Yearly Yorba Linda Homeowners Insurance Reminder
Four out of 10 (41%) people with homeowner’s insurance policies made no change to their policy in over a year, according to a survey conducted online by The Harris Poll in June of this year.
Another two out of 10 (20%) said they hadn't touched their policy since the day they bought it.
The numbers on the provider side tell a similar story:
56% of policyholders say their insurance provider hasn't reached out to check in on their coverage in over a year
21% say that kind of check-in has never happened at all
88% say they'd want their provider to flag it when their coverage no longer fits their life
Insurance companies aren't required to call and ask whether your coverage still fits your home, and most homeowners aren't opening that file until something forces them to. Life gets busy.
So, consider this my friendly annual reminder to give it a look, and I won’t leave you to hunt down the actual steps to follow to do exactly that.
Because without an annual update, the odds of your insurance not actually covering what you think it does are greater than you think. Also, when you look at Yorba Linda specifically, coverage costs can vary significantly between companies due to the higher fire risk many homes in our community have to worry about.
The coverage you think you have vs. the coverage you actually have
The Hanover Insurance Group's 2025 Homeowners Coverage Awareness Report, based on a Harris Poll of homeowners age 30 and up, found a wide difference between what people believe they're covered for and what their policy includes.
Here's what that difference looks like for three common types of coverage:
Umbrella coverage: 83% have heard of it. Only 39% have discussed it with an agent.
Valuables coverage: 87% know it exists. Only 26% carry it.
Cyber coverage: 46% know it's an option. Only 7% have it.
Knowing a coverage type exists isn't the same as being protected by it. The Hanover report also found that 66% of homeowners said they'd want to add umbrella coverage once someone explained what it does.
So, we’re looking at a knowledge gap. People aren't skipping coverage on purpose; they don't know it applies to them until someone walks them through it.
What it looks like when the gap catches up with you
The Harris Poll survey found that one in three homeowners who filed a claim said their coverage fell short of what they needed.
Within that group, 14% said none of their claim was covered.
There’s no convenient time for this kind of news, but it’s especially stressful when you’ve filed a claim after a pipe bursts or a storm tears off part of the roof, only to find out the policy you've paid into for years won't cover the repair.
The same survey found that 67% of policyholders said covering a surprise $1,000 expense would be hard for their household.
A coverage shortfall means money you may not have, at the moment you need it most.
A five-minute check you can do this week
A policy review doesn't have to turn into a research project. Pull up your current policy and check these four things:
Your dwelling coverage limit, and whether it reflects what it would cost to rebuild your home today (not just what you paid for it)
Any named endorsements on the policy, like added coverage for jewelry, art, or water backup
The date your policy was last reviewed or updated
Any changes to your home or life since that date, a renovation, a new roof, a home office, a big purchase
If any of those raise a question you can't answer off the top of your head, that's your sign to take a closer look. A policy review is about knowing where you stand before you need to.
Five Minutes Now Beats a Bad Surprise Later
None of this means your policy is wrong. Coverage is built around the home and the life you had when you bought it, and both of those change more than most policies do.
The homeowners in that recent survey who found out their coverage fell short didn't do anything unusual. They hadn't looked at their policy in a while, just as most people haven't.
A five-minute check now costs you nothing. Finding out your coverage isn’t enough after a loss costs you money and a load of stress you don’t need. Taking the time to check your policy this month puts you ahead of the curve before anything happens.
