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What to Review Before Renewing Your Home Insurance
A renewal packet is easy to set aside. It is also the one moment each year when the terms of your coverage are in front of you in writing, and when changes to those terms generally take effect.
Written and reviewed by Dassel State Insurance Agency · Last updated October 30, 2026
Why the renewal is the moment that matters
The Minnesota Department of Commerce advises homeowners to look for changes that take effect at renewal, and notes that changes to premium charges, coverage amounts and exclusions often occur there. It has also warned that some carriers have narrowed coverage or introduced significantly higher wind and hail deductibles, and that homeowners frequently do not learn about it until they file a claim.
Twenty minutes with the packet is a reasonable trade for avoiding that.
Start with the declarations page
The declarations page is the summary of what you actually bought. Compare it against last year’s if you still have it, because a side-by-side makes changes obvious in a way that reading one page does not.
Deductibles
Look for more than one. A policy may carry a standard deductible and a separate wind and hail deductible, and the second may be a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat amount. On a larger home a percentage deductible can be a substantial number, so it is worth converting it to dollars so you know what you are looking at.
Limits
Check the dwelling limit, personal property, other structures, loss of use and personal liability. Dwelling limits drift out of date quietly, which is the subject of our note on replacement cost and market value.
Settlement basis
Find whether losses are settled at replacement cost or actual cash value, and check the roof specifically.
Then think about what changed in your life
Policies describe the facts as they were when the policy was written. Any of these is worth a phone call.
- A remodel, addition, finished basement or new outbuilding
- A new roof, furnace, water heater, or updated wiring or plumbing
- A home business, a workshop or equipment kept on the property
- Someone moving in or out, or a rental arrangement of any kind
- Valuables acquired, such as jewelry, firearms, collectibles or instruments
- A trampoline, pool, hot tub or dog, any of which a carrier may ask about
- Solar panels, a generator, or an electric vehicle charger
Coverage worth asking about
These are not on every policy and not available from every carrier, but they are worth raising rather than assuming.
- Water backup of sewer or drain, which a standard policy commonly excludes
- Service line coverage for buried utility lines on your property
- Scheduled personal property for items above standard sub-limits
- Ordinance or law coverage toward bringing a rebuild up to current code
- Extended replacement cost, where available, as a cushion above the dwelling limit
- Flood coverage, which is separate from a homeowners policy and is not limited to mapped floodplains
- Personal umbrella liability, which may sit above eligible home and auto policies
Minnesota also has a statutory framework for homeowners insurance mitigation discounts, under which insurers may offer credits tied to qualifying fortified construction standards. Whether anything applies to your home depends on the carrier and the policy, so it is a question to ask rather than an assumption to make.
Your renewal checklist
- Read the packet, including anything that looks like boilerplate. Endorsements change coverage.
- Compare this year’s declarations page against last year’s.
- Write your wind and hail deductible down in dollars.
- Confirm the dwelling limit still reflects rebuilding cost.
- List what changed about the home or household in the past year.
- Ask which discounts and credits you currently receive and which you might.
- Ask what is excluded, not only what is covered.
- If anything is unclear, call before the renewal date rather than after a loss.
Rates, coverage, eligibility and available options vary by person, property, vehicle, carrier and policy, and insurers do not all weigh the same factors. This page is general information, not individualized insurance, legal or financial advice. What a policy covers depends on its terms, conditions, limits and exclusions.
Sources and further reading
These are the public sources behind the factual points above. They are not affiliated with the agency, and they are worth reading directly.
- Minnesota Department of Commerce, Consumer alert: check insurance coverage for wind, hail limits — renewal changes, cosmetic damage exclusions and flood coverage.
- Minnesota Department of Commerce, Complaints about homeowner insurance doubled since 2020 — narrowed coverage and higher wind and hail deductibles.
- Minnesota Department of Commerce, Insurance — consumer resources, including homeowners rate filing requirements and mitigation discount standards.
Talk it through with a local agent
Send us the declarations page before your renewal date and we will read it with you. There is no cost and no obligation to that conversation.