Here are 15 ways to reduce the cost of your home insurance. There are a variety of discounts available, from the type of building materials used to build your home to how close you live to the fire station. These exemptions will vary by state and by the insurance company.
1. Shop Around
Contact several different home insurance companies to get a rate quote (an independent insurance broker may provide rate quotes from a variety of companies). Do your friends or family members like their home insurance company?
2. Increase Your Deductible
The deductible is the amount you have to pay towards the loss before your insurance starts. Typically, the home insurance deductible is $1,000.
Change your deductible to $500 and pay up to 12 percent of your premiums. $1,000 – Standard. Save up to $2,500 and 12 percent off. Save up to $5,000 and up to 26 percent off.
Make sure you can pay the out-of-pocket deductible if something happens.
3. Buy your home from a carrier specializing in property insurance
Few companies actually specialize in property insurance; They tend to offer lower rates than companies that try to sell you multiple policies based on offering discounts for additional lines of insurance (these carriers offer insurance based on surveys researched by the Department of Insurance in several states). charge more).
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4. Consider Insurance When Buying a Home
If you are thinking of buying a home, think about the cost of getting home insurance. The electrical, heating, and plumbing systems and overall structure of a new home are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home. This can result in a discount on your premium.
You will also want to consider the construction of the house and where you live. If you live on the Atlantic coast, you want the house to be able to withstand wind damage, while on the Pacific coast you need to take into account earthquakes. In most states, earthquake and flood coverage is not covered by homeowners insurance policies.
5. Insure your home, not land
While your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, storm and other hazards, the land on which your home sits is not. Do not include the value of the land in deciding how much home insurance to buy. You need to purchase coverage for the reconstruction of housing and replacement of your personal contents. Your agent can help you assess the coverage you need.
6. Improve safety and security
Items like deadbolt locks, burglar alarms, and smoke detectors can typically fetch 5 percent off each, depending on the company. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15 or 20 percent if you install a sophisticated home-protection system. If you’re thinking about buying such a system, check with your insurer to see which systems you’ll get a discount for.
7. Stop Smoking
Smoking accidents cause more than 23,000 residential fires each year. Some insurers offer to reduce premiums if there is no smoker in the household.
8. View Senior Discounts
Insurance companies have found that retirees stay home longer than working people and catch fires more quickly. Older people also have more time to maintain their homes. If you are at least 55 years old and retired, you may qualify for a 10 percent exemption.
9. Look for Group Coverage
Large employers and alumni and professional associations often have insurance deals with an insurance company, which include discounts for employees and members.
10. Stick with the insurer
If you have kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may be given special attention. Many insurers will reduce their premiums by 5 percent after being with you for three to five years, And some companies will give you up to 10 percent off after six years.
11. View your policy annually
You want your policy to reflect the value of your home and belongings. If you review your policy every year, you will be able to make the necessary adjustments. If, for example, you just sold a valuable painting, you may not need as much personal property coverage. But if you have added a garage, you will need to expand the scope of your accommodation.
12. Look for Private Insurance First
If you live in a high-risk area — one that’s especially vulnerable to coastal storms, fire, or crime — and you feel you’ve been forced to purchase home coverage from your state’s high-risk insurance pool First, check with an independent insurance broker. You may find that you can still buy insurance at a lower cost in the private insurance market than your state’s insurer of last resort.
13. EFT Payment
Many companies now charge up to $5.00 or more for mail payments, so it will help to shave off some of the extra cost if your payments are automatically deducted. Sometimes the deduction can be from your credit card, so you don’t have to worry if the money is in your bank account when it’s time to pay.
14. Credit Rating
Many companies now check your credit and base your policy on the information they receive. Make sure your credit is in good standing, and if not, look for other companies that don’t run credit checks. Please note: Some states prohibit carriers from performing credit checks.
15. Actual Cash Value vs. Replacement Cost
Actual cash value coverage reimburses the policyholder for the cost of the property at the time of the claim, minus the deductible. If you exercise this option, you will have to account for depreciation, which could result in lower claim payments than you expected.
Replacement cost coverage will reimburse the full value of the lost item after you purchase the new item and submit your receipts. Up-front costs are higher, but you are more likely to get accurate compensation for your property.
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