Homeowners Insurance - Cut Costs and Keep More Money For Yourself

For anyone who owns a home, homeowners insurance is a necessity. It doesn't make sense to have a six-figure investment that is not protected. You need to have the proper coverage but you do not need to pay too much for it. There are a number of things you can do to cut costs and get discounts so you can keep more of your money for yourself.

Look into any available discounts offered by your insurance company. Anything you can do to reduce the likelihood of filing a claim will probably allow you to get a discount. Discounts are commonly offered for things like:

Being a non-smoker -- a large percentage of house fires are caused by cigarettes. Therefore, non-smokers are less likely to have their homes damaged or destroyed by a house fire and this reduces the risk to the insurance company making you eligible for a discount.

Having a home security system -- statistics show that homes with an alarm system are less likely to be burglarized. Since your homeowners insurance company would have to pay for any damage to your house caused by a burglar breaking in or to replace stolen merchandise, the fact that a home security system reduces the likelihood of this happening also reduces the risk to your insurance company.

Bundling insurance coverage -- if you have your homeowners coverage and your auto insurance at the same company, many companies will give you a discount on both policies.

In addition to available discounts there are other strategies for lowering your costs. One way is to make sure that you're not over insuring your house. Figure out what it would cost to rebuild your home if it were completely destroyed and that figure is the amount of coverage you should have. This number is usually a lot less than the purchase price of your house because the purchase price also includes the land that your house sits on.

Another easy way to save some money is to raise your deductible in order to lower your monthly premium payments. If you ever need to file a claim on your homeowners policy you can be assured that your monthly premiums would go up. Because of this most people are hesitant to file a claim in the first place so it does not make sense to have a small deductible. If your house suffered some small amount of damage you would likely fix it yourself and not bother filing a claim. If you raise your deductible from $500 to $1500 you could save 25% or more on your monthly premiums.

The fastest and easiest way to save money on your homeowners insurance is to switch companies if you can find a better deal. Homeowners coverage is standardized and every company will cover the same potential perils. There are various riders and add-ons but basic coverage is the same from one company to another so if you could do some comparison shopping and find a company that offers a better deal you could save a significant amount of money very easily.