This time of  year I start my thinking for next year's plans all around both personal and business- it is time to evaluate our family's affairs like homeowners insurance, car insurance etc for next year along with my business plan.

I didn't used to do this with my insurance as often as I should have. Actually I take that back.... WE DID DO IT, we just figured that we had enough (it seemed like a lot when we looked at the policy). We'd purchased homeowners insurance when we bought our house,we paid it every month and didn't think too much of it until we had to file a claim 4 years ago because our home burned down. 

Don't get me wrong, our insurance company's service was great. The coverage we had was good... The home itself was covered,but where we fell short was our personal belongings. We thought we had more than enough coverage and when we started doing an inventory of things in the house with the insurance adjuster after the fire of what we had and started adding it all up - well -we fell short - ALOT. Way more than we had ever anticipated. We used to do an inventory of our bigger purchases and take still pcitures but not in as much detail as we should have. (And yes we had replacement coverage, but the problem was, we just had SO many things that we took for granted, that you don't think much about, that we fell short).   

Like you know -  all that junk in your junk drawer? Well you purchased most of it at one time for one reason or another. And guess what - when you go to replace that junk drawer of items piece by piece as you need it? And actually keep record of it? WOW! You will be amazed at the speed in which the black becomes red.It adds up QUICKLY.

Cd's and movies - have you ever counted how many you have or their titles? We didn't even think about that until the adjuster asked us how many CD's were in our case? What were the movies? How many movies? 

Linens - Do you know what the cost of your linen closet is???? WOW! How many towels do you have in your closet? Faceclothes? Sets of sheets? Blankets? Pillows?

Picture frames, lamps and I could go on for ever! All the little gadgets - oh my I STILL haven't replaced my pie spatula and every year since then during the holiday get togethers I remember I need one!

How about the phones and all the gadgets for technology today like the wireless router that you probably don't have on your inventory or the cable companies modem?  There are so many things you don't think about. So take the time to STOP -take your videos, pictures, handwritten inventory and sit down and really, really look around and in each drawer and closet and evaluate your insurance coverage.

People say to make sure you take pictures etc of your personal belongings. Then make sure you are storing them some place safe OFF the Premises unless you have a fireproof safe. Don't assume a metal gun safe is  fireproof because they are not all fireproof. SOooo many things we don't even really "see"...

Essentials - the basics to live - like toilet paper, soap, deodorant, shampoos, makeup, socks, shoes, underwear, sugar, milk, etc. .....  things that we don't normally place a big value on but you will STILL Need to purchase if something were to happen that caused you to lose everything.

Make sure you check your insurance every so often to make sure that you are covered adequately.  It doesn't hurt to review your policy and ASK QUESTIONS if you don't understand something. Don't just think about the structure itself make sure you are taking in ALL personal inventory as well.

We were extremely fortunate living in such a giving and caring community; the community  support was amazing, and we can't thank them enough and we are very thankful for living here. We could have helped ourselves better though if we had reviewed our personal coverage a little bit better....

We are insured through a local insurance company (Shop local) - Michael Lester with Farmers Insurance. I don't have his link but will find it and put it in here when I do! there are many others out there that I am sure are just as good if you'd like to check others out and just like your real estate agent - use someone you trust, are comfortable with, is looking out for your best interests and more importantly KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS THEIR BUSINESS AND THEIR MARKET.  

I strive to know all I can about my market, whether it be real estate statistics or just available sources and resources in the community.Drop me a line!