Lifestyle

How Does COVID-19 Impact My Home Insurance?

The resulting consequences of the COVID-19 coronavirus have impacted our everyday life in ways we never thought possible, both for the time being but also with potentially long-lasting repercussions. The pandemic has cost many people, their lives, and many others’ livelihoods. Ultimately, no one has not been affected by the pandemic.

You probably clicked here because you were wondering how your insurance has been impacted by the coronavirus. Currently, the world is full of uncertainties. We’ve changed the way we live our day-to-day lives – so how does that alter our home insurance?

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

We’re Spending More Time At Home Nowadays

Whether you lost your job, changed jobs, or are now working from home, you’re probably spending a lot more time at home. Even if you are a frontline worker, you might not be doing as much outside your typical duties.

This could be a good thing in the eyes of insurance providers. As a result of spending more time at home, there’s less chance for theft. Moreover, you being at home more means that there is a higher chance you will be able to spot any damages or prevent a fire that would otherwise break out unnoticed were you out of the home.

Fewer Liability Claims Due To Fewer Home Visits

You miss your friends – but, chances are, a lack of visitations to others’ homes and guests coming to your property minimizes the opportunity for liability claims of injury or property damage. Liability claims can arise for any number of reasons, and often unexpectedly. A dog bite, a slip and fall, and so on. These claims can cause significant financial loss.

It May Not Be Long-Term

If you see a dip in your home insurance premiums due to your circumstances, this may only be temporary. There is no definitive way to tell when the coronavirus pandemic will end or how long it will be. For the time being, there may be less risk involved with you spending more time in the home. Ultimately, an economic recession due to the pandemic may result in more insurance fraud cases, which, in turn, can spike insurance rates.

While this isn’t certain, it is a possibility and may be able to explain why your rates have changed again after pandemic stress has died down. Numerous other factors contribute to the cost of your home insurance, so those may need to be addressed first to answer why your rates are going up.

Why Are My Home Insurance Rates Going Up?

It may not be because of the coronavirus. The cause of your increasing home insurance rates may actually be due to severe weather events. There has been a large frequency of wildfires, flooding as a more common natural disaster, and more that can affect the cost of your home insurance rates.

You may not be able to stop the bad weather events from happening, but you can ensure your home maintenance is kept up to date and that your property is in good standings should anything happen.

Regularly do roof inspections or hire a professional where needed, trim your tree branches that hang over your house or near windows, assess the function of all your home’s vital systems like plumbing, electrical, ventilation, and heating.

The weather you see depends on where you live. For example, home insurance brokers in Regina can help discuss with locals how extremely hot and dry summers can impact their housing situation and learn about cold snaps and why proper home maintenance is so important.

If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.