The cost of homeowners insurance is surging across the country, thanks to a combination of inflation and expensive natural disasters — and the increases are taking a toll on some homeowners’ budgets. Here are six steps to try if you can’t afford your homeowners insurance.Be proactiveIf you’re not sure you can make your next homeowners insurance payment, reach out to your agent or insurer as soon as possible — ideally before your policy lapses. Although there may be a grace period if you miss the due date, your insurance company will cancel your policy if you don’t pay the premium. Letting…

Team Name: Merritt Point Wealth AdvisorsFirm: Wells Fargo AdvisorsSenior Members: Jason Andrews, Beth Cutler, Ross BauerLocation: Old Greenwich, CTTeam Custodied Assets: $1.7 billionBackground: A self-described “numbers guy,” Jason Andrews studied accounting and finance at Southern New Hampshire University before starting his career at PaineWebber (later acquired by UBS) in 1999. He says he built an early private-client business the old-fashioned way: Cold calling. In October 2000 he began partnering with other brokers. In 2008, Andrews and his partners moved their book to Wachovia—just as the financial crisis was reshaping the industry. “That weekend…Wachovia actually went bankrupt,” he recalls. After a…