On average, home insurance costs as little as $600 per year to as much as $2,000 per year. In general, homeowners premiums vary depending on a number of factors, such as the value of the home and your own location. If you find yourself spending a lot of money on home insurance every year, here is some information about how to save on home insurance.
Bundle Your Auto and Home Insurance Policies
One way that you can save is to combine your auto and home coverage with the same company. Many insurers will offer a discount if you have multiple policies with them. In general, you can expect bundling home and auto insurance to save you anywhere from 10 to 20% on your rate for homeowners insurance. Of course, the exact amount of the discount depends on the insurer.
Secure Your Home
When you calculate your rate, insurance companies will take a look at the susceptibility of your home to threats like storms, burglary, and fires. You can reduce risk and potentially quality for lower rates by upgrading your old systems like electrical and plumbing. Overall, you want to add features that will make your house more difficult to compromise. Some examples of such features include window locks, storm shutters, deadbolt door, and impact-resistant roofing. A home security system is also a great investment.
By reducing claims and incidents, you will provide your insurer with fewer incentives to increase your rates when you renew. Be sure to check with your insurer to find out how much of a discount you will receive for a certain home improvement. That way, you can be sure you will save more than what you will spend on the home improvement.
By avoiding incidents and claims, you also give your insurer less incentive to increase your rates come renewal time. Because certain home improvements won’t be cheap, check with your insurer beforehand to see how much a given discount will save so you can make sure your spending isn’t out of proportion to the savings.
Look Into Discounts
The next thing you should do is look for discounts for home safety and bundling features. For example, you may get a discount if no one who lives in your home smokes. Other obscure discounts include if you recently purchased your home or if you pay your premium automatically with bank payments.
As you can see, there are numerous ways that you can save on insurance for your home. For more information about how to save on home insurance, don't hesitate to contact us.
Also Read: Home Insurance 101 for New Home Buyers