It’s the new year, and it’s time to start fresh. To make the most out of your insurance plans this year, here is our insurance checklist for 2021!

Hello readers, and welcome back to the blog! Goodness, it’s 2021 already! As much as we were happy to see 2020 go, it’s a little wild to think how quickly last year seemed to fly by! From all of us at Abri, we want to wish you a very happy and healthy new year! A new year is so exciting, it means growth, change, and adventure. You might buy a new home, a new car, get married, retire, or finally get the opportunity to take that trip you’ve been planning for years! We will be here for all of your insurance needs, changes, and upgrades to help support and care for you and your loved ones this year. A new year, in its harsh reality, also means that there is the opportunity to face bad weather, unexpected illness and injury, accidents, and much more. We will also be here to help you with all of your insurance needs to cover and care for all of these situations to keep you and your family as safe and protected as possible!

A new year also means making the most out of each of your insurance plans, and we want to make sure you’re getting the most out of what you’re paying for every month. To do that, we’ve created our very own insurance checklist for 2021. We ended 2020 with an end of the year checklist, and now we are kicking off 2021 with a checklist to make this the best year yet!

• We are sure that you’re no stranger to making goals, plans, and resolutions for a new year. How about starting the new year off right with a resolution that you can stick with and start on the right foot with? Good news, it’s simple and easy. Start this new year off by sitting down and reviewing all of your policies and coverage that you have for every aspect of your life. From home to health insurance, make sure you know exactly what you’re paying for and will be covered for in 2021.
• What does 2021 have in store for you that you already have planned? Are you having a baby, retiring, moving, or buying a new home? If you already have these big life changes heading your way, make sure that your insurance policies are going to have you covered for everything you have planned and for all the possible things you don’t have planned.
• This past year has lead us to spend a lot more time at home with our loved ones and our four-legged best friends. We appreciate our pets love and company now more than ever. Many homeowner insurance policies don’t provide protection, care, or liability for your pets. Make sure to sit down and review your policy for this, or give us a call to update your current policies.
• 2020 was an incredibly unique and incredibly difficult year for small business owners. Did you begin your very own small business in the comforts of your craft room or beloved “she-sheds” and it has grown bigger than you thought possible? Are you looking into buying your very first insurance policy for your new small business in 2021? Now is the perfect time to start talking with us and getting started with that. Did you have to sell or close your business or part of your business at the beginning of the new year due to the impacts of 2020 and the pandemic? We are also here to help make that difficult process a little easier by helping you to change your insurance policies to reflect these changes!
• Like we mentioned at the beginning of this blog, a new year can rush in all kinds of wonderful and exciting things. It also has its share of difficult and unexpected expenses. While we hope these situations never happen to our clients, we want to make sure you’re ready for anything! Are you and your auto insurance policy prepared and ready for the instance a car hits you and the driver doesn’t have insurance? Remember, most basic car insurance policies just offer coverage for when you hit someone, and not the other way around. What happens if you’re the one hit by someone who has no coverage? While this might cost a little more in your monthly premium, it will save you more money and a headache in the long run. Sit down and review your policy for uninsured motorist coverage. This will help you recover from an accident with someone who is uninsured, and it will even protect you if you’re a pedestrian and you’re hit in a hit and run situation. While it’s sad that you can’t rely on everyone, make sure to rely on yourself this year. We can help keep you safe no matter what.
• While life insurance and your life insurance beneficiaries might not be what you want to think about when starting a new year, it might be more important than you think. When you pass, whoever is listed as your beneficiary on your life insurance plan will receive your death benefit, no matter what your will states. Make sure your beneficiary and your other important paperwork match your intentions exactly as you want before the year gets away!
• Are you taking full advantage of your insurance companies? Almost every insurance company has its own app that can help manage your information, policies, payments, benefits, and more with just a click of a button. Make sure you’ve downloaded them onto your smart devices and that you’re making the most of your policies. Some of these apps even come with opportunities to track your driving records and your health and wellness to help you save money or get money back. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that in the new year?
• A new year always means new goals and aspirations, many of which take money and savings to achieve. One of the best ways to save money with an insurance plan is to have umbrella coverage or to bundle your plans. Using an umbrella plan can offer you more protection with everything you need insurance for, it can save you money, and it can also help you manage and work with fewer insurance companies. Why work with multiple companies, have multiple bills to pay, and different companies to call or contact when you need help when you can pay, manage, and work with just one or two?
• All professionals know the ins and outs of their industries, insurance is no different. Learning more about your policies, digging deeper into the insurance world, and truly understanding exactly what you and your family need in your unique and individualized coverage can be the best gift you’ve given yourself! Why not get a jump start on this new year and schedule a personal insurance review? These one on one meetings with us can help you tackle and check off all of your insurance to-do list items in one sitting. We might even be able to catch a few forgotten to-do list items, or help remind you of a few things you’ve forgotten to do or include in your current insurance plans and policies.
• A new year means new paperwork and documents to keep in your car, your wallet, and organized at home. You also need to make sure you keep track of last year’s insurance documents when it comes time to do your taxes. Your insurance company will also be sending you specific documents to help with your taxes, so it’s a lot to keep track of! Make sure to put your new documents in their proper places when you receive them, don’t wait and let them get lost in piles of mail. Put your health insurance cards in your wallet, your auto insurance information in your car, and your home insurance and other policy information in a safe and secure location in your home. Having copies and putting them in a portable and fire and waterproof box is also not a bad idea. This way in times of emergency, it can be taken with you, or if your home is subject to fire or other natural disasters, your important insurance documents will be safe.

These are just ten easy steps and ideas to put on your 2021 new year’s checklist. They don’t even include trips to the gym or cutting carbs! You can even schedule an appointment with us at Abri to make sure all of your insurance policies for your life here in Charleston, South Carolina are all in perfect order. All of us here at Abri want to make sure you have the healthiest and safest new year. So please take this checklist to heart, and please reach out to us right away if you need to change or update your policy in any way. It’s better to be prepared now at the beginning of the year before anything happens over the next 12 months ahead of us. We’re Abri Insurance and we are here to make sure you have the best coverage for life in the Lowcountry!