Monday, August 10, 2009

Homeowner's Insurance -- Suggestions To Help You Attract Discounts


Would you like to reduce your homeowner’s insurance rate? If so, look no further as this article will explain steps to take and lead you to all the resources you need to get the cheapest rates. I'll share sure-fire ways for anyone to get the cheapest rate for their profile or coverage needs. Furthermore, the tips I'll give to you will NOT compel you to downgrade your coverage all because of making savings. Here are the tips...

1. You will save if you buy all your policies from the same insurance company. Insurers give discounts (multi-policy discounts) for insureds who buy more one policy from them. However, you might save more by obtaining your policies from different insurance companies.

2. The more you strengthen your home to be less susceptible to perils the lower your rates will be. The following are also needful after taking precautions against fire and burglary depending on your locality...

a. Storm shutters will give your home better protection from wind damage.

b. People who live in locations that experience high winds will make their home more secured if they use heavy roofing material. This in turn helps lower their rates.

c. Retrofitting your home for earthquake protection.

d. For folks who have trees on their compounds, you'll save yourself in your homeowner’s insurance premium if you make sure you cut off every dead or dry branch because these can easily lead to liability claims.

e. You will also do well if you keep your trees at a safe distance from your building for many reasons. You will run a higher risk of a branch falling off and damaging your roof. Depending on the type of roofing material you use, this could as well lower its durability.

If you're interested in more ways to make your home more disaster-proof, discuss with your agent.

Compare what applying each would cost and by what factor it will reduce your rate. You will spend far less on your homeowner’s insurance if you implement these.

3. Do not insure your house along with the land it is built on as this will cost you more but needless. People who ignorantly do this are paying a lot more than would be of any benefit. You have made same mistake if you insured your home for the cost you bought it without checking the cost of the land it's standing on and subtracting it.

If you did this quickly call your agent and check through your coverage. Deduct the value of your land and use only the cost of your home and its contents.

This implies that you'll pay a lot less on home insurance. Bearing in mind that insurance is for valuables that can't afford to lose, insuring the land which can neither be lost or damaged isn't a smart move.

4. If you reinforce your roof you'll get lower homeowner’s insurance premiums. Take serious note of this if you live in the East where high winds are more prevalent. If you want to know how to strengthen your roof and get discounts for doing so, ask your agent. One easy way is to add heavier shingles.

5. Keeping a government homeowner's insurance policy could be making you pay a lot more on home insurance than you would private companies. Natural disasters in some places made it very difficult for people there to get home insurance coverage. Most folks in those regions had just an option: Government homeowner's insurance sold by a government agency. The story is really different now as private insurers have started to cater for such places.

Depending on where you live, though, you might still have no better option but to use government homeowner's insurance. But for those whose areas are presently serviced by private insurers, you can expect to pay cheaper premiums than you would with government agencies.

6. The most important step to reasonable savings in home insurance is comparison shopping -- That's if you do it well. You can get quotes that will have a difference that exceeds $1,000. You could conveniently save so much by simply choosing the lowest quote. This should be the case if you're just after the lowest price. Nevertheless, if you want the best value to price ratio then you would have to look at the details of the cheapest quotes. Different insurance companies may have different exclusions for similar policies. It's important that you ask the agent what's included and what's excluded.

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