Property insurance isn’t a “set it up and forget it” product – it’s a system that asks for fifteen minutes of attention a year. Those fifteen minutes decide whether, at claim time, the policy protects today’s company – or one from five years ago.
- Once a year – ideally before the anniversary – four questions: values, changes, cover, deductible.
- The indexation letter isn’t junk mail: accepting the value tracking is the least costly protection against underinsurance there is.
- For a major change, don’t wait for the anniversary: a mid-term notification is the right move.
The fifteen-minute routine
First question: are the sums insured still right? Building, machinery, stock – at today’s replacement cost. Second: what changed this year? New machinery, an expansion, a new site, a different activity, a jump in stock. Third: does the scope of cover still match operations? Is machinery breakdown, electronics, or an off-site element needed – or is there something that can now be dropped? Fourth: is the deductible still right? The company’s ability to absorb a loss, and its claims profile, may have changed. The version you can tick off: the annual review checklist.
Reading the anniversary letter
The anniversary notice brings two important elements: the indexed sums insured and the current premium. It’s worth accepting the indexation – maintaining the sums insured is the foundation of the cover. Alongside the premium, it’s also worth seeing the cover once a year against the market – not because you need to switch, but so the decision is a conscious one. If the existing policy’s cover is good, staying is a conscious decision too – that’s what the when you don’t need to switch reasoning covers.
Why is it worth it?
The frequent cause of surprises that surface at claim time is an outdated sum insured and an unreported change – the annual quarter-hour significantly reduces that risk; exclusions and security requirements call for separate attention. The anniversary routine article gives you the calendar-ready schedule for the annual routine; if you ask, I help with it at the survey too.
Q4 is planning season for companies anyway – the anniversary insurance round fits right in: next year’s budget gets built alongside next year’s protection picture. For anyone who puts the review in their calendar (the same week every year), it’s not an extra burden but a routine – like the annual service on a machine.
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