Need To Reduce Your Home Insurance Premiums? Consider These 3 Tips

If you are just becoming a homeowner for the first time, you most likely learned about how much home insurance can actually cost. If the price was a bit of a shock, you should know that there are several ways that you can lower your yearly premium to put some cash back in your pocket. Consider these 3 tips for reducing your premium.

Bundle Multiple Insurance Policies

Unless you live in a major city with great public transportation, chances are that you have a car that you also need to have insured. If so, consider switching your car insurance provider so that all your policies are with the same company.

It is quite common to receive a discount by doing so, often referred to as a multi-line discount. The discount is typically a fixed percentage off your premium costs, around 5%-15%, so it is definitely worth looking into. Even if your car insurance will be slightly more expensive, the multi-line discount could make it a better deal.

Other insurance policies, like life insurance, can also be bundled for additional savings.

Increase The Deductible

One of the biggest factors that determines your home insurance premium is your deductible. It's the amount that you'll need to pay before your insurance company will pay for damages when making a claim. Deductibles can be based on a percentage of the cost of your property, or a fixed dollar amount.

The higher your deductible, the less you'll pay. For example, on a $200,000 property, increasing your deductible from .5% to 3% could save as much as 23% on the premium cost. Just make sure you will have enough cash on hand to pay for the higher deductible in the unfortunate event that you need to use your homeowners insurance.

Install A Home Security System

Your home insurance provider considers many factors when they calculate your premium, including how secure your home is. Even things as small as having deadbolts on your exterior doors can bring down your premium cost. One way to save as much as 20% on your home premium is to install a home security system. If you were looking into a home security system anyway, remember to update your insurance company when it is installed so that they can adjust your policy appropriately.

Keep in mind that you do not need to wait until your policy renews to make these changes. Your insurance company will prorate the remainder of your policy and send you a check for the difference in price. Contact a company like Northeast Underwriters for more information.