Home Owners Insurance -- 7 Tested Tips

Contrary to what you might have thought, it's quite easy to get a cheaper rate. All you need to achieve this feat are little bits of information (Put into practice). Below is a list of things that will help you achieve this goal...

1. Ensure you do NOT fail to subtract the land's cost from the home's cost as you apply for a home insurance policy. People who ignorantly do this are paying a lot more than would do them any good. They just insure their home for its full value without removing the cost of the land.

For folks who've ignorantly done this, call your agent and check your home insurance coverage again. Subtract the land's cost and you'll find out that you will need far less coverage.

With such a review you will reduce your rates considerably and still have enough home insurance coverage. Since insurance is for things that you can't afford to lose, insuring the land which can neither be lost or damaged isn't a smart move.

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2. Your credit history has a huge impact on your rate. Folks who have excellent ratings pay far less than those who have poor ratings. A poor credit rating means that you have not been paying your bills in a timely fashion. An insurance company takes this to mean that you're not financially very responsible and will likely default in paying your premiums. If you're considered a potential defaulter, it makes you a bigger risk and draws more expensive premiums than otherwise.

So do your utmost to attend to all your bills in a timely manner. You'll get cheaper rates if you do.

3. You will get cheaper rates if you choose to pay your premiums annually and not every month. A strong reason for this is the cost an insurer incurs by posting you 12 payment notices instead of just one annually.

If you add to the fact that each check you give is considered a transaction by their bankers, you'll see that they still spend some more on transaction fees for each check you pay in. Twelve checks mean Twelve transactions and will attract 12 separate charges.. And, believe it or not, these additional overheads are ultimately built into your rates.

Therefore opt for yearly payments instead if you intend to save through this means. What you will save could be as much as 8.5% of your total monthly payments over the course of just one year.

4. A fire-safe home exterior will help lower your rates. You'll do well if you don't have anything that is inflammable around your home. Bushes near your house should be cut and maintained at not less than ten feet from your building. The likelihood of fire in a home is a very strong issue that influences your home insurance premium.

5. You'll pay less if you have motion-sensitive lighting for your home's exterior. Burglars will keep off from places where their activities will be easily observed. And motion-sensitive lighting does just that. Because thieves keep off from homes with such lighting, you lower your home's risk of burglary and, by extension, your rates.

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6. Dead-bolt locks on all your exterior doors will help you get a more affordable rate. It's more difficult for thieves to break into homes that have these locks. The more secured your home is against burglary, the less the risk involved in insuring it.

7. Fitting window locks on each of your windows will help lower your home's risk of burglary. You will save even much more if you go one step more to get burglary-proof bars fixed on all of them. If you're not one of those people who have a deep hatred for these kind of fittings, they'll help you get reasonable discounts. If you are not one of those folks who claim that having such amounts to being imprisoned in their own house, have them fitted if you intend to lower your home insurance rates considerably.