So, how often should you check your insurance? A good rule of thumb is once a year. However, major life events-like moving, buying a new car, or adding a driver-can mean it's time to review sooner. Insurance companies adjust pricing based on factors like risk, claim trends, and inflation.
Here's a quick run through on a few different types of insurance, what you should be looking for and some tips and tricks along the way.

Homeowners Insurance - I just went through this one as I just paid my house off in full and figured that I could get a better rate. I knew I wanted to bundle it with my auto, motorcycle and trailer insurance, but this one is so confusing as it covers a lot, and there are some things that certain companies do not cover!
I talked my wants and needs over with a few brokers that look at a lot of different companies. My previous insurance was through Progressive and was auto deducted through my escrow account attached to my mortgage. Since I was planning on now paying it upfront yearly, it was important to me that I could find something affordable with the coverages I need on our 100-year-old house.
Tips:
Make sure to have all your current coverages in front of you when getting a quote, that way you can base your new quote off what you are currently paying.
Also make sure you have the dates (and documentation) to any repairs that you have done on your house - as well as information when the roof was last done, your furnace was updated, and all other large repairs. *Updating these items prior to getting quotes will lower your quote and make it more affordable.
Some companies will have specials that you can schedule your new insurance to start weeks out and give you a hefty discount! (In my case, it was about $300 a year knocked off & locked in for starting two weeks after our quote!)
Process:
This is the hard part. It's a lot of calling and online quotes. Like I said, I went through a lot of quotes and brokers that work with different insurance companies. They can pull quotes from many companies at once and give you the one that fits your need the most. I ended up talking to about 2 brokers and 4 private insurance companies, before settling on AAA Insurance. This decision was not made overnight and actually took me about a month to settle on a company, which is totally ok since it's shopping around for what I need. I ended up going into the office. It was important to me to see my coverages side by side on a screen and talk to a person face to face. We ended up adjusting my coverages - gaining me more coverages - for less cost than what I was previously paying at Progressive. My home insurance went from $1600 a year to just under $1000 with more coverages.

Auto Insurance Like I said, I knew I wanted to bundle, if at all possible, with the new insurance company I was going to go through. Again, I paid off my vehicle and no longer needed a few coverages and figured I could drop those off (like gap insurance) and reduce my rates.
Tips:
Just like quoting homeowner's insurance, you will want to have all your current coverages in front of you, so you know what you are paying and what coverages you are receiving.
Keep in mind, if you have a vehicle on loan, you WILL want that gap insurance to make sure if your vehicle is totaled, your loan will be paid off.
If you have someone over the age of 16 in your house, some states make you add them to your insurance policy. I have a special needs adult in my house that cannot drive - and never will. I had them excluded on my plan, which can save some money as well.
Make sure to have information on all tickets and accidents you have been in in the last 5 years, they pull those records, so might as well be upfront with them about it.
Personally, I like to find a company that is easy to get ahold of if I have questions. Alot of small companies will have local offices, while larger companies will only be reachable by an 800 number.
If you have modifications to your vehicle, such as a lift kit or some hefty speakers, get them covered as well!
Process:
I feel like shopping around for car insurance was a lot easier than shopping for homeowner's insurance. There are less coverages and boxes to checkmark. If your tech-savvy, you can get quotes online from individual companies, or brokers that cover many companies at once. But beware, if you are going to do online quotes, you WILL get calls, emails and ads for all kinds of insurance.
Again, check what coverages you currently have and compare for something similar. Make sure if you have a decent car, you do not just do the bare minimum. What happens if you slide on ice and nick a Tesla? Yep, that Tesla is going to get totaled out and you will be responsible for over $100k. This is something my agent told me, and it made me realize it's not just about MY car, it's about the other vehicle and the occupants of that vehicle. So go a little heavy on the medical part too, I think to add a whole lotta extra on the medical, it only cost me roughly $4 extra dollars a month. Play around with the numbers, add things, take things off, really see what is costing you what and what you can afford to live with and live without.
Bonus, most companies will offer a bundle discount if you add more than one vehicle or different kinds of insurances to your quote - like renters' insurance or even life insurance.


Motorcycles, RVs, Trailers, Boats
The last few topics I am going to bundle together, because policies on them are somewhat similar. All these items may be used year-round or just seasonally. And paying up front for them can save you a bunch of money and can be decently priced to just do a 12-month premium. I shopped for motorcycle insurance on two of my motorcycles and insurance for my camper. I live in the Midwest, where my motorcycles sit in storage for a good chunk of the colder season, and my camper is considered being in "storage" during those months too. I am assuming it's the same for boats, and depending on what you use your trailer for, it could be the same story for that as well.
Tips:
Like I said, many of these items will sit in storage for lots of people over certain seasons. Make sure you let your agent know that.
My camper? It sits full time, parked, and blocked in with a deck, at a seasonal campground. I was able to get basically storage on it, year-round since it's not being hauled from place to place. The coverage I selected still insures our camper for weather related damage.
Boats? Unless you live south, make sure you are making your agent aware that you store it over the cooler months and make sure to have that address. Your boat will go into "storage mode" and save you boats loads! (See what I did there?)
Motorcycle? Make sure to let your agent know of any add-ons or accessories like exhaust upgrades, new bags, paint jobs, etc. to make sure those get covered too.
Process:
Just like auto insurance, most of these can be shopped for in-person, over the phone or online. And remember, you will get additional calls and quotes if you do it online.
Bundling with your other insurances will save you big time. When I bundled my camper with my auto insurance, it's like it disappeared because my new auto was lower and absorbed my camper insurance and was still less than my previous auto insurance. Unfortunately, my motorcycles were a completely different policy, but very easy to do. And I paid roughly $300 for both bikes for a year in full. Now I don't have to worry about covering them in the future. To do my motorcycle insurance, it was about 20 minutes for each bike. Probably the quickest insurance I ever signed up for! (I also heard progressive was a good option if you want stand-alone insurance for your bikes)
The camper was pretty simple too since it stays parked year-round. If you travel with your camper, you will want to make sure you do not have the same coverages as I do, because a minor fender can be damaging to a camper on the road! I want to say, this quote also took around 20 minutes to complete and pay for in full.
Note: If you have payments on any of these items, GET THE GAP insurance because the value depreciates so fast!


I hope this quick guide, and my personal tips and tricks can help you think about what you are paying for and make you think about re-touching your current provider. They say you are supposed to shop around every year, but that seems like a lot of work. I would make sure to do it every three years or so at least.
Now is the time that I tell you about how I was with Progressive for years and never had any issues. In fact, they were pretty quick to help with claims when they arise. But after paying off all my property, I wondered if I could get a better deal. I ended up meeting in office at AAA and sitting for about three to four hours with my agent and grouping a plan that fit my needs. It blew my previous payments out of the water, and in return, was so much more affordable. Check with local places around you to see if they are also offering any specials. After talking to different people, I learned some companies will have amazing deals if you find them. And I am so glad I did. At the end of the day, I walked out of that office with less money than I did going in, but I felt I earned a gold star for doing such adult things all on my own. Finding an agent that could break everything down for me and experiment with numbers on a computer in front of me helped me figure out what I was doing.

Do you have any tips and tricks you would like to share? Drop them below in a comment!