Your Home Insurance Policy Might Not Cover What You Think It Does
41% of Homeowners Haven't Reviewed Their Insurance in a Year. Have You?
Four out of 10 (41%) people with homeowner’s insurance policies made no change to their policy in over a year, according to a survey conducted online by The Harris Poll in June of this year.
Another two out of 10 (20%) said they hadn't touched their policy since the day they bought it.
The numbers on the provider side tell a similar story:
56% of policyholders say their insurance provider hasn't reached out to check in on their coverage in over a year
21% say that kind of check-in has never happened at all
88% say they'd want their provider to flag it when their coverage no longer fits their life
Insurance companies aren't required to call and ask whether your coverage still fits your home, and most homeowners aren't opening that file until something forces them to. Life gets busy.
So, consider this my friendly annual reminder to give it a look, and I won’t leave you to hunt down the actual steps to follow to do exactly that.
Because without an annual update, the odds of your insurance not actually covering what you think it does are greater than you think.
The coverage you think you have vs. the coverage you actually have
The Hanover Insurance Group's 2025 Homeowners Coverage Awareness Report, based on a Harris Poll of homeowners age 30 and up, found a wide difference between what people believe they're covered for and what their policy includes.
Here's what that difference looks like for three common types of coverage:
Umbrella coverage: 83% have heard of it. Only 39% have discussed it with an agent.
Valuables coverage: 87% know it exists. Only 26% carry it.
Cyber coverage: 46% know it's an option. Only 7% have it.
Knowing a coverage type exists isn't the same as being protected by it. The Hanover report also found that 66% of homeowners said they'd want to add umbrella coverage once someone explained what it does.
So, we’re looking at a knowledge gap. People aren't skipping coverage on purpose; they don't know it applies to them until someone walks them through it.
What it looks like when the gap catches up with you
The Harris Poll survey found that one in three homeowners who filed a claim said their coverage fell short of what they needed.
Within that group, 14% said none of their claim was covered.
There’s no convenient time for this kind of news, but it’s especially stressful when you’ve filed a claim after a pipe bursts or a storm tears off part of the roof, only to find out the policy you've paid into for years won't cover the repair.
The same survey found that 67% of policyholders said covering a surprise $1,000 expense would be hard for their household.
A coverage shortfall means money you may not have, at the moment you need it most.
A five-minute check you can do this week
A policy review doesn't have to turn into a research project. Pull up your current policy and check these four things:
Your dwelling coverage limit, and whether it reflects what it would cost to rebuild your home today (not just what you paid for it)
Any named endorsements on the policy, like added coverage for jewelry, art, or water backup
The date your policy was last reviewed or updated
Any changes to your home or life since that date, a renovation, a new roof, a home office, a big purchase
If any of those raise a question you can't answer off the top of your head, that's your sign to take a closer look. A policy review is about knowing where you stand before you need to.
Five Minutes Now Beats a Bad Surprise Later
None of this means your policy is wrong. Coverage is built around the home and the life you had when you bought it, and both of those change more than most policies do.
The homeowners in that recent survey who found out their coverage fell short didn't do anything unusual. They hadn't looked at their policy in a while, just as most people haven't.
A five-minute check now costs you nothing. Finding out your coverage isn’t enough after a loss costs you money and a load of stress you don’t need. Taking the time to check your policy this month puts you ahead of the curve before anything happens.
-Stafford Weber
Team Stafford & Rebecca | Compass Real Estate | Atlanta
53% of Americans Now Prefer Buying Over Renting. Here's What That Means for You
Bank of America's 2026 survey shows 53% of Americans now prefer buying over renting. Here's what it means for you.
For the first time since 2023, more Americans say buying beats renting.
That’s the headline stat from Bank of America’s 2026 Homebuyer Insights report. Based on responses to their national online survey, 53% of respondents say it’s better to buy a home in the current market than to rent or move in with family (47%).
Aside from that, other stats from the survey reveal some interesting trends, including improved levels of optimism around buying a home, despite ongoing affordability challenges.
Read on to see why and how this impacts you as a buyer or seller in [Your Market].
How Americans Feel About Homeownership Right Now
According to the methodology details for Bank of America’s 2026 survey, respondents are adults 18 years of age or older who “make or share in household financial decisions, and who currently own a home/previously owned a home or plan to own a home in the future.”
Of the 2,000 respondents in BofA’s survey:
1,000 are homeowners
1,000 are renters who have either owned homes previously or plan to own a home
The resulting data is compared to last year’s survey results, showing an overall improvement in consumer sentiment on homeownership and homebuying conditions:
90% say a home is a valuable investment (up from 79%);
94% say it provides stability (up from 83%);
87% say it feels like a milestone (up from 78%);
86% say it brings emotional fulfillment (up from 75%)
Beyond the abstract numbers, the data provides a signal of where consumer sentiment is heading, at least on a national level. But without the breakdown by respondent type (owners and renters separately), it’s unclear what percentage of renters are feeling better about their homebuying prospects this year compared to last.
Fewer Buyers Are Waiting for the Perfect Moment
Plenty of homebuyers in 2026 are still holding out for lower home prices and lower mortgage rates, but that share has dropped from 75% in 2025 to 71% in 2026.
Gen Z and Millennial buyers are especially motivated to buy, driving this year’s shift toward action:
Gen Z (68% are holding out in 2026 vs. 74% in 2025)
Millennial (70% holding out in 2026 vs. 77% in 2025)
As for Gen Z, survey data highlighted three specific ways they’re adapting to today’s market:
28% are taking on extra jobs
32% are considering co-buying with friends or family
31% are planning to leverage down payment assistance programs
Data comparing 2026 to the previous couple years is also showing an increased willingness to move across all three well-known compromise scenarios:
A more affordable area: 76% in 2026 vs. 71% in 2025 and 68% in 2024
Their dream home becoming available: 75% in 2026 vs. 69% in 2025 and 67% in 2024
A better location: 71% in 2026 vs. 65% in 2025 and 63% in 2024
Also, 52% of the homeowners in BofA’s survey say they expect to buy again, while 22% plan to move within the next year (up from 15% in 2025).
Why Affordability Is Still the Biggest Hurdle
Bank of America’s data for 2026 showed a year-over-year increase in survey respondents citing affordability constraints as an obstacle to homeownership:
58% cited expensive home prices as a top barrier, up from 46% in 2025
47% cited high interest rates, up from 40% in 2025
Based on their responses, renters are also trading down to cut housing costs.
For some, that means moving to a more affordable rental complex. For others, it could mean moving to a unit with fewer bedrooms. In some markets, a drop from a two-bedroom to a one-bedroom unit can save a renter around $200 a month.
What This Means If You're Thinking About Buying or Selling
The biggest takeaway from Bank of America's survey isn't that the market suddenly became easy. Affordability is still a challenge, and mortgage rates remain higher than many buyers would like.
What's changing is consumer mindset.
After several years of waiting for the "perfect" time to buy, more Americans appear to be accepting that today's market may simply be the market they'll have to navigate. Instead of waiting indefinitely, many are adjusting their expectations, exploring different neighborhoods, considering smaller homes, or taking advantage of down payment assistance programs.
That's an important shift because housing markets don't move based only on prices and interest rates. They also move based on confidence. When more buyers decide they can make today's conditions work, activity tends to follow.
National surveys can only tell part of the story, and every local market behaves differently. But they do offer a useful glimpse into how consumers are thinking. Right now, that thinking seems to be moving away from waiting for perfect conditions and toward finding opportunities within the market that exists today.
Stafford & Rebecca | Compass Real Estate Atlanta