Before Moving, Check Your New Address with Your Insurance Company to Avoid Higher Rates

This story will display in ...Nov 16, 2012 3:30 PM  

As if moving wasn't costly enough, your insurance rates may go up based on the location of your new home. And it's not just homeowner's and renter's insurance—car and health can rise as well because companies are allowed to charge more or less based on your location.

The LA Times reports:

Joan Swope, 62, moved recently from Cathedral City, just down the road from Palm Springs, to nearby Palm Desert. She informed her insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, of the change of address. A few weeks later, Anthem responded with a notice stating that, because of the move, Swope's monthly premium on her individual policy will increase to $524 from $418. That's a more than 25% rate hike. For a move of less than 10 miles.

When I moved about the same distance, my renter's insurance increased minimally because I supposedly chose to live in a higher risk area. According to crime statistics and safety ratings, I actually switched to a safer location. The same thing happened to a couple of friends of mine. While these increases were very negligible, some people aren't so lucky. Before you move, call your insurance companies and find out if you'll be subject to a rate increase. If the change is significant, you may want to look at another location.

Patient trapped in health insurance rate hike | LA Times via The Consumerist

Photo by tanatat (Shutterstock).

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Wait a Few Months Before Telling Anyone About Your Lifestyle Changes

Reddit user maybe_a_little suggests that if you're starting to exercise, changing religions, decide not to have kids, or making other major life changes that you should consider keeping the news to yourself for three-to-six months so that you don't constantly annoy everyone around you by insisting that whatever you're newly passionate about is the only way to live.

After a few months, you'll find that either you're a bit less evangelical about your new passion, you're still fired up and now know when and whom to discuss the subject with, or perhaps you've abandoned that lifestyle choice for something new.

In any event waiting to tell your friends and family might pay off by making sure your changes stick and by the time you're telling them about your new point-of-view you'll have some experience and more facts with which to better define your position. You can overcome the need to tell someone right away about your changes by finding an online discussion group and share there—you'll get to learn the common arguments for and against your position and can practice how you'll share the news before telling someone you care about. Photo by Pascal

Wait 3-6 months after making a lifestyle change before telling anyone about it | Reddit

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