Notify Your Insurer If Your Home Is In A Trust

A Quick Story: What We Saw After the California Wildfires

When wildfires tore through parts of California recently, many families lost everything. As people began to file claims with their homeowners insurance companies, some ran into a surprising roadblock: their homes were held in trusts, but the policies weren’t updated to reflect that.

That meant the legal owner of the home (the trust) wasn’t actually listed on the policy — and unfortunately, that gave some insurers a reason to delay and possibly even deny claims. In a moment when people were already going through so much, this simple paperwork issue made things even harder when it could have been easily avoided.

This Isn’t Just a California Thing

While the wildfires brought attention to this issue, it can happen anywhere. Regardless of where you live — if your home is in a trust and your insurance company doesn’t know about it, you could be at risk of running into the same problem. That’s why we at Murphy Insurance Agency want to call your attention to this important issue.

Why It Matters

When your home is in a trust, the trust becomes the legal owner of the property. If your insurance policy still lists you personally as the homeowner, it creates a mismatch. An insurance policy is a legal contract, and in the insurance world, details like that matter — especially when a claim is involved. If the named insured doesn’t match the legal owner, the insurance company can question whether the policy is valid. That’s not a conversation you want to be having after your home is damaged or destroyed.

The Fix Is Simple

Fortunately, this is easy to take care of. All you need to do is:

1. Let your insurance agent know your home is in a trust.
2. Be ready to share the name of the trust and possibly a copy of the trust document.
3. We’ll update your policy so the trust is listed correctly — and just like that, you’re good to go.

Don’t Wait for Something to Go Wrong

If you’ve put your home into a trust (or are planning to), reach out to us now. This is one of those “small things” that makes a huge difference when the unexpected happens. That’s why we want to educate everyone about this issue because as an agent, we can’t help protect you if we don’t have the right information. Our team is always here to help review your policy, answer questions, and make sure your coverage truly reflects your needs — now and into the future. Contact us if you have questions.