Shopping for car insurance or home insurance is a much bigger deal than most think. When you are shopping for car insurance or homeowners insurance, for many, the first thing they look at is premium. How much will this cost each month? Unfortunately, while this kind of thinking is common, it can also lead to difficulty down the road. Insurance is designed to make you whole after a loss. But, if you do not have the right coverage in the first place, your insurance policy cannot help you become whole. Using premium as the criteria to guide your choices for car insurance or homeowners insurance might leave you without the coverage you need. Instead of making all of your decisions with cost as the biggest factor, try using value. The team at Streamline Insurance is here to help you understand what value means when it comes to your insurance policies. 

Defining Value for Car Insurance and Home Insurance Consumers

A big mistake that some people make is conflating value with cheap. Often times, the least expensive item is not necessarily the one that presents the most value. Value is measured in more than dollars and cents at the time of the transaction. You also have to account for the usefulness of the item purchased, as well as the length of period for which it is useful. Understanding value for car insurance and home insurance, means understanding when you want to get the most value out of your insurance policies. 

Insurance policies are useful when you need them, which is to say that you have experienced a loss and need to file a claim. If you are a homeowner, this could mean filing a homeowners claim for fire damage, wind damage, or even an accident on your property. For car owners, this could mean an accident or some type of damage to your car by something else, like hail damage. The larger the damage and the larger the loss, the more useful you want your insurance policy to be. In this sense, usefulness is measured in terms of coverage. How much of your loss will your insurance policy cover? The more it covers at the time of your loss, the more useful your insurance policy is to you in your time of need. 

Why Trust is Key to Understanding Value

An important measure of value that consumers should understand before they purchase auto insurance or homeowners insurance is trust. If you have a lot of trust in your insurance policy, then it is providing tremendous value. But, what does it mean to trust your insurance policy? There are two main components to this trust: trusting your carrier and trusting your insurance agent or insurance broker. 

First, you should have complete trust in your insurance carrier. Not all insurance companies are created equal. Some companies have a much better track record of protecting their policyholders than others. One measurement to look for is their ratings as given by organizations like Moodys or Standard & Poors. These ratings give you an indication of their financial strength as a company. The theory goes that companies with a strong financial position are more likely to honor their commitments to their policyholders rather than fight them over claims. You have insurance and are willing to pay the premiums each month because you trust that your carrier will pay you as promised in the policy. If you do not have trust that will happen, your policy holds no real value. 

Second, you should trust your insurance agent or insruance broker. Not all coverages come standard with a homeowners policy or car insurnace policy. You need an insurance broker or insruance agent that will explain to you all coverage options available. While additional coverages require additional monthly premium, many riders or add-ons cost far less than most imagine. You should trust that your insurance agent or insruance broker will show you all options possible, along with their prices, so that you can pick and choose what you need most. Quality insurance agents and insurance brokers are essential to getting value out of insurance policies. They help provide you the information you need to make choices between various coverages, and help you get the most bang for your buck. If your insurance agent or insurance broker is not doing the most to meet your needs and your budget, can you trust them? 

Final Thoughts

Just because something is inexpensive it does not mean that it is a good value. This is especially true when it comes to shopping for car insurance or home insurance. Getting the most value for your monthly premiums is about making sure that you have the protection you need at a budget you can afford. The best way to make sure you are getting the most value out of your insurance is to have a true insurance professional looking out for your needs. If you would like a complimentary insurance policy review, contact us. The team at Streamline Insruance would love to review your policies with you to see if you are getting the value you deserve.