There are a lot of difficult decisions that must be made after a divorce. One often overlooked item that should be reevaluated is your home insurance policy. Because while you may be in the same home post-divorce that you were pre-divorce, there have probably been enough changes around the property that a home insurance overhaul is needed.
Reduce deductibles: If you have been divorced from a wage earning spouse, then you will be adjusting to living on less income than you were before divorce. But even if you divorced a stay-at-home spouse, your expenses may be higher now that you need help filling the roles that you relied on your ex-spouse to fill. This means that you have some budget changes to make and it may also mean that the deductibles you have are no longer suitable. Finding a deductible that you can afford that also gives you a premium that works for your budget, is an important move. While high deductibles can reduce overall premiums, they leave a large liability on your shoulders that could pose a great financial risk if you can’t afford to pay them.
Reduce contents limits: When your spouse moved out, he or she may have taken some of your joint property with them. The limits on the contents coverage for your home insurance policy likely includes the value of the items that they were awarded during the divorce, so reducing your limits to reflect the value of the items you kept is important.
Liability limits: If your household income and savings was adversely affected by the divorce then you may want to consider raising the limits of the liability portion of your Oklahoma City home insurance policy or looking into an umbrella policy. With higher limits, you run less risk of having to pay out of pocket for liabilities because their expense exceeds your insurance benefits.
Search for discounts: As you overhaul your coverage limits and deductibles, it’s a good time to take a look at discounts you may qualify for as well as those you don’t qualify for, but could by making some easy changes. Also, mention to your agent any risk reductions that have occurred since the divorce, such as the relocation of a dog whose breed made your home insurance more expensive.
It’s important that you start looking out for yourself as soon as possible after a divorce. One of the ways you can do so is by working with your insurance agent to restructure all your insurance policies so that they fit your post-divorce budget, needs and risks, and not your pre-divorce life.
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