Just when you think you live in a safe area where nothing can damage your home, something like an earthquake can come along and literally shake your foundations to the core. This is why you need to have a solid homeowners’ insurance policy. Check out some of these great insurance tips.
Renting parties also have a need for their own insurance policy similar to standard home owner’s insurance. Your landlord’s insurance policy only covers the structure your landlord owns. If you want your belongings to be covered, you must purchase your own policy.
A simple way to save money on homeowner’s insurance is to work towards paying off your mortgage. When you own your home outright, an insurance company feels you are more likely to take care of it and protect it. Therefore, by paying down your mortgage, you might be able to save on annual premiums.
Check the status of your homeowner’s insurance premiums at least once a year, to see if you may qualify for a lower rate. Your current rate may be based on an old crime statistic, for example, or you may have installed a security system that could lower your rates. Discuss these changes with your insurance agent.
There are a number of ways to reduce the cost of premiums. For instance, if you are adding onto your house, consider a steel or cement frame, which will be less to insure then wood.
When you move homes, be sure that your belongings are insured for the move. This may mean buying insurance from the moving company. Your homeowner’s insurance policy may also cover items that are damaged, lost, or stolen in transit. Check with your insurance agent about a “special perils endorsement”, which will protect valuables during a move.
One advantage of installing or replacing the smoke alarms in your house is that doing so can help lower the cost of your homeowner’s insurance. If you have an older house, you could save up to 10 percent a year. You may also get a further discount by putting in additional alarms throughout your house.
In order to protect your home and your homeowner’s insurance coverage, make sure your home has a sufficient number of working smoke alarms installed. Insurance companies like your homes to be safe. Putting up extra carbon monoxide and smoke alarms isn’t difficult or expensive, and it shows your insurance company that you are committed to safety.
Your insurance rates can go up or down depending on whether someone in the family moves out, someone moves in, or your valuables appreciate or depreciate in cost. You should see if coverage on your high-value items have a coverage limit. You can ask for a rider for specific items if you want, so they are theft-protected.
When you are going to purchase homeowners insurance there are certain things that you should look for in a policy. A good thing to have is guaranteed replacement value insurance. This means that no matter the cost your home will be rebuilt if a disaster were to happen. Most people think this is automatic, however, since home values increased it probably would cost more now than what you had originally paid for the home. This way you are covered.
Your insurance premiums will decrease when you install tracking devices and alarm systems. Insurance companies are looking for people that have secure homes, and that’s why it’s cheaper to insure someone that has put these safeguards into place. Alert your insurance company as soon as you install the system so that you can start saving money on your premium as soon as possible.
Security System
Install a security system to help lower your homeowner’s insurance premium by 5%. Your security system must be watched over by a central station or tied directly to your local police station, in order to get this discount. Your insurance agent will want to see proof that your security system is being monitored.
If you are going to remodel, consider how it will affect your insurance rates. A home addition will increase your insurance costs, but how much the increase is will be determined by the type of building materials. It costs more to insure a wood structure than one made of metal or cement because wood is more easily destroyed or damaged by bad weather, fire and the passage of time.
If you live in a flood-prone area, never assume that you can rely solely on federal disaster assistance rather than purchasing flood insurance coverage. In the first place, a large percentage of all flooding incidents never qualify for federal disaster relief. Secondly, you may pay more in interest for a federal disaster loan than you would pay for flood insurance.
Adding motion sensitive lighting to your property will get you a nice discount on your home insurance rates. You will be reducing the home’s risk of burglary and it will in turn reduce the amount of money that you have to pay for your home insurance premiums each year as well as increase the security of your home.
If you want to reduce your homeowner’s insurance cost, consider switching to a higher deductible. You should do some research on this because small damages like leaky pipes or broken windows will be paid entirely by you.
Finding money-saving tips is great if you want to save big on quality insurance. Tips like you’ve just read in the article above about how to still get quality insurance while saving money are invaluable to you as a homeowner. Always make sure your house is protected and be sure to get the best insurance you can.