Save Money on Home Insurance | Penny Pinching Hints

Shop for the best-priced policies.

Begin by looking in different locations for policy prices and for reliable service: online, in the yellow pages, by word-of-mouth—check out large and small private companies—contact your state’s insurance department. Check with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and study on their site the number and types of complaints a company has received in servicing claims. You can only make a good penny-pinching choice when you have good information so you can compare. An easy way to get a quick and reliable quote is to use the quote box of InsureMe below; just simply choose the type of insurance you are looking for and type in your zip code and then compare the policies and choose the one that best fits your needs.

As important as cost on the other hand is the adequacy of coverage you have in case of a loss; you do not want to lose money because your coverage is insufficient. Make sure you have replacement cost in your policy and not cash value. Things depreciate and only a replacement cost policy allows you to buy what you lost at today’s prices. Cash value will only put present value in your pocket. Your dishwasher would be a lot pricier today than it was yesterday; when you add the depreciation of that dishwasher, you are going to be set back hundreds of dollars if you’ve had a fire and the insurance doesn’t cover you fully.

The cost of your policy is reflected in the value of your home and its contents. Don’t over insure. For example, you will usually be left with your land, no matter what happens to your house, so why pay to insure the value of your land? Each year things you have insured depreciate, so why continue to insure them at their original value, especially things you might never replace, like that nautilus machine you never use.

Weigh the difference in group plans and private plans. Professional and other group plans usually offer better prices, but private insurers often are better when specific circumstances force up group prices, like flooding and other catastrophes.

Policies with higher deductibles have lower costs.
- Save up to 12% if your have a deductible of $500.
- Save up to 24% with deductibles of $1,000.
- Save up to 30% with a $2,500 deductible.
- Save up to 37% with a deductible of $5,000.

Get every discount you can.

If you have two or more policies (auto, homeowners, life, etc.) with the same company, many companies will give you a 5% to 15 % discount.

Seniors (people over 55) are good bets to insurers. They are more often home, more watchful, and more apt to do regular maintenance. Seniors can get up to 10% in discounts.

Make your house more secure. Add burglar alarms and dead bolts, and receive up to 5% in discounts.

Make you house secure with fire alarms, better building materials, and new electrical and heating for discounts.

If you have been with a company for 3 to 5 years, you can receive up to 5% in discounts. If you are with a company more than 6 years, you can get discounts up to 10%.

Buy right, in order to shave home insurance costs.

Avoid flood and earthquake areas. Standard homeowners’ policies do not cover for homes in these areas, and you will need to purchase additional special coverage for more cost.

Homes near fire departments or fire hydrants, even water sources, are less costly to insure.

See the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) to review the types of problems and claims collected on for the home you are about to buy. If there have been problems, you will pay more for insurance.

Other ways to save:

Pay electronically. Today some companies will charge you extra if you mail in your payment. Electronic payments are immediate, and the company has no costs for chasing down late or bad remittances. Also pay your annual insurance cost in full to avoid monthly processing fees.

Make sure you have a good credit rating. More companies today price your policy based on your credit report. Be sure to pay your bills, and check your credit record regularly to make sure there are no mistakes or irregularities. You can even be penalized if you have more credit than you need, like credit cards you haven’t used. You can check your free credit score at myfico.com and at ConsumerInfo.com.

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