Saving on Homeowners Insurance

Your home obviously holds a ton of importance to you. It’s the place of residence where you can go back to every night and sleep tight in. It’s filled with everlasting memories and important objects of affection. But what happens in the event of a tragic disaster? I’m talking about a type of disaster that completely destroys your property?

Many families are cutting corners today in this tight economic climate by reducing or completely eliminating home insurance. This is a very bad and irrational decision on the homeowner’s part.

There are ways you can save on your home insurance costs. First of all, you can raise your insurance deductible. Just raising the deductible to the next highest level can save you hundreds of dollars a year on your insurance premiums. You are still covered, yet you are spending less for insurance. Just make sure you can meet the deductible in case something happens and you need to file an insurance claim.

Home owners also receive a discount on their insurance premium by installing proper safety devices around the home, such as smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and burglar alarms. Is your home equipped with these?

Purchase more than one policy from the same provider. This process, known as bundling, can save you even more money each year on your home insurance policy. Companies award clients that continue to come back for more than one insurance policy.

When purchasing home insurance, insure your home for 100 percent of the cost to replace the home after a loss. This is called insured to value, and it can save you significant dollars on your home insurance premiums. You will have the coverage you need to protect your home and your family without spending a lot and without over insuring your home.

Also, make sure you maintain a strong credit score. Many insurance providers will examine your credit report and scores as part of the insurance process. The providers use your credit score to help develop their own insurance score, which decides how high of a risk you are. The higher the risk, the higher the insurance premiums. Many insurance providers believe a good credit score is an indicator of responsibility, meaning you will pay your premiums on time and won’t file excessive insurance claims. You can obtain a copy of your credit report from the credit bureaus and review it for mistakes. Correcting mistakes can help boost your credit score. So can paying down debt.

While it is important to cut back on expenses during a tight economy, it is never smart to completely eliminate home insurance all together. There are several ways you can cut down on your premium without changing a single bit of the coverage. Give these ideas a shot!

Tom Martens is the syndication coordinator Insurance-south-africa.co.za. South Arica’s leading Insurance information portal.