Home insurance is necessary. This is especially true if you are paying on a mortgage as you will be required by your lender to have your home covered. But how do you know that you are getting a good deal? Are you paying more than you should? Here are some ideas on how to lower the cost of home insurance.
Get the best price: The only way to know what the best price is for your home insurance is to shop around. Ask your neighbors to see what their rates are like and compare between multiple companies before you decide. Be sure to also look into the length and the coverage of each as they may vary.
Safe home: The safer your home, the better your rate. Reinforce the roof and make sure that if your home is older, it is earthquake resistant. You can also improve your home security with smoke detectors and deadbolts.
Smoke policy: Don’t smoke. It’s as easy as that. If you do smoke, the risk factor increases and it’s estimated that your insurance premium can increase by 20%.
Maybe it’s time to bundle: Your insurer most likely also offers other insurance like life and auto. See what the rates would be like if you were to bundle all of your insurance together.
Ask for a discount: It never hurts to ask. While you are speaking with your insurer make sure that you know enough about your policy and rates to ask for a better deal.
Good credit: Your insurance company checks your credit before they give you your policy. If you have bad credit your premium might be higher than if it were lower. Work on lowering your credit to get a lower rate. If you need help improving your credit, try reading our blog post here.
Stick with your insurer: Many insurers offer special discounts and rates for long term customers. Ask yours about their policy because they might drop your premiums by 5-10% depending on how long you’ve been with them.
Make sure to speak with your insurer to see if there is anything else that you can do to lower the cost of your home insurance premium!