As a homeowner, you likely understand the importance of having quality homeowners insurance coverage. You realize that the rate you pay for your homeowners policy is miniscule when compared to the cost of rebuilding your home after being destroyed by something like a house fire. But even for insurance that seems like a great value, everyone likes the idea of saving money where possible and there are many ways to save on homeowners insurance. Let’s look at some of those.
Five Ways You Can Save on Homeowners Insurance
-
- First and foremost, a prime savings technique when buying insurance – any insurance – is to shop around. The best advice is to utilize the services of an insurance broker with access to numerous quality insurance providers. Let them bring you at least three proposed policies from which to choose. Compare apples to apples and select the coverage that provides the greatest benefits for the least premium cost. Be sure to only consider top-rated insurance providers.
- Bundling more than one type of policy with the same company can often lower your homeowners policy premium by 10%-20%, depending on your insurance provider. Consider bundling your homeowners, vehicle and life insurance coverage with the same company.
- Making safety and security improvements to your home can provide significant savings on your homeowners policy rates. Besides providing premium discounts from many insurers, making your home safer and more secure will also lessen the chances of you having to make a claim against your policy, so it’s a win/win. Consider upgrades against burglaries (dead bolts, alarms), against fires (extinguishers, sprinklers, detectors) and storms (impact-resistant roofing and storm shutters).
- Raising your deductible is an easy way to immediately save on homeowners insurance. Raising the typical $500-$1000 deductible to $2000 can cause a significant reduction in your premium rates. Your insurer knows that a higher deductible will probably mean fewer low-dollar claims, allowing them to maintain a lower premium rate for your coverage.
- Check into less obvious discounts that may be offered by your insurer. You may qualify for discounts you’re unaware of and won’t know about unless you ask. Some insurers give discounts for non-smoking homes, for first-time homeowners or for customers willing to set up their premium payments via automatic bank payments. Others may provide discounts to those who pay their full annual premium in a single payment. Ask your agent or broker about other available discounts.