Before speaking to an insurance agent, you should know the contents in your home and their value. Make a thorough list of items that would need replacement in the event of disaster and store it away for safe keeping.
Pay your mortgage down as much as you can to reduce the cost of your policy. There is a good chance that the insurance provider will assume a greater level of responsibility and care for the home if you own it. By paying your home off, you can lower your premium.
You can lower your premiums through two ways. The first step is to put in burglar alarms. You’ll see that this can actually lower the cost of your insurance by up to 5%! However, remember to contact your agency and provide proof of the new installation before expecting to see a change. Also, put in smoke alarms. This may save up to 10% annually.
Your jewelry, electronics, and other valuable items will be very difficult to replace in a homeowner’s insurance claim if you don’t make the effort to document each of them with photographs. This can take lots of work, but if your belongings been damaged, destroyed, stolen, or lost, this can demonstrate the fair value of those items.
As your family changes in size and the number of material possessions alters, make sure you re-evaluate your homeowner’s insurance needs as well. Check your policy yearly to see if all of your high-end valuables are covered. If you have specific items you want covered, request that these are individually taken care of.
Some home features impact the costs of your policy, despite how great a house you maintain. For instance, if you own a swimming pool, your insurance cost will automatically be higher because of the increased liability. Even the home’s proximity to emergency services, such as fire stations and hydrants can affect your coverage costs. This does not mean that you should only live where the cost of insurance is low, but you should keep in mind that these types of factors affect your insurance cost.
As you can see with these tips, there are many things you can do and many ways to go about saving money on a quality insurance package for your home. You don’t want a lapse in your insurance. You should be covered at all times. And it all starts here, with the tips you’ve now learned.
