Home Insurance Rates by Zip Code

If you are wondering how insurance rates for homeowners varies by location, try looking up by zip code.

A novel way to use the free quotes available online is to test out how much it costs to have the same house in Albuquerque versus Seattle, for instance. It is a little bit of fun and kills curiosity too.

When the time comes to buy insurance, the same free quote generators are a huge help. You get the chance to choose different variations for quoting purposes.

For instance, if you have teenage drivers, then you might try comparing costs with teens on their own insurance versus being on the family’s insurance policy.

Use the FREE tool above to start comparing rates today!

While on the topic of shopping around for insurance, think of deductibles. Deductibles are one of the easiest ways to alter proposed policies to save money.

Basically, you would be deferring the payment to when you actually make a claim, rather than assuming potential financial liability on your premiums.

Assumptions:

1. Homeowners insurance exists to cover catastrophic destruction.
2. Typical homeowners file claims less than every 10 years, on average.
3. Disasters are increasing dollar amounts of claims, because of higher-ticket buildings, and greater population density in prone areas.
4. Six percent of homeowners make claims in any given year.

Choosing the Right Deductibles

A quick glance at the above assumptions, which are based upon the insurance industry statistics is helpful. For one, it indicates that gladly, you probably will never make an insurance claim. In addition, if you do make a claim, it is only a small chance that it will be for a catastrophic loss.

That means, you can easily increase your deductibles for rebuilding your house, or dwelling coverage, without paying out at any point. Deductibles are required of homeowners for property coverage, but not for liabilities. That is true for car insurance, incidentally, too.

Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires are among the steepest of all claims for insurers and homeowners. They are unpredictable and affect many homeowners at the same time.

For that reason, you will often find deductibles for these policies are a percentage of the benefits payout.

It may not sound fair. You have paid premiums without receiving anything in return for years. Now that your house has blown away, burned down, or is sitting in the ocean, you have to pony up more money. The way the insurers see it is that you have to come up with a portion of the money for the claim. That’s the way a deductible works.

In general, deductibles for high-cost losses carry a percentage because they are extremely expensive losses.

The other matter at hand is making sure you protect your house from less severe losses.

Preventing Less Severe Claims

It is not to say that you should never make a claim unless you suffer a huge loss. Though, it makes the most sense not to file claims unless you have to do so. The reason is it will increase insurance premiums tremendously.

You may not realize it, but insurance carriers do not want you to waste their time. Their time and efforts translate into money. You are not obligated, nor are you expected, to relay every event on your property to the insurance carrier.

Your responsibility instead lies in ensuring the safety of your house. Regular maintenance involves ensuring the stability, structure, safety, and security of your house from burglars, against accidents, and damage from lacking integrity of its structure.

It means inspecting your house annually for such breaches in the barrier, such as:

1. Broken siding
2. Failed window seals
3. Holes in roofing
4. Leaks in plumbing.

Perform Timely House Maintenance

Some of the biggest claims other than disasters are for mold remediation resulting from water damage.

Unmitigated water damage might result in a denial of your claim from the insurance carrier. It means, fix leaking pipes, faulty roofing, and windows before trouble sets into play.

Water is wily. It will seep into walls and flooring virtually unnoticed, until paint bubbles and peels. Then it may have already had the chance to cause mold issues that are very expensive to fix.

If insurance denies a mold claim, you will be responsible for making repairs that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Instead, be wise, and prevent such out-of-control expenses from happening in the first place.

A few thousand is still better than 30,000 dollars in out-of-pocket repairs. Do not let maintenance slide by you.

Saving More Money on Homeowners Insurance

Performing regular maintenance saves on homeowners insurance as well. Demonstrating that you are doing the work needed to prevent claims makes a difference.

In addition, the following will also translate to long-term savings on policy premiums:

1. Subscribing to a safety and fire monitoring service
2. Installing sprinklers inside buildings, such as a loft
3. Ensuring existing sprinkler systems work
4. Keeping fresh batteries in smoke detectors
5. Fire extinguishers in areas such as the kitchen
6. Fire ladders where it is a hike to get down the side of your house.

Making the Claims Process Easier

Be sure to ease the burden of making claims. For one, have an inventory of all of your possessions. Take pictures and videos that prove what you own. In addition, have receipts and serial numbers for items as well.

This makes the claims process far easier if you ever need to file a claim for all your worldly possessions you were keeping in your house.

Making an insurance claim is expensive. If you can prevent it, or defer payment by increasing deductibles, it will save you money on premiums.

Perform regular maintenance to keep your house in good order. In addition, this will also save you money on unnecessary repairs later.

It will likewise serve to prevent denied claims or unnecessary increases in your insurance rates. From there, make sure you make an inventory of your belongings.

Be sure to always compare rates using the FREE quote tool below.