School of Life Hacks
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    A kitchen table at evening covered with a fanned stack of blank statements, a highlighter, a calculator and a phone, with a hand mid-note.

    Insurance Without Becoming Underinsured

    The one category where cutting the number can destroy you. How to lower a premium by changing an input rather than by removing cover.

    Module 5 of 84 lessonsWritten in full1 worksheet
    Start this moduleThe whole course

    The lessons

    All 4, in the order they are read.

    1. 1. What you are actually buying
      A policy is a list of named perils, a limit, a deductible and a set of exclusions, and only two of the four are yours to move.
    2. 2. The deductible lever
      Raising a deductible lowers a premium immediately, and it is only safe if the money is actually sitting somewhere you can reach.
    3. 3. Correcting your own file
      Insurers price on facts they hold about you, and some of those facts are wrong, stale or missing a discount you already qualify for.
    4. 4. When not to cut
      Liability limits, replacement-cost cover and the flood or earthquake question are the three places where saving the premium is the expensive choice.

    The worksheet

    Policy comparison sheet

    One column per policy or per quote. Compare like with like: a quote that is cheaper because its liability limit is a quarter of yours is not cheaper, it is a different product. Never fill 'annual premium' before the four rows above it.

    Policy comparison sheet
    LineCurrent policyQuote AQuote B
    Insurer and policy number———
    Liability limit———
    Dwelling / vehicle limit and valuation basisReplacement cost or actual cash value——
    Deductible(s)———
    Named exclusions that matter to you———
    Annual premium———

    4 further rows in the downloadable sheet.