1. Talk with an Independent Agency
Variety and Choice: When you decide to buy a home, you would not purchase the first one you see. What if one day the housing industry decided to build only one type of house. You wouldn't have a choice!
The same holds true for insurance. You need insurance to purchase a house, to protect your family's financial future and to run a business. But if there was only one insurance company that offered only one type of insurance, you wouldn't have a choice.
With an independent insurance agent, you have choices. Independent Agents have several companies that they can approach to get you the best coverage at the best price.
2. Raise your Deductible
Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim, according to the terms of your policy. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiums.
3. Buy your home and auto policies from the same carrier
Some companies that sell homeowners, auto and liability coverage will take up to 25% off your premium if you buy two or more policies from them.
4. Maintain a good credit record
Establishing a good credit history can cut your insurance cost.
5. Make sure you are getting all the discounts that apply to you.
Companies offer several types of discounts. Renovation discount, if you have updated your electrical system, roof, plumbing or hvac systems. Retired discount, if you are at least 55 years old and retired, you may qualify for this discount. Security System, if you have installed a burglary system be sure to ask about this discount.
6. Dont include land when insuring your home
The land under your house isn't at risk from theft, windstorm, fire and other perils covered in your homeowners policy. So don't include its value in deciding how much homeowners insurance to buy. Consult an agent to determine the cost to rebuild your home.
7. Stay with the same company
If you have kept your coverage with the same company for several year, you may receive a special discount for being a long-term policyholder. But make sure to periodically compare this price with that of other policies.
8. Verify Claim activity
Check with the agent to see if any claims have been reported for the home you are thinking of buying. Agent reports will contain the insurance claim history of the property, this will identify if the house has had problems in the past.