“ Building that into a regular cadence with consumers helps mitigate the risk of not aligning coverage with changes that have taken place,” Bacon says.“ It also helps customers keep their coverages top of mind more frequently.” •
increases in labor costs due to the reduction in labor availability, but you’ re just also looking at the cost of repair materials.”
Additionally,“ there is a lot of uncertainty around tariffs and their potential impact to drive up construction costs,” Simonett says.“ To date, we haven’ t seen meaningful cost increases directly tied to tariffs, but it remains a risk and a watch item.”
Further,“ people are building homes now that are bigger than they have been in the past, and they are in riskier locations,” Bacon says.“ Today, you’ re seeing entire neighborhoods being built in riskier areas, which can drive premiums up.”
Another trend adversely impacting premiums is the tightening of reinsurance available to carriers.“ The biggest challenge that carriers face is that reinsurers struggle with hail and tornado perils,” Bacon says.“ While for coastal risks, most reinsurers can say‘ we trust our models.'”
“ When it comes to hail and tornadoes, there’ s nothing that predicts when and where they will pop up,” he says.“ That’ s where you start to get into challenges with the lack of geographic diversification.”
especially after a major project or a new purchase, can help ensure clients aren’ t underinsured or paying for coverage they don’ t need.”
Identifying what’ s changed in their clients’ lives, such as purchasing a second home or changes in their finances, paints a clearer picture of whether changes are needed from a coverage perspective.
“ Building that into a regular cadence with consumers helps mitigate the risk of not aligning coverage with changes that have taken place,” Bacon says.“ It also helps customers keep their coverages top of mind more frequently.” •
Olivia Overman is the Independent Agent magazine content editor for Big I.
Enjoy peace of mind by partnering with a company that has been trusted for over 145 years.
However,“ we’ re seeing some signs of normalization in that market, and a more stable reinsurance market gives primary carriers more predictability and pricing, and ultimately more capacity to write business,” Simonett says.
As the market rebalances, independent agents can be a valuable resource for their clients by employing some key strategies to help homeowners get the coverage they need without overpaying.
By conducting regular coverage checkups,“ agents can play an essential role in helping their customers reassess their coverage and limits to ensure they’ re properly protected,” Simonett says.“ Life events like renovations and adding new cool gadgets can all impact coverage needs, so that an annual review,
AUTO | FARM | HOME buckeye-ins. com | 937-778-5000
MAY / JUNE 2026
17