Run the numbers before you decide.

Do these in the first two weeks after birth.

Start on day one of being displaced.

Answer these from your benefits paperwork.

Use both policies' declarations pages.

Have your policy and a list of what you'll store.

Use your declarations page and a quick call to your insurer.

Compare two plans on what you'd pay in a year, not just the premium.

Use your declarations page and endorsements list.

Do this before you talk to an agent.

Do this as soon as you have an accepted offer.

Roof questions are cheap to ask during the inspection period and expensive to discover afterwards. Get the facts, then get insurers' answers in writing.

Use your inspection report and the seller's disclosures to write down the specifics insurers ask about, then get answers from insurers with those details in hand.

Start at least a month before storm season.

Get quotes for separate and combined policies with the same limits.

Work out when your coverage ends and what replaces it.

Find these in the policy before buying.

Use a certificate of insurance you've received, or one you've been asked to provide.

Find these details on each liability policy you have, especially professional liability.

Start at least two months before June.

Call your insurer before the semester starts.

Read both before buying either.

Walk the property with your policy in hand.

Check each feature on a quote you're considering.

Enter the monthly benefit from each option, after any tax.

Use your landlord, home and auto declarations pages.

Add up what you'd have each month if you couldn't work.

Pull up your current homeowners policy (or your insurer's website) and search specifically for how it treats a second or vacation property. Look for three things: whether it's listed as covered at all, whether coverage is named-peril or open-peril, and how long the home can sit vacant before coverage is reduced or excluded. If any of the three answers is unclear, that's the exact question to bring to your insurer.

Call your agent or read your policy's section on non-owned or rental vehicles.

Make a list of every account you can think of that has a beneficiary field: life insurance (individual and any workplace policy), retirement accounts, and any bank or brokerage account with a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death option. For each one, log in and check who's actually listed right now. Most people find at least one they forgot about.

Estimate what you'd need to pay for.

Use your BOP and any cyber endorsement.

Use your policy's declarations and endorsements.

Use your policy and FEMA's flood map.

Use your policy or call your agent with these questions.

Use your business owners policy or business property policy.

Take your most common client contract and your liability policy.

Before or right after closing, pull together a simple record of the house's condition. It takes an hour, and it's the thing people wish they had when an adjuster asks whether damage is new.

List everything your home business actually uses: equipment, inventory, a dedicated workspace, and any client or customer contact (in person, by phone, or online). Then call your homeowners insurer and ask directly: "Does my current policy cover business use, and if not, what's the smallest add-on that would actually cover what I just listed?" Write down the answer. Most people are surprised by how specific and limited the real answer is.

Use your pet's breed to see what to look for in the policy.

Use your pet's vet records to find what an insurer could treat as pre-existing.

Find these in your policy.

Do these soon after your first deposit.

Collect these before the first day of work.

Check your policy and your housing rules before adopting.

Call your plan or read its documents.

You'll need your policy and the app's insurance page.

Do this a week or more before you travel.

Take ten minutes to list each kind of driving done for the business.

Do this before you drive off, or within a day of buying.

Keep this list on your phone.

Use your flood policy's declarations page.

Timing is most of the value. Get the 4-point done while the purchase contract still lets you negotiate, and get each insurer's requirements in writing.

Start a simple log of your visits and checks.

List the ways a customer or client could say your business harmed them, then sort each one.

Work through these with your SHIP or on your own.

Start with your state's workers' comp agency website.

For each plan you're considering, check these before comparing prices.

Use your declarations page and policy, or a quote, to see how your policy treats your belongings today.

Start the same week the notice arrives.

Do this in one sitting with your phone; you can refine it later.

Use your policy's numbers to see what a big vet bill would pay back.

Use your full policy, not just the declarations page.

Find each waiting period on the quote or policy, and mark the dates on a calendar.

Use your own numbers.

Call your insurer or check your policy documents for the replacement cost estimate they used to set your dwelling coverage, and ask how it was calculated (square footage, construction type, and local labor and material rates are the usual inputs). Compare that number to your current dwelling coverage limit. If your policy has a coinsurance requirement, also ask what percentage of the rebuild cost you need to carry to avoid a penalty on a claim.

Use your declarations page. You don't need to share it with anyone; this is a calculation you do yourself.

Add up needs, then subtract resources.

Go room by room and estimate replacement prices.

Gather these before filing.

Get the Summary of Benefits and Coverage for two plans and compare these lines.

Ask for quotes changing one feature each time.

Use the same limits and deductible for both.

Use your landlord (dwelling fire) policy's declarations page and the coverage section, or ask your insurer.

Use your policy documents or a call to your insurer to answer these.

If you have to move out, do these from day one.

Work through it in order.

Use your homeowners or renters policy, or call your insurer.

Use these steps before and after a preventive visit.

Compare what you'd lose with what the policy costs.

Use your homeowners policy and a list of your work equipment.

Gather your most recent escrow statement and your homeowners declarations page or renewal notice.

Check your policy first, then work through the house. Keep the dated photos with your policy documents.

Compare what the coverage costs with what it could pay out, using your car's value and your deductibles.

Do this together with your spouse, using your benefits portal.

Do this before you list the property.

Check what would pay if your bags went missing.

Enter the monthly cost of each option you're offered.

Work through these at 65.

Do this each year before December 7.

Write down which part would pay for the care you use.

Work through these before your Medigap open enrollment ends.

Call within a few weeks of moving in.

Do this together, with the policy in front of you or on a call with the insurer.

Call your insurer with these questions.

Start a week before your move.

Do this after each birth or adoption.

Check these for Original Medicare and for a Medicare Advantage plan you're considering.

Use a quote for your older pet to see what you'd really be buying.

Compare the plan's yearly price with what its covered care would cost you.

Use each policy's documents or your insurer's and employer's online accounts.

Check these with your plan.

Do this each year when your renewal arrives.

Do these before the first day of construction.

Check these on your policy.

Use your landlord policy's declarations page and a walk-through with your phone.

Have your planned number of rental nights ready when you call.

Use TDI's method with your own roof age and a rough replacement price to see what each settlement type would pay.

Agree on these when you move in.

Follow these in order after you sell.

Lay out what would pay, and when, if you couldn't work.

If a new driver in your household is being added to an existing policy, ask the insurer directly how the primary versus occasional driver designation is being applied to them, and whether that matches their actual expected usage. Then request a separate standalone quote for that driver on their own policy, even if you expect to keep them on the family plan, so you have a real number to compare against and can recheck it as circumstances change.

Do this before you advertise the unit.

Get a bundled quote for home and auto from one insurer, and separate quotes for each policy from at least one other insurer that specializes in that type of coverage. Add up the real annual totals for both paths, bundled versus separate, and compare them directly. Also ask each insurer what specifically drives their price (roof age, driving record, claims history) since that's often what explains a bigger gap than the discount itself.

Check these first.

Get a quote for a combined policy and a quote for keeping your current policies separate (most insurers will give you both in a few minutes online or by phone). Enter the numbers below to see the actual dollar difference. Then check one more thing: does the quote change meaningfully if you ask about a spousal exclusion instead? That third number is the one most people never check.

Do this after a marriage, separation or divorce.

Use your Social Security account and plan documents.

Answer these before deciding to wait.

Work through these before paying.

Ask for a term quote and a whole life quote for the same death benefit, and enter the yearly premiums to see the difference.

Pull up your own or your household's auto policy and identify the liability limits (usually shown as three numbers, like 100/300/100) and whether collision coverage is included. Ask yourself honestly whether those liability limits would cover a serious accident involving another vehicle and injuries, based on typical repair and medical costs in your area, and whether raising them is worth discussing with your insurer.

Do this as soon as the binder arrives, ideally a week before closing.

Find your bodily injury and property damage liability limits on your auto declarations page or insurance card, then rerun the example above.

Use the 2026 figures for a rough budget.

Take two quotes and check each of these before comparing the price.

Find these on your declarations page or quote.

Pull up your policy's declarations page and exclusions section, and look for explicit language on five things: flood, earthquake, gradual or wear-and-tear damage, sewer and water backup, and mold. For each one, note whether it's excluded outright, covered with a sublimit, or available as an optional endorsement you could add. If you can't find clear language on all five, that's exactly what to ask your insurer about directly.

List what you need and what you already have.

Act on the day the letter arrives.

Find your state in the table, then find your own liability limits on your auto declarations page or insurance card.

Use the policy's list of covered reasons.

Mark the dates that apply to you.

Call your insurer or check their website and ask specifically about good-student discounts, driver's ed completion discounts, and any telematics or usage-based driving program available in your state. Ask what grade point average or course completion is required for each discount, and what the telematics program actually tracks and how it affects pricing over time. Write down the combined estimated savings before deciding whether the program is worth trying.

Do this as soon as your claim is approved.

Call your insurer (or check your policy documents) and ask specifically: "If I rent out a room in my home to a paying tenant on an ongoing basis, does my current policy cover damage they cause, and does it cover a liability claim if they or a guest gets hurt?" Write down the exact answer, not a general impression. Most people who do this find the honest answer is "not fully" and get a clear next step from the same call.

Follow these in order.

Start this as soon as you know the move-out date.