You can save money on homeowners insurance if you know how. Discounts from your insurance company are available for a variety of reasons, ranging from the type of building material used to build your home to how close you live to a fire station. Here are some ways you can save money on your homeowners policy:
Shop around. Look for a broker that represents many different companies and is not tied to one individual company . Cornerstone partners with a wide variety of companies to offer you choice, value, and selection.
Raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance kicks in. Typically, deductibles start at $250.
Buy your home and auto policies from the same company. Cornerstone offers a variety of multi-line discounts.
Consider insurance consequences when buying a home. If you’re looking at buying a home, think about the cost of insuring the home. A newer home’s electrical, heating and plumbing systems, and overall structure are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home. This can lead to a discount on your premiums.
Insure your home, not the land. Although your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils, the land your house sits on is not. Don’t include the value of the land in deciding how much homeowners insurance you need to buy.
Check your policy annually. You want your policy to reflect the value of your home and belongings. If you review your policy every year, you will be able to make the necessary adjustments. If, for example, you just sold a valuable painting, you won’t need the same amount of coverage. But if you added a garage, you’ll need to increase your coverage.
Get replacement-cost coverage. Actual-cash-value coverage reimburses you for the cost of your property at the time of the claim, minus the deductible. This can result in a lower claim payout than you expect. If your TV is worth $50, for example, that’s all you’d get to buy a new one. Replacement-cost coverage will reimburse the full value of an item based on the cost of purchasing a new one. The upfront cost is greater, but you are more likely to receive accurate compensation for your possessions.
