Homeowners need to stay updated on what policies covers

Owners of the 22 homes submitted badly damaged or destroyed in the Yarnell, Arizona area during recent wildfires have asked the Arizona Department of Insurance to review their claims and coverage limits to verify whether insurers carried out policy terms correctly. For other Arizonans and millions of homeowners across the country, the episode underscores the importance of checking occasionally to make sure you have enough insurance to rebuild after a disaster. Insurers regularly urge customers to review their policies and alert them when buying new furnishings or making improvements that increase the value of a dwelling, but homeowners counter that it's still up to the companies to make sure coverage amounts are accurate.

Your homeowners insurance policy might not provide adequate compensation in the event of fire or other disaster. You might be underinsured if:

• Your coverage estimate is based on market prices, which aren't the same as rebuilding costs.

• You haven't included changes or improvements such as a new bathroom, customized kitchen, new flooring or expensive window blinds.

• You live in an outlying area into which laborers and construction materials would need to be imported at added expense.

• You haven't adjusted the coverage value to reflect inflation in materials and labor costs.

• Your home has historical significance or was constructed with unusual building materials.

• You haven't factored in separate structures, added living expenses or landscape-debris removal.