Most of us don't wind up retiring in the first home we buy. Even if that's our intention when we first move in, life has a way of throwing surprises at you.

Maybe you want to move to another state to be closer to the grandkids. Maybe you can only afford your dream home later in life.

Whatever the case may be, chances are you're going to need to swap houses someday. And when you do, you'll have to figure out what you're going to do with your existing home insurance policy.

Can I Transfer My Insurance To A New Home?

In car insurance, this is easy: Call up your insurer and give them the make and model of your new car. In home insurance, it’s rarely that simple. There are simply too many variables:

• Your new home is probably valued at a dramatically different price than your old one.
• Your new neighborhood brings a different set of hazards to protect against.
• If you're moving to a new state, your home insurance provider might not cover that area.

In more cases than not, you're going to wind up buying a whole new policy when you move. But if you're moving to another home in the same state, you might be able to simply transfer your policy.

Transferring Your Policy

Keep your agent up to date on the move. Give them a timeline, and update them if it changes. They should be able to get everything in order for you.

Again, this is not as simple as swapping a car insurance policy to a new automobile. Here's what you're going to want to keep in mind:

• The cost of your policy is going to be different, adjusting to account for the value and hazards at your new home.
• Your agent will need a lot of details. These might include the age of the home, details on the interior or information on your mortgage lender. Have your information ready.
• In some cases you may be able to get a better price by shopping around for a new policy.

The process of moving to a new home might be simplified by sticking with the same home insurance provider. But that’s not always an option. And when it is, it's not always as easy as simply covering a new car.