Your Home and Auto Insurance Checklist
What to Know BEFORE You Shop Your Policy
Wasatch Front homeowners and drivers are opening renewal notices in shock — even those with clean records and zero claims. Before you panic-switch carriers, here’s what’s actually happening, and the insider’s checklist to shop smart.
First, Why Your Rates Are Climbing
Insurers don’t just rate you individually — they spread risk across the region. Several forces are colliding statewide:
Rebuilding costs are up. Lumber, labor, roofing, and electrical have all jumped. Higher rebuild costs mean higher premiums.
Severe weather losses across Utah. Wind, hail, wildfire exposure, and freeze damage are driving payouts up — even if your street wasn’t hit.
Reinsurance. Insurers buy their own insurance against catastrophes, and that cost has surged. Guess who pays.
Cars are computers on wheels. Sensors, cameras, and calibration systems make even minor fender-benders expensive to fix.
More drivers, more uninsured drivers. Salt Lake Valley growth means more congestion, more accidents, and more claims against underinsured motorists.
The Pre-Shopping Checklist
Understand your insurance score (think golf — lower is better). Carriers use a credit-based insurance score to predict risk. Long credit history, on-time payments, and low balances lower your “handicap.” Late payments and high utilization raise it.
Shopping won’t hurt your credit. Insurance quotes use a soft pull. Your credit affects your insurance score, but shopping for insurance does not affect your credit. One-way street — shop freely.
Think twice before filing a claim. Not all claims are equal. At-fault auto claims can trigger 20–50%+ rate hikes lasting three to five years. Repeated home claims — especially water damage or liability — can make you hard to insure or trigger non-renewal. The $0 claim trap: Even calling to ask whether you should file can create a record in the CLUE database (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) and affect future underwriting. Ask carefully. The fix: Raise your deductible. It lowers your premium immediately and removes the temptation to file nuisance claims. Save your policy for catastrophic events.
Don’t leave discounts on the table. Multi-policy (bundling home and auto) and safe-driver programs are the heavy hitters. Also ask about claims-free, good student, roof upgrade, smart home devices, water leak sensors, and paid-in-full discounts. Verify them at every renewal — they aren’t always auto-applied.
Know what you’re actually buying: Replacement Cost vs. ACV. Cheap online policies often pay Actual Cash Value — depreciated. If a storm destroys your 10-year-old roof, ACV pays what a 10-year-old roof is worth today. Insure major assets at Replacement Cost so you can actually rebuild.
Experience matters (the Taco Bell principle). You wouldn’t order filet mignon from Taco Bell. Don’t trust your biggest assets to a 1-800 number or an agency without local expertise. Read Google and Facebook reviews — pay attention to how they handle claims, not just sales. When a reviewer names a specific rep, call and ask for that person.
A Mountain & Main Founding Advertiser
Your home and vehicles are your biggest investments. Speak with the local experts at Mountain View Insurance — an Allstate Agency — they can help you lock in the right coverage today. Tap/Click this ad for more information.