Home insurance isn't a “sign it and forget it” kind of product – but it doesn't ask for more than fifteen minutes a year either. This checklist makes that quarter-hour tickable, in four blocks. The natural moment is the renewal: when the indexation letter arrives, you'll have the policy in hand anyway – that's the time to pull out this list too. If you haven't looked at your policy in years, the first round will take longer – after that, it really does become routine.
- Four blocks: sums insured, life circumstances, finances, admin – once a year, when the indexation letter arrives.
- The most common finding: reality has outrun the policy – after a renovation, a big purchase or a change in how the home is used, updating the sums insured is what matters.
- The longer, more explained version: annual review; the order of tasks at renewal: the renewal routine.
Sums-insured block
The sums-insured block is the most important one: underinsurance doesn't build up in a day, it builds up in years of silence – these three ticks are exactly what breaks that silence.
- Have you looked at the indexation letter? Check what the insurer is raising and why – accepting indexation is the simplest tool for keeping value up to date; if you decline it year after year, the sum insured stays put while building costs typically don't: indexation at renewal.
- Does the buildings sum insured track reality? Was there a renovation, an extension, insulation work, solar panels? Then the sum insured needs updating – renovation and insurance.
- Any big purchases for the contents? A new TV, bicycle, piece of jewellery – after a quick update to the inventory, the contents sum insured can be adjusted too.
Life-circumstances block
A policy is doing its job when it protects this year's life, not the year before last's:
- Has how you use the property changed? Letting it out, a longer absence, a family member moving back in or out – a let property is a different risk from a lived-in one, and these can be changes you need to report: what and when.
- Do the riders still add up? Whatever was missing last year – liability, assistance, garden cover – can be added this year; whatever became unnecessary can be dropped: the map.
- A new valuable hobby or piece of kit? An e-bike, a drone, camera equipment – flagged in advance as a high-value item, it's better protected: limits.
Financial block
The financial block isn't about trimming the premium, it's about keeping a healthy balance between premium and substance:
- Is the deductible still at a sensible level? Alongside what the household can absorb, the deductible-premium balance can be rethought too: deductible logic.
- Are your discounts applying? Payment method and frequency, several policies in one place – small items, but ones that recur every year.
- Was there a claim this year? Think through the lesson from it: if a coverage gap came to light during the claim, now is the time to fill it – and if the settlement left an open question, that's also worth closing off now.
- Is your payment method convenient? Annual or half-yearly frequency and automatic payment are typically the more favourable setup – and one that can't be forgotten.
Admin block
Two minutes of admin at the end – at a claim, this is the two minutes that pays off the most:
- Are your contact details current? Email, phone, bank account – both delivery of the indexation letter and the claim payout depend on these.
- Are the policy and the inventory in one place? Stored in the cloud, shared with a family member – at a claim, this is the first thing you'll need.
- Got stuck on several points? If you're unsure about several items on the list, it's worth holding a full policy review instead of just a quarter-hour – or let's talk it through in 20 minutes.
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