Cheap Homeowner's Insurance Lives!

Cheap Homeowner's Insurance Lives!!

Three Easy Steps to Lower Your Insurance Premiums for Maximum Coverage with Minimum Expense

Is cheap homeowner's insurance dead and gone? If you've ever spent hours on the telephone with insurance

These three easy steps put hundreds of dollars a year back in your pocket.

agencies looking for a quote that wouldn't break your budget it probably feels like it. The good news is, there are still plenty of companies out there offering homeowners the most bang for their buck when it comes to their insurance coverage. The bad news is that they're not just handing out cheap homeowner's insurance on the street corner.

You can't really blame them-after all, bird's gotta eat, fish gotta swim, insurance carrier's gotta turn a profit. The responsibility for minimizing your annual premium starts and stops with you. If you know these three simple tricks to lower your insurance premiums you'll be able to enjoy cheap homeowner's insurance without sacrificing your coverage at the altar of the almighty dollar.

Step #1: Loss Mitigation

Have you ever stopped to think about why, exactly, homeowner's insurance premiums are so high? The answer is simple-repair bills aren't cheap, and companies that sold all of their customers cheap homeowner's insurance wouldn't be able to afford to pay their claims (making the premiums you pay each month completely worthless). If you can minimize the chances that you'll need to file a claim in the near future you'll be able to lower your premiums while at the same time protecting one of the largest investments you'll ever make.

There are three easy steps to loss mitigation:

a) Protect your home from damage by earthquakes, floods, windstorms, fire and other disasters. Anchoring your foundation, installing a backflow valve in your sewer system and landscaping to minimize fire damage will all lower your insurance premiums by decreasing the chances that you'll have to file a claim after a natural disaster.

b) Maintain your home. Houses that are crumbling down are going to need to be repaired the first time the wind blows the wrong way. Maintaining the integrity of your property, and ensuring that your pipes and electrical systems are up to code, will all boost your insurability, making it possible for you to buy cheap homeowner's insurance while your neighbors are still paying ridiculous rates. (Should you tell them your little secret? That's entirely up to you…)

c) Welcome to Fort Knox! Protecting your home from intruders using alarm systems, deadbolts and other security measures will decrease the chances that you will be victimized by a thief with an eye on your 72" flat screen and, by default, the chances that you'll have to file a homeowner's insurance claim to replace it.

Step #2: Discounts

As mentioned previously, most insurers will offer discounts for homes that are protected against natural disasters.

Discounted homeowner's insurance=Cheap homeowners insurance

Since discounts lower your premiums, it stands to reason that you want to be able to take advantage of as many discounts as possible. Common (and uncommon) discounts for homeowners include discounts for:

· Purchasing home, auto and other types of insurance coverage from the same provider.

· Installing smoke detectors, burglar alarms, dead bolt locks and sprinklers.

· Belonging to certain professional, alumni and business groups.

Most insurance providers offer you a choice between a set deductible and a percentage deductible. If you're on a fixed budget a set deductible is your best bet (you can tuck the amount away into a savings account in case of emergency); however, if you can afford it a percentage deductible (where you pay a percentage of the cost of repairs rather than a single set payment) may offer the lower premium.

· Homeowners over the age of 55.

· Being a long term policy holder.

· Protecting your property from the elements.

· Being a non-smoker (thereby decreasing the chances of a hot ash setting your leather couch on fire)

· Good credit.

Step #3: Raise Your Deductible

It doesn't matter how good your insurance provider is, they're still an insurance carriers. They don't want to have to pay out any more than they have to. If you're willing to pay a little bit out of pocket when you file a claim (your deductible) you can exponentially lower your insurance premiums. Just be sure you'll be able to afford your deductible if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of a Griswald family Christmas.

Cheap homeowner's insurance might be difficult to find, but it's certainly not impossible. If you take these three simple steps to lower your premiums you'll be enjoying cheaper homeowner's insurance and the benefits of being able to tuck away a little more each month into your vacation account before you know it.

 

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