Increase Your Deductible
Just like auto insurance, homeowners
policies have deductibles, and the same
rule of thumb applies--carry the highest
deductible you can afford. The
higher your deductible, the more premium
credit you can expect to receive from
your insurance company. Your
savings could reach 25% by increasing
the deductible from $100 to $1000.
Improve Your Home Security
Most insurance companies offer
discounts for smoke detectors, burglar
alarms, dead bolts, fire extinguishers,
and Neighborhood Watch Areas. Homes with
a fire and burglar alarm system hooked
up to a third-party monitoring company
receive higher discounts than homes with
local bell alarms.
Consolidate Policies
Insuring two or more vehicles with
the same insurance company can save you
10 - 15% on your premiums. If you cover
your home and vehicles together, you can
reduce your premiums by another 10 -
15%.
Construction Type
Before buying a home, consider its
construction type, such as frame or
concrete block and steel (CBS). A
wood frame house typically costs more to
insure than one built mostly of
concrete.
Verify Distance To Fire Stations And
Windstorm Areas
If you live in the country, you'll
probably pay higher rates for your
homeowners insurance than if you lived
in town. Why? It’s because of the
longer distance to your local fire
station. If you live more than 5 miles
from the nearest fire station, and more
than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant, you
will most likely pay a
higher premium.
Before purchasing your home, you may
want to get a quote for both homeowners
and flood insurance. Insurance companies
may not offer you windstorm or flood
coverage, depending upon the area in
which you live. If your home is in a
hurricane prone area and your insurance
company offers windstorm coverage, then
installing approved hurricane shutters
should result
in a premium discount.
Claims Free Record And Renewal
Discounts
If you have not had a claim under
your homeowners policy during the past 3
- 5 consecutive years, you could receive
up to a 15% discount, depending on the
insurance company. Plus, most companies
will discount your premium if your
policy has been in force for 3 straight
years.
Mortgage Free Discounts
Some insurance companies target
homeowners who have paid off their
mortgage and offer them premium
discounts of up to 5%.
New And Renovated Home Discounts
A majority of insurance companies
offer a discount for new homes, and you
may qualify if your home was built in
the last 10 - 15 years. Also, a recently
renovated home costs less to insure, so
find out when the last major electrical,
heating and plumbing update was
completed on the home.
Non-Smokers And Early Retiree
Discounts
Some companies offer a non-smokers
discount of up to 15% to qualified
homeowners. To qualify, you must be a
non-smoker and you cannot permit smoking
in your home by anyone. Retirees or
senior citizens are usually offered
discounts because insurance companies
believe they are home
more often and are therefore better able
to protect their home against fire
and burglary.
Live-In House Keeper
Some insurers offer up to a 2%
premium credit if you have a live-in
employee as they feel it could reduce
the likelihood of burglary.
Conclusion
After reviewing the foregoing savings
tips, you may think that if you added up
all your credits you could receive a 70
– 90% reduction in your premiums.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that
way. Certain safety or other measures
you take may qualify you for being
placed with the "preferred"
company of a particular insurance group.
This "preferred" company will
be able to give you more premium credits
than a standard company is able to.
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