The two insurance risks that belong in every financial planning conversation.
A visual tool that connects insurance to the financial plan: not as a separate conversation, but as part of the same one.
Most financial plans account for market risk, sequence risk, longevity risk. Two risks that can be just as damaging rarely get the same treatment: underinsuring the asset most likely to suffer a total physical loss, and leaving household wealth exposed to a liability judgment with no ceiling. The Protection Snapshot makes both visible, in a format that fits inside the planning conversation.
Dwelling Limit vs. Replacement Cost
The home is usually a client's largest single asset. Is it fully insurable?
Why rebuild cost, not market value
When clients think about what their home is worth, they think of market value, what they could sell it for. That is the wrong number for insurance. Market value reflects land, location, and what a buyer will pay. Insurance pays to rebuild: labor, materials, and code compliance at today's construction costs, none of which are reflected in a sale price.
The dwelling limit on most policies was set when the policy was written. Construction costs have risen significantly since then. The chart compares the current dwelling limit to an updated replacement cost estimate so the gap, if there is one, is visible.
- When a client asks “am I covered?” show them this chart. Market value and coverage adequacy are different questions and most clients conflate them.
- Amber or red is a referral moment. This chart does not tell a client what to do. It creates the opening to connect them with a P&C professional who can.
- Green does not end the conversation. Confirm the dwelling limit is reviewed at renewal as construction costs continue to change.
At-Risk Assets vs. Total Liability Coverage
A liability claim has no natural ceiling. Does the coverage reflect what is actually at stake?
Why at-risk assets, not net worth
Not all of a client's wealth is equally vulnerable in a liability judgment. Retirement accounts often carry federal or state creditor protections. Homestead exemptions shield equity in a primary residence up to state-defined limits. Assets held in properly structured entities may have additional protection.
The at-risk asset value reflects what remains after those protections, the portion of the household's wealth that a creditor could actually reach. It is the number the umbrella should be sized against, and it should align with the planning strategies already in place.
This is where insurance and financial planning intersect directly. The size of the umbrella is not just an insurance question. It is a wealth protection question.
- Start by showing the client the at-risk asset value. For many, this is the first time they have seen how much of their wealth sits outside protected categories. It reframes the umbrella conversation from a premium decision to a wealth protection decision.
- Walk through each bar: home, landlord, and auto each carry different risk profiles and different underlying limits. A client with a rental property faces exposure their homeowner's policy does not cover.
- If planning strategies have changed (a new entity, a Roth conversion, a change in homestead status), the at-risk value should be revisited. This chart makes that alignment visible at every review.
These conversations belong in the financial planning meeting.
The Protection Snapshot is a tab within the Holistiplan P&C Insurance report. No new data entry. No separate report. If your client's policies are in Holistiplan, open the P&C report and select the Protection Snapshot tab.
Available now in Holistiplan.
See the Knowledge Base for a full walkthrough including data setup and how to read each chart.
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