Low Cost Home Insurance

Shopping for homeowners insurance is not necessarily fun. Unless you can make a game out of it to see how much money you can save.

Truth is, the insurance carriers have become increasingly less fun for homeowners in recent years. The main reason is that insurers are charging more for everything.

The insurance policy premiums rise if your neighbors make claims. If the home you just bought had a prior owner who made a claim for everything from a leaky faucet to a flat tire, you pay higher rates of insurance.

It is true. If you live in a state where everyone thinks they are being good citizens by calling up insurers to talk about potentially filing a claim, then rates climb even higher. Why do you think honest, integrity-filled Minnesotans are paying some of the highest insurance rates in the nation?

The number one rule to finding low cost home insurance is to avoid making claims, unless the house is pretty much decimated.

Otherwise, the joy of saving is destroyed. Be sure to always compare rates by using a FREE quote tool, such as the one above!

Average Rates for Home Insurance

Rates climb somewhere between 10 and 20 percent for the following:

1. Calling to discuss potentially making a claim
2. Making a claim, even if it is denied
3. Filing a claim for more than 30,000 dollars in value
4. Filing any claim that gets paid.

Avoid making claims by doing the following:

1. Maintain your property by fixing leaking roofs, toilets, broken siding, and in general immediately tending to flooding or water entering the home.
2. Train your dog. If your dog likes to nip or does not obey you or is rough, keep him or her away from strangers, visitors, and especially children.
3. Secure your property
4. Invest in an alarm system
5. Replace batteries on smoke detectors regularly
6. Test smoke detectors regularly
7. Keep fire extinguishers replenished
8. Dry out any water damage and make sure the source of water is dried up fast
9. Put lights on timers
10. Replace hot water heaters before they rust out and burst
11. Get heating and cooling duct work cleaned out annually to prevent fire hazard
12. Have chimneys cleaned annually to prevent fire risk
13. Remove big shrubs and other hiding places close to your house
14. If you have a pool, ensure the fencing around it is secure to prevent kids from entering unsupervised and drowning
15. If you will leave your home unoccupied for a long spell, hire a house sitter to ensure your place does not pose risk or encourage vandals from doing damage
16. Lock doors and windows that are particularly easily accessible to burglars

Many Ways to Deter Thieves

In addition to securing burglars from entering your house, there are ways to keep them out of your valuables if they do get indoors. For one, the fireproof and waterproof safes that bolt to a cement or unmovable flooring are phenomenally strong and near impossible to crack.

They are therefore a deterrent to thieves, because they would have to work too long and hard to steal anything out of them.

Thieves go for lower hanging fruit. The reasoning is that they work quickly and take whatever is easy to yank out from under a mattress, or behind a book, for instance. When hiding cash, think of using safes.

Or, get something like hollowed out books, which a burglar would be unlikely to touch when robbing your home.

Windows is a common way for teams of burglars to enter or exit your home. Make it a habit of locking windows when you are away from the house, those rooms, or not trying to take in a breeze.

Many families choose to use simple and less expensive options for knowing when people are coming and going from their homes.

Such systems emit a chime when doors or windows are opened or closed. Any type of sound that alerts you that there’s someone at the door or window deters burglars. They go for the easiest house to steal from on the block.

The one with high shrubs, no lights, and no alarms, or chimes is their first pick.

Upper Floors and Window Access

You might be surprised, but even if you live in the upper floors of a four-rise house or apartment building, you may be at risk for burglars.

They carry ladders and are tempted by the ability to seamlessly enter and exit the home. They may cut a hole in the glass, or just pop open an unlocked window.

Hardware locks, like a door chain, are actually available for windows as well. Some families do opt for bars, as long as there is a way to allow fire department entry if there is a fire.

Doggy Love

Remember that dog that needs training? Actually, any dog is a burglary deterrent for homeowners.

So, on one hand, you may be penalized. On the other hand, the insurer will love your for making your house less appealing to thieves. Small breeds that bark will scare burglars as much as larger breeds.

If you are the victim of a break-in, here is what to expect. First off, be sure to read your policy details when making a claim, to help you understand the details of your insurance. In addition, hopefully you have a house inventory of all your possessions on hand to provide with your claim.

Beyond that make sure that you also purchased replacement value coverage, which pays the amount it costs to buy new items.

The mostly obsolete alternative to replacement coverage is called actual value. That accounts for wear and tear and depreciation, which means you are paid how much your used items are worth. That is not a good deal, because you will have to come up with a lot of money on your own.

Comparing Quotes to Secure Low Cost Coverage

In addition to locking windows and preventing damage that result in huge claims, shopping around for coverage creates the best opportunities to save money. First off, when you make a claim make sure you are only looking at replacing your belongings and any structures on your grounds.

You are not insuring the land, because it cannot be replaced. Also, you do not need to worry about the market value of your house. Your only focus is on insuring for the amount it costs to rebuild your house.

Always purchase what is known as inflation guard when you determine how much it costs to replace your house. That ensures that the building costs the insurance carrier will reimburse match inflation or the actual cost to replace your house. In addition, do find out from a contractor and appraiser how much your house does cost to build.

In addition, make sure you only purchase insurance from carriers who respect your time, money, and their obligation to pay out efficiently on legitimate claims. Do not be the policyholder who uses insurance to buy a new vacation, or who fibs and adds in items you never owned into a claim.

The insurance carriers will find out and they will prevent you from buying insurance in the future. They may flat out issue a non-renewal, or have you banned from buying insurance from any other reputable companies in the future.

Or, worse yet, you may find that the rates they offer are sky high and outside the affordable range. If you have a mortgage, then you are required to carry house insurance, and would be unable to meet this obligation.

Look for carriers who keep its customers relatively happy during the claims process. You will know just by searching online what carriers drag out claims processes, deny claims that they should pay, or are financially insolvent.

Look at sites such as A.M. Best or Moody’s to determine which ones are “credit worthy” carriers.

Only purchase your insurance from carriers who respect their obligation to you. In addition, work in more savings by snapping up discounts by buying multiple lines of coverage from the same carrier.

In addition, increase deductibles to a rate you can afford.

Realize you probably will only make less than one claim per decade, per the statistics insurers keep on homeowners.

If you make more than one claim per decade, you will pay more in rates. There are some situations you cannot help, no matter how proactive and prevention minded you are. It just is the way life works.

Also, note there are limits on the amount insurance will cover against cash lost in a break-in.

When you are buying insurance coverage for your house, you have a lot of different areas to consider. Two biggies are often overlooked. They are prevention and how to save money on coverage.

Evaluate your options and get the best coverage you can afford at the least expensive rate. That is the key to securing affordable insurance as a homeowner.

Be sure to use the FREE quote tool located below!