Take it from Kory Rykman, owner at the Allstate Insurance Ryman Agencies — there is never a wrong time to take a closer look at your insurance policies. In fact, right now is perhaps more crucial than ever, since the value of many regular assets, including your home and vehicle, have increased a great deal — and, unfortunately, you could be out of luck if disaster strikes.
Rykman, who is a real estate investor himself, explains that while most home insurance policies protect against the regular pace of inflation and it’s generally assumed a home’s value will increase, the incredibly drastic changes of the last couple of years can leave homeowners blindsided — and with far less accumulated wealth than they expected. “People love the idea of how much wealth they’ve accumulated for themselves based on recent appreciation,” he notes. “The number-one nest egg people have is their home.”
The issue would arise, he explains, if a disaster such as a tornado or house fire destroys the home, and the maximum payout is hundreds of thousands less than the owner anticipates. “It’s a gut punch,” he says. “And I can’t tell you how many prospects did not have proper coverage in the last couple of months.”
Another asset which has likely increased in value is your vehicle – and auto insurance companies are suffering, according to Rykman, because of the recent uptick in automobile accidents. “2022 was a catastrophic year for car insurance companies because of the jumps in value,” he says. “You can Google those numbers on what companies have lost.”
According to Rykman, teen drivers and elderly drivers, in particular, are at risk for accidents. Allstate customers, however, have Accident Forgiveness, meaning the rates don’t automatically climb after a fender bender. And that’s great news, considering a whopping 90% of first-year drivers are involved in some sort of incident.
Squeamish about diving in and reviewing your policies? Rykman gets it — he acknowledges that insurance can be a “nuisance,” and that many people “set it and forget it” – so he wants to make it simpler for readers to make changes.
“It’s not something to put off — you never know when you’ll need to call your insurance company,” he emphasizes. “Texting is popular among our clients. You can just text us at 770-974-5303 and say you read this article and need your insurance reviewed. We’ll simply text you back, ask for your address and prepare a quote. We make it painless.”