| | | | | Your home insurance coverage should not necessarily |
| 8 Ways To Keep Your Home Insurance Costs Low | | | | be what you paid for them home. Land values are |
| All homeowners are looking for ways to reduce our | | | | calculated into the final sales price and should be |
| home insurance costs. Costs continue to rise and | | | | considered when insuring the structure. In others |
| budgets get tighter and tighter with each passing | | | | words you cannot hurt the dirt. A good idea is to call |
| year. Here are 8 tips to reduce your home | | | | local builders and ask them what new home |
| insurance costs. | | | | construction cost per square foot is going for. Take |
| 1. Increased Home Security | | | | that number, multiply that times your square footage |
| Most homes are fitted with some sort of security | | | | and that is the amount that your home should be |
| device. To make the most of your Home Security | | | | insured for. Companies will not pay more than what it |
| Discount make sure that you home is fitted with: | | | | is going to cost to rebuild the home anyway, so |
| dead bolt locks, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers | | | | make sure you are insured correctly. |
| and a burglar and fire alarm that are monitored. You | | | | 6. Stay away from low deductibles. |
| do not have to have all of these to receive a | | | | The deductible is your portion of the claim that must |
| discount on your home insurance so even if you only | | | | be paid before the insurance company pays for the |
| have one or two make sure that you ask for the | | | | claim. The lower your deductible, the higher your |
| savings. | | | | premium will be. Deductibles can range anywhere |
| 2. Keep your credit score as high as possible. | | | | from $100-$5000 or more. The majority of |
| While it would seem that a good credit score would | | | | homeowners will carry a $500 deductible, but the |
| have nothing to do with insurance rates, it is a fact | | | | savings one can receive by raising your deductible to |
| that they do. Home Insurance companies are using | | | | $1000 can be significant, up to 20%. It doesn't take |
| your credit score as an indicator of responsibility. The | | | | too many claim free years to make up the |
| theory is the more responsible the individual the less | | | | difference between the two deductibles, but |
| claims they will have. So, insurance companies are | | | | remember you should never raise your deductible to |
| giving lower rates to those individuals with a better | | | | a level that you could not afford to pay. |
| credit score. | | | | 7. Ask your home insurance agent. |
| 3. Consolidate your policies. | | | | Most of the time, an agent will make sure that you |
| Most, if not all companies that sell home insurance, | | | | are receiving 100% of the home insurance discounts |
| offer discounts for insuring your autos with them. | | | | that you qualify for, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Some |
| These discounts can sometimes save you up to 30% | | | | insurance companies have discounts that others do |
| off of your total insurance bill. Plus, you get the | | | | not. Some offer discounts that most would never |
| added convenience of having one agent for both | | | | dream as being a discount such as 55 and retired, |
| your home and auto insurances. | | | | non smoking, military service, law enforcement, single |
| 4. Protect your home with updates. | | | | parent discounts, etc. |
| Discuss with your agent about the possibilities of | | | | 8. Don't be afraid to shop around. |
| receiving home insurance discount for keeping your | | | | Home insurance shopping is easy. Insurance shopping |
| home in good repair. Some home insurance | | | | online is even easier. Companies like ours at (yes, I |
| companies will offer savings for a anew roof, | | | | am biased) have given you the ability to get multiple |
| electrical, HVAC, plumbing updates. The discounts are | | | | home insuranceby filling out a form that takes about |
| generally not enough to warrant the replacement but | | | | five minutes to complete. Also be aware that not all |
| if you needed it anyway, be sure to get the | | | | insurance companies are created equal. There are |
| discounts if applicable. | | | | some bad ones out there but most, at worst, are |
| 5. Make sure you are not over insured. | | | | pretty good. |