possibly get better coverage on their insurance policies:

• Lower the premium. Consumers may be able to reduce their overall premium if their homeowners’ and auto insurance policies are purchased from the same company. The department says consumers could consider increasing the deductibles if financially able to do so or switching to limited tort instead of full tort for the auto insurance.

• Proactively look for discounts. Check with the health insurance company to see if they offer discounts to join local or national health clubs. Also, the auto insurance company may offer discounts for things like taking a defensive driving course, claim-free driving or good student discounts for the driving-age children.

• Inventory the personal property. Providing information to the insurance company about any personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged is required when filing a claim. Take video, pictures, write a list, and keep it all in a safe place. Or, download and use the free “MyHOME Scr.APP.book” app for the smartphone.

• Know the policy and ask questions. An insurance policy is a contract that details what is and is not covered. Consumers should ask questions if they don’t understand something. Filing a claim is not the time to find out there is no coverage for the claim.

• Research and compare. There’s nothing wrong with doing a little comparison shopping. Try to get quotes from three different insurance companies, and be sure to do an “apples to apples” comparison on the policies.

More information on insurance coverage and options is available at www.insurance.pa.gov. Consumers can also call the department’s toll-free, automated consumer hotline at 877-881-6388, or the Bureau of Consumer Services at 717-787-2317.

Source: Pennsylvania Insurance Department