Get a Second Opinion on the Coverage You Already Have

A second opinion on insurance coverage you already have is free, whether you do it yourself with your own paperwork or ask to be connected with a broker through this site. Before either option: if you ask us to connect you with a broker, that broker pays us a referral fee for the introduction. It's paid whether or not you ever buy anything, and it does not change your premium — the broker's compensation for the policy itself is set by the insurer, the same as it would be if you'd found that broker on your own. We are not an insurance broker or an insurer, and nothing about how we're paid depends on how much coverage you end up buying.

That disclosure is the whole trust question for this page, so it's the first thing on it. It's also worth saying plainly: broker partners pay for introductions to consenting readers, they do not pay for placement in this article, and they have no ability to review or request changes to anything written here. Here's what an actual second opinion checks, how to read your own paperwork in five minutes, and what to ask for in writing before you ask anyone else to look at anything.

Who actually needs to do this?#

Anyone who hasn't checked in a while, but four situations make it worth doing this month specifically: your renewal just landed and the number moved without an obvious reason; you bought or added an umbrella policy at some point and never confirmed the underlying limits still match its minimum; you added something to your life — a basement suite, a short-term rental, a teen driver, a boat — without calling anyone about it; or you've simply never seen all your policies' liability limits written down next to each other.

What does a second opinion on my coverage actually check?#

Four specific things, in order:

1. Are your liability limits consistent across every policy you hold? A $1 million home policy and a $2 million auto policy aren't wrong, exactly, but the mismatch is worth understanding — a judgment doesn't care which policy the loss falls under.
2. If you have an umbrella or excess policy, do your underlying limits still meet its minimum? Umbrella insurers require specific minimum limits on your home and auto policies as a condition of coverage — commonly $1 million on each. If an underlying limit slipped or was never raised to match, the umbrella may not be doing the job you think it's doing.
3. Are there gaps between policies? Non-owned auto use, personal-injury torts like defamation, coverage while renting a vehicle abroad — these vary by wording, not just by limit, and nobody checks them by default.
4. Has anything changed since you bound the policy that was never disclosed? A finished basement now rented out, an Airbnb listing, a teen who started driving, a new dog, a boat in the driveway — each of these can affect whether a future claim gets paid in full, and none of them show up automatically just because they happened.

How do I read my own declarations page?#

The declarations page ("dec page") is the one- or two-page summary at the front of every policy, and it answers most of question 1 and 2 above by itself, in under a minute per policy.

If any of these numbers surprise you, that's the gap. If they don't, you've just gotten a completely free second opinion without asking anyone anything.

What should I ask my broker for in writing?#

Three specific questions, asked in writing so the answer is a record, not a memory:

1. "What is my current liability limit on each policy, listed in one place?" A broker can pull this in minutes; if the answer takes longer than that, it's worth knowing why.
2. "Do my current underlying limits meet the minimum required by my umbrella policy?" — only relevant if you have one, but a critical check if you do.
3. "Does [the specific thing you added] need to be disclosed, and does it change my coverage?" Name the actual thing — the basement suite, the short-term rental, the new driver — rather than asking a general "am I covered?" question that's easy to answer vaguely.

Getting these in writing isn't about distrust. It's about turning a phone call into something you can actually check later, which is exactly what "get a second opinion" should mean.

Can I just do this myself?#

Yes, and for most households, that's genuinely enough. Everything in the two sections above — the dec page checks and the three written questions — can be done with your existing paperwork and one phone call to your current broker or agent. You don't need us, a quiz, or a referral for any of it. If your policies turn out consistent and your disclosures are current, you're done, and it cost you nothing but twenty minutes.

Where people get stuck isn't usually the mechanics — it's not knowing which number to look for or which question to ask. That's the actual gap this page exists to close, independent of whether you ever fill out a form on this site.

What happens if you ask to be connected with a broker here?#

If, after doing the checks above, you'd rather have someone else run them or make a change, you can ask to be connected with a licensed broker in your province through the Lawsuit Exposure Quiz results page. Two things are true about that path, stated plainly: it costs you nothing, and the broker you're connected with pays us for the introduction — not for what they sell you, and not in a way that changes your premium. Your information isn't sold to more than one broker at a time, and connecting is optional even after you see your results.

You can verify that any broker you deal with — ours or your own — is actually licensed through your province's regulator (Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario in Ontario, and equivalent bodies in every other province); a searchable directory across provinces is linked in the sources below.

What a second opinion is not#

To be equally plain about the limits of this: it's also not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it doesn't replace reading your actual policy wording, which only your insurer's contract — not this page, not a broker's summary — legally governs. What it is: a structured way to ask the right four questions about coverage you're already paying for, instead of no questions at all.

The bottom line#

The honest version of "get a second opinion" is smaller than it sounds: pull your dec pages, check one number on each, ask three questions in writing if anything looks off, and know upfront that anyone offering to check it for you should be telling you exactly how they get paid before you hand over a single detail. We just did. If you'd rather do the twenty minutes yourself, that's the right call for most people — and now you have the checklist.