The homeowners renewal arrives in the same envelope as the rest of the mail, and it usually goes to the address on file. If you are the one who opens it, you are the one who has to notice what changed. Read it as a set of facts about the house and the people in it, not as a bill to pay.
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Check the names and the address
Confirm who is named as the insured and whether the mailing address for notices is still the right one. If the house is now lived in by someone different, or sits empty for part of the year, the policy may describe it differently than it did before. Ask the agent to tell you, in writing, what the policy assumes about who lives there and whether anything about that has changed.
Check who receives the notices
Find out who gets the cancellation notices, the payment reminders, and any letters about claims. If those go only to a mailbox nobody checks, you can lose coverage without anyone deciding to let it go. Add yourself or a second sibling as a contact if the company allows it.
Check the payment account
If the premium is drafted from a bank account, confirm which account it is and whose name is on it. A payment that comes from the wrong account is a common reason a renewal fails quietly.
Compare the changes, not the total
If you are comparing two offers, line them up by coverage limits, deductible, and any exclusions, one line at a time. A lower total with a higher deductible is a different product, not a bargain. Ask what changed from last year's policy and why, and get the answer in writing.
This is general reading to help you prepare questions, not legal or insurance advice. Your agent or the company can explain how your specific policy applies to your mother's house. For help finding local resources, see the local help page.