Home insurance isn't a “sign it and forget it” product – but it doesn't ask much of you either: roughly a quarter of an hour a year. The annual review is the habit that keeps a good policy good: the sums insured track your values, the covers track your life, and the premium tracks the market. At claim time, this quarter of an hour is worth more than almost anything else you could do.
- Renewal is the natural moment: this is when the indexation notice arrives, and making changes is also simplest.
- Four questions make up the routine: are the sums insured right, are the covers still the ones you need, has your life situation changed, and are you getting the discounts you're entitled to?
- After a major change – renovation, an extension, solar panels – don't wait for renewal: you can report it mid-term too.
Why renewal, specifically?
Before renewal, the insurer sends a notice with next year's sum insured and premium – a ready-made prompt: every figure is right there in front of you. This is when you decide whether to accept indexation, and it's also the natural point to compare the market. The review costs nothing and commits you to nothing, but once a year it gives you a clear picture of what your policy actually does – and what it should do. A further advantage is that at renewal there's typically no obstacle to making changes: the sum insured, cover and deductible are all easiest to adjust at this point.
The exact steps to take at renewal are set out, step by step, in our article on the renewal check.
The four questions behind the quarter-hour routine
First: the sums insured – does the building sum still track rebuilding cost, and the contents sum still track what you actually own? Second: the covers – has something entered your life that isn't covered (solar panels, garden items, home-office equipment), or are you paying for something you no longer need? Third: your life situation – a move, letting the property, an extended absence, a new family member? Fourth: the discounts – are you getting a claims-free discount, would a different payment method be more favourable?
You'll find this set of questions in tick-box form in our review checklist – print it out and take it out once a year.
When is this more than routine?
After a major change, the review isn't something that waits for renewal – it's immediate: after a renovation or extension, the building's value has risen; solar panels, a heat pump or air conditioning have gone up on the house; a child was born, and your contents grew along with them; a home office has brought work equipment into the house; or you've let the flat out. Some of these are also changes that need reporting to the insurer – the details are covered in our article on reporting changes.
The rule of thumb is simple: whatever meaningfully changes the home's value or how it's used should be reflected in the policy too – ideally that same month, not at the next renewal.
Help with the quarter of an hour
You don't have to carry out the review alone: if you let me know before the renewal date, as your broker I review your policy, let you know if the sums insured and reality seem to be drifting apart, and put the market to competition – I assess your needs, tell you about the options, and the decision is yours. The advice is free of charge. And if the review raises a question about switching, I'm upfront about that too: switching is worthwhile when the substance is better, not just when the premium is lower.
If you'd like a quick picture right now, there are two routes: the online calculator (in Hungarian) gives you a fresh point of reference within minutes, and in a 20-minute consultation we talk through your existing policy – a small investment, which really pays off at the next claim.
A question about your own home? Run the numbers in minutes with the online calculator (in Hungarian), or book a free 20-minute consultation →
