There are several ways to reduce your homeowners insurance premiums without reducing the amount of your insurance.
Deductibles
The higher your homeowner’s insurance deductible, the lower will be your premium. Most brokers recommend a $500 deductible, but if you are able to increase your insurance deductible to about $1,000, you can reduce your annual premiums by about 25 to 30 percent.
Insurance Company Loyalty
If you buy your homeowner’s insurance from the same insurance firm that issued your car or liability insurance policies, you can get a discount of from 5 to 15 percent from your premium. Insurance firms also give discounts to long-term policy holders.
Home Security and Safety Systems
By simply having basic security and safety systems, you can reduce your homeowner’s insurance premiums. Install smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, safety locks and other home security devices. You can ask your insurance agent what security and safety systems they want to see in homes they are insuring.
Fire Department
If your house is located near your fire department or near a fire hydrant, your premium will be reduced. You can also get further discounts if your fire department is known in your region for being an efficient service provider.
Disaster Prevention
If your house has lots of features that protect it from natural disasters, your premium can be reduced. Undertake disaster prevention strategies such as roofing reinforcement, storm shutter installation and updating of the electrical, heating and plumbing systems. Newly built homes and houses made of brick oftentimes get premium discounts.
Research Insurance Firms and Premiums
Check out the websites of insurance firms offering homeowner’s insurance products. Compare the same homeowner’s insurance products from different companies. Nowadays, many insurance websites have also been offering tools for you to compute your house insurance premiums just by entering info on your house.
You can also get price quotes from several firms offering homeowner’s insurance products. Just make sure you are giving them the same info so that the quotes are based on the same house size, design, structure and other criteria.
When choosing an insurance firm, consider also the recommendations of consumer groups or community centers in your area.
Lastly, before finally deciding on the insurance firm and the amount of home insurance you are going to purchase, contact your state Department of Insurance and check if the firm you have chosen is licensed to sell homeowner’s insurance products. Oftentimes, states’ official websites have lists of licensed companies in the state, including insurance firms and the products they are licensed to sell.