The short answer: Sometimes. Filing a claim with your home insurance provider can raise your yearly premium, but it depends on a wide host of factors.
Whether you should file a home insurance claim or not depends entirely on:
- What’s covered in your insurance plan
- The severity of the damage
- Your home insurance history
We’ll break down how each of these elements affects your home insurance so you can make a more informed decision when it comes to repairing your home from damages.
What Affects Your Home Insurance Rates?
There are many elements that determine your home insurance rates along with whether or not they will be raised when filing a claim. These include:
- The type of insurance claim: Depending on what damage you’re claiming, like a fire, theft or medical emergency, your premium could increase compared to other claims. For example, the average premium increase is usually higher for fire damage than for weather-related damages.
- Your home’s age: The older your home is, the more of a liability it can seem to insurance providers. Aging homes are more susceptible to damage like broken pipes and weakened walls.
- Risky elements: If you make your home risker by adding certain items, like a wood stove or trampoline, your premium could increase. Especially if one of these items becomes the cause of damage to your home.
- Severe weather: If you live in a part of the country that regularly or only recently experienced severe weather, your insurance provider could increase your rates. The more dangerous weather occurs, the more likely the insurance company will have to pay out many claims. So they need to cover those potential costs in high-risk areas.
- Real estate and construction costs: If home values and home construction costs are increasing in your neighborhood, your provider may increase your premium. The higher these average costs are, the more expensive your own repairs will be in the event of damage.
The Severity of the Home’s Damage
Since there are many factors that affect when your home insurance premium increases, filing a claim can feel like opening a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get.
Rather than risk increasing your premiums, it’s best to assess the damage and consider if it’s even worth having your insurance cover repairs.
The key is to only file a claim when you need the deductible to cover your damages. For example, if it costs $1,500 to cover a broken window, and your deductible is $1,000, filing a claim would only net you $500, making the risk not worth it.
So if you can afford to cover the damages to your home on your own, it may be best to do so. While it can be annoying not using the insurance you pay for, home insurance is designed for emergency situations. So unless your home has suffered major damages, you should consider paying for the repairs or replacements.
Understand Your Home Insurance
Now that you know what affects your home insurance premiums, the next step is to understand your specific home insurance plan.
There’s no definitive answer on whether you should file a home insurance claim or not. Everyone’s situation is different and you need to consider your home insurance provider and insurance history before filing a claim.
Make sure to review your home insurance plan and discuss your options with your insurance provider. The more informed you are, the better prepared you can be for potential damages to your home.
If you need reliable home insurance and a provider you can trust in the Richmond, VA area, you need Sanford Insurance. With decades of experience and a commitment to keeping you and your family safe, we’re Richmond’s premier home local insurance provider.
Contact us to get a quote and start safeguarding what matters most in your life.