If your Atlanta real estate is your biggest investment, then poor insurance choices could be putting it at risk. If your coverage is inadequate and you find yourself at the wrong end of a personal injury lawsuit, for example, you could end up sacrificing your home.

At the Equifax Personal Finance Blog, insurance expert Linda Rey offers the benefit of her experiences with clients who have made bad insurance decisions so you can avoid the same pitfalls. At the top of Rey’s “5 Mistakes My Customers Make With Their Insurance” is reducing or removing coverage. It’s tempting to do when you haven’t encountered any insurance-related problems recently and you’re focused on saving money, but Rey warns that lowering your coverage puts you at risk for high out-of-pocket costs if the worst should happen.

In a related mistake – changing agents without giving your current agent a chance to rework your portfolio – Rey warns that lower premiums often mean inadequate coverage. If you decide to change agents, be sure that your assets are still fully protected. Presumably, the agent who has been working with you is familiar with your portfolio and values your business. Give him or her a chance to make sure you still have an acceptable amount of coverage at today’s best value.

You’ll have to check out the Equifax Personal Finance Blog to see the rest of the mistakes Rey’s clients have made, but here’s a hint: one of them involves putting off until tomorrow what you should take care of today. If you’ve been putting off a reassessment of your insurance needs, you can get a jumpstart by visiting the site right now. Don’t delay, or you could become like one of Rey’s bad examples.