The price you pay for your homeowner’s insurance can vary by hundreds of dollars, depending on the rates, credits, and endorsements available by your insurance company. Here are some things to consider when buying homeowners insurance.
1. Raise Your Deductible
Deductibles are the amount of money you pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim. The higher your deductible, the more money you will save on your premiums. Nowadays, most insurance companies recommend a deductible of at least $1,000.
2. Don’t Confuse Your Home’s Purchase Price With Insured Value
The land under your house isn’t at risk from theft, windstorm, fire and the other perils covered in your homeowner’s policy. So don’t include its value in deciding how much insurance to buy
3. Buy Your Home And Auto Policies From The Same Insurer
Some companies will take 5 to 15 percent off you’re your home, auto and umbrella liability premiums when placing them all together.
4. Improve Your Home Security
You can usually get discounts of at least 5 percent for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks. Some companies offer to cut your premium by as much as 15 or 20 percent if you install a monitored fire and burglar alarm that rings at the police, fire or other monitoring stations.
5. Maintain A Good Credit Record
Most insurers use credit information to price home insurance, so establishing a solid credit history will cut your insurance costs. To protect your credit, pay your bills on time, don’t obtain more credit than you need and keep your balances as low as possible. Check your credit record on a regular basis and have any errors corrected promptly so that your record remains accurate.
6. Stay With The Same Insurer
If you’ve kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive a special discount for being a long-term policyholder. Some insurers will reduce their premiums by 5 percent if you stay with them for three to five years and by 10 percent if you remain a policyholder for six years or more.
7. When You’re Buying A Home, Consider The Cost Of Homeowners Insurance
You may pay less for insurance if you buy a house close to a fire hydrant or in a community that has a professional rather than a volunteer fire department. It may also be cheaper if your home’s electrical, heating, and plumbing systems are less than 10 years old. Choosing wisely could cut your premiums by 10 to 25 percent.
As always, we are here to educate and assist clients in their insurance purchase decisions, so if we can assist you, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Make Sure You’re Covered
Contact Long Insurance today and we can make sure you’re protected.