The San Diego home-buying insurance checklist what to line up before closing

The worst time to think about insurance is the week before closing, with escrow blowing up your phone. The best time is 3-4 weeks out. Here’s the order we walk our home-buying clients through in San Diego County.

4 weeks out homeowners quote

As soon as your offer is accepted, send us the inspection report and closing date. We quote against every carrier still writing in your ZIP and send back 3-4 options within 48 hours. In wildfire zones (Alpine, Fallbrook, Ramona, Jamul) we may need additional time to shop surplus lines.

3 weeks out flood and earthquake check

• If your FEMA flood zone is AE, A, VE, or V flood insurance is typically required. Your lender will tell escrow.
• Earthquake is never required but worth strongly considering for any San Diego home. CEA or a private carrier we’ll compare both.

2 weeks out bind the policy

Escrow will ask for evidence of insurance. Give them our agent contact and we’ll issue the binder the same business day. Your lender needs this in hand before loan documents are drawn.

1 week out update your auto policy

• Change of address triggers a rate recalculation sometimes up, sometimes down (it depends on the new ZIP).
• Moving to a garage changes your rate. Tell us.
• If you’re moving in with a spouse/partner, combine or bundle auto + home for a multi-policy discount.

Day of closing confirm everything

• Homeowners policy effective the day of funding, not move-in.
• Payment setup for ongoing premiums (escrow impound vs. direct-pay).
• Digital copies of declarations saved to the cloud.

Post-closing the 60-day window

• Umbrella policy Once you own a home, you have more to lose. $1M umbrella is usually $180-$300/year cheap insurance against a lawsuit.
• Home warranty Covers wear-and-tear (HVAC, plumbing, appliances) that homeowners insurance excludes.
• Schedule your valuables Jewelry, watches, firearms, fine art add scheduled personal property coverage if any piece is worth more than $2,500.

One call to (619) 777-7067 can line up every step of this. We’ve done it for hundreds of San Diego County home buyers and we coordinate directly with your lender and escrow so you don’t have to.