Whether you're a business entity, an individual, or a family, insurance can profoundly influence your life. It protects against unforeseen risks and events, ensuring that your life or business isn't at a standstill in the event of a claim. Initially, when you secure your coverage, you may have a basic understanding of your needs. However, these needs evolve. As the complexities of the world and risks increase, your insurance coverage may develop gaps that could leave you inadequately protected.
An insurance review is a crucial component of your risk management strategy, allowing you to regularly assess your coverage and ensure you're equipped with the most applicable policies. Understanding what an insurance review should entail and executing it effectively will help you cultivate a stronger insurance program and gain deeper insights into your risks.
What is an Insurance Review?
An insurance review is a comprehensive assessment of your insurance coverage to ensure it aligns with your evolving needs and adequately protects you against potential risks. Typically conducted by your insurance agent or consultant, this process begins with a thorough reevaluation of your risks, considering any changes in your circumstances or the external environment. This could include new risks that have emerged, changes to the socio-political environment, financial changes that could impact your required limits, and more. Once your risks have been properly evaluated, your current insurance policies should be scrutinized to identify any gaps or deficiencies in coverage. By comparing your existing policies against your current needs and risk profile, an insurance review aims to optimize your insurance program, providing you with peace of mind and protection against unforeseen events.
Why Should a Professional Conduct Your Insurance Review?
While you may think a simple overview of your coverage is enough, having a professional conduct your insurance review offers several advantages that ensure your coverage remains robust and tailored to your needs. Industry professionals deeply understand the insurance landscape, including emerging risks that might be less widely known to the public. Their industry insights and access to claims information allow them to anticipate potential threats and recommend adjustments to your coverage.
Professionals are equipped to understand your unique risk profile and can determine whether your coverage limits need to be increased or decreased based on recent changes in your circumstances. When it comes to covering a claim, details matter. An insurance review by a professional can ensure you’re confident that your insurance program is optimized to provide comprehensive protection against all potential risks.
Who Needs an Insurance Review?
An insurance review is essential for both organizations and individuals to ensure that their coverage remains adequate and aligned with their evolving needs. Organizations, ranging from small businesses to large corporations, can benefit from regular reviews to assess various coverages such as general liability, property, and cyber insurance. It can also help organizations improve their benefits programs in line with industry standards. In professional settings, risks can change dramatically in a short time, and regular reviews help you keep up with these changes.
Individuals, including homeowners, renters, and auto owners can also greatly benefit by reviewing their policies to ensure they have adequate protection for their property, personal liability, and health. Given the dynamic nature of federal and state regulations, insurance requirements can change over time. A thorough review conducted by a professional ensures that all necessary standards are met, protecting individuals and organizations against potential gaps in coverage and ensuring that coverage will apply when needed most.
How Often Should You Get an Insurance Review?
The frequency of insurance reviews is dependent on your specific circumstances and needs. At a minimum, it's industry standard to conduct a comprehensive review annually to ensure your coverage remains up-to-date and adequately protects against evolving risks. It's common for people to have reviews leading up to their policy renewal date. However, for individuals and businesses operating in industries that experience rapid change, such as technology or finance, a biannual review is recommended. This allows for quicker adjustments to address emerging risks and ensure that your coverage aligns with industry changes and standards.
In some cases, significant life events or changes in your circumstances may warrant an immediate review of your insurance coverage. Acquiring new property, expanding your business, implementing innovative technology, or experiencing changes in your health status are all examples of situations that might call for a prompt reassessment of your insurance needs. Reviewing your coverage in response to these changes, you can ensure that all new acquisitions and exposures are adequately protected, mitigating potential risks, and safeguarding your financial well-being.
What Should Be Covered in an Insurance Review?
Every insurance review will look different depending on the individual or organization. If no new risks are present, it may just be assessing limits and certain endorsements. If there are many new risks or changes to your financial profile, a review may be a comprehensive overview of new and existing coverages, industry standards, federal guidelines, etc. However, most policy reviews should include the following touchpoints:
- Coverage Limits: Assess whether your coverage limits are in line with current risk evaluations.
- Policy Exclusions: Review policy exclusions to understand what is not covered by your insurance and consider if additional coverage is required.
- Deductibles: Evaluate your deductibles to ensure they align with your finances and risks
- Policy Endorsements: Check for any policy endorsements or riders that may have been added since your last review and assess their relevance.
- Life Changes: Consider any significant life changes that may impact your insurance needs.
- New Acquisitions: Review any new property, vehicles, or other assets acquired since your last review.
- Policy Premiums: Evaluate your policy premiums to ensure they remain competitive and explore options for potential cost savings.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensure that your insurance policies comply with any federal or state regulatory requirements to avoid penalties.
- Claims History: Review your claims history to identify any patterns or trends that may impact future coverage or premiums.
Working with a trusted agent or consultant will ensure that you get the most out of your insurance review and make the necessary changes required to fully protect your assets.
Review Your Coverage with ECBM
ECBM has years of experience working with a wide range of clients for their insurance needs. Our team of experts can help you secure and implement the most relevant coverages for your personal or professional needs. In addition, our agents and consultants can perform regular insurance reviews, so you feel confident in your protection against all risks. Whether you’re an existing client wanting to review your coverage, or a new client needing to revamp your program, ECBM can help. Contact us for more information on our services.
