3 Homeowners Insurance Moves to Make in Early 2023

Put all of these items on your to-do list so you can rest easy in your home.

Homeowners insurance is an unavoidable expense you have to account for when you own a home. Without homeowners insurance, you might get stuck with catastrophic bills in the event of property damage.

But your homeowners insurance policy isn't something you should simply put in place and then forget about. There are certain moves it pays to make every so often when it comes to homeowners insurance, and the start of the year is a good time to dive in. Here are three essential items to put on your list for early 2023.

1. Check to make sure you have adequate coverage

Your homeowners insurance policy should be able to do more than just pay for damage from incidents like floods and weather events. It should also be set up to pay out enough money to rebuild your home completely in the event of its complete destruction.

That's why now's a good time to make sure your homeowners insurance coverage is sufficient. Home values have risen a lot over the past few years, and the cost of construction has risen as well. You'll want to make sure your coverage will make it possible to rebuild your home if you need to.

2. Inform your insurance company of any changes that could impact your rates

You might make changes to your home that impact your homeowners insurance policy -- for better and worse. Let's say you decide to install a home security system. That might result in a rate reduction -- but your insurer won't know about it if you don't loop them in.

Similarly, maybe you remodeled your home last year to make it more comfortable. That could result in an increase in your homeowners insurance premium rates, because based on those improvements, it might cost more to replace your home should that need arise.

Oh, and if you adopted a pet, that's the sort of thing you'll want to mention, too, as it could impact your premium costs. All told, it's a good idea to think about changes to your home that occurred over the past year and let your homeowners insurance company know what's up.

3. Do some rate shopping to see if there's a better deal

Just because you've been with the same homeowners insurance company for several years doesn't mean you're getting the best rates out there. There may be another company that is willing to offer the same level of coverage at a lower cost.

It never hurts to shop around for rates and see what's out there. And while you're at it, see if bundling your auto insurance and homeowners policies will make a difference in what you're paying (assuming you haven't bundled them already).

Homeowners insurance can be a big expense, but it is worth paying. Aim to check these key items off your list before we get too deep into 2023. You never know when they might result in saving money, and that's something you really don't want to wait on.