Increase Your Deductible Just like auto insurance, policies have deductibles, and the same rule of thumb applies--carry the highest deductible you can afford. The higher your deductible, the more premium credit you can expect to receive from your insurance company. Your savings could reach 25% by increasing the deductible from $100 to $1000. Improve Your Home Security Most insurance companies offer discounts for smoke detectors, burglar alarms, dead bolts, fire extinguishers, and Neighborhood Watch Areas. Homes with a fire and burglar alarm system hooked up to a third-party monitoring company receive higher discounts than homes with local bell alarms. Consolidate Policies Insuring two or more vehicles with the same insurance company can save you 10 - 15% on your premiums. If you cover your homeowners insurance and auto insurance together, you can reduce your premiums by another 10 - 15%. Construction Type Before buying a home, consider its construction type, such as frame or concrete block and steel (CBS). A wood frame house typically costs more to insure than one built mostly of concrete. Verify Distance To Fire Stations And Windstorm Areas If you live in the country, you'll probably pay higher rates for your insurance than if you lived in town. Why? Its because of the longer distance to your local fire station. If you live more than 5 miles from the nearest fire station, and more than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant, you will most likely pay a higher premium. Before purchasing your home, you may want to get a quote for both and flood insurance. Insurance companies may not offer you windstorm or flood coverage, depending upon the area in which you live. If your home is in a hurricane prone area and your insurance company offers windstorm coverage, then installing approved hurricane shutters should result in a premium discount. Claims Free Record And Renewal Discounts If you have not had a claim under your policy during the past 3 - 5 consecutive years, you could receive up to a 15% discount, depending on the insurance company. Plus, most companies will discount your premium if your policy has been in force for 3 straight years. Mortgage Free Discounts Some insurance companies target who have paid off their mortgage and offer them premium discounts of up to 5%. New And Renovated Home Discounts A majority of insurance companies offer a discount for new homes, and you may qualify if your home was built in the last 10 - 15 years. Also, a recently renovated home costs less to insure, so find out when the last major electrical, heating and plumbing update was completed on the home. Non-Smokers And Early Retiree Discounts Some companies offer a non-smokers discount of up to 15% to qualified . To qualify, you must be a non-smoker and you cannot permit smoking in your home by anyone. Retirees or senior citizens are usually offered discounts because insurance companies believe they are home more often and are therefore better able to protect their home against fire and burglary. Live-In House Keeper Some insurers offer up to a 2% premium credit if you have a live-in employee as they feel it could reduce the likelihood of burglary. Conclusion After reviewing the foregoing savings tips, you may think that if you added up all your credits you could receive a 70 90% reduction in your premiums. Unfortunately, it doesnt work that way. Certain safety or other measures you take may qualify you for being placed with the "preferred" company of a particular insurance group. This "preferred" company will be able to give you more premium credits than a standard company is able to. |
