The list of expenses a homeowner must pay is quite long. While homeowner’s insurance is an expense you can’t necessarily eliminate, you can undoubtedly lower it with the following strategies:
Bundle Your Insurance Policies
Chances are, you have auto insurance to cover your car. By purchasing all of your coverage with the same company, you can often enjoy a multi-line discount.
Not only are the savings (which are sometimes 10 percent) nice when you bundle, but so is the convenience of only having to deal with one insurance company.
Raise Your Credit Score
Although you’re not taking out a loan or applying for a charge card here, your credit score matters when it comes to homeowner’s and other types of insurance. The higher your score, the less you’ll have to pay for your premium.
You can now get your free credit report once a year. Take advantage of this offer so you can see your score and strategize on how to improve it.
Increase Your Deductible
The insurance deductible is how much money you’ll have to pay out of pocket when making a claim. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium.
You can see significant savings here. To play it safe, however, keep that higher deductible amount stashed in savings account just in case you need it down the line.
Know Insurance Prices Before Purchasing Your Home
The last thing you want to have happen is to experience sticker shock when seeing how much your homeowner’s insurance costs. To prevent this, get a quote before buying your home.
You’d be surprised at how similar homes can have wildly different insurance costs, so don’t assume anything. Insurance is something you’ll need, so it’s best to factor its price in your home buying decision.
Only Insure the Home
Various things can damage a home, such as floods, fires, and more. The land, on the other hand, is less likely to suffer.
Keep this in mind and stick to insuring the home and not the land to score some extra savings.
Add Protective Features to Your Home
A generator, storm shutters, or a reinforced roof do have upfront costs, but they can save you in the long run in more ways than one.
First, they can protect against storms like hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes. Second, they can lower your premium by making your home safer.
Add an Alarm System
Protect your home and family by installing an alarm system in your home. It can give you some added peace of mind while also lowering your premium.
If you add features like water sensors to the system, you can save even more.
Don’t Smoke
Smoking can be harmful to your health and your home. Since smokers can accidentally cause fires, they can end up paying higher premiums.
Quit smoking, and you can enjoy lower homeowner’s insurance costs while possibly lowering your health insurance costs too.
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