Where To Find Cheap Homeowners Insurance

Feeling lost when your homeowners insurance renewal arrives in the mail? Bargain hunting while pinpointing policy limits and choosing coverage proves challenging.

Staggering rate increases make getting cheap coverage seem nearly impossible. These days, cheap homeowners insurance is not a luxury, rather a necessity.

Use the FREE comparison tool above to start your search for home insurance today!

Fashion Savings

Probing for cheap rates is the second step in building a low-cost homeowners insurance policy. Landing savings comes first.

Insurers look at your whole picture when making up a policy quote. Insurers reward homeowners who demonstrate risk prevention, which translates to savings.

Insurers evaluate where you live, how dangerous of a neighborhood, recent relevant crime statistics, your personal claims history, credit score, the cost to rebuild your home, local fire department response time, degree of mother nature’s wrath in your region, and other significant factors.

Age of home and type of construction contribute to the costs of insurance.

Pay your bills on time and do not let any accounts stay in collections. It contributes to a lowered credit score and correlates with higher insurance rates. Personal financial mishaps are not entirely avoidable.

Yet, burying your head in the sand and just taking the financial spanking are the worst ways to deal with financial downfalls. Be proactive in restoring credit if you have faced foreclosure, loan defaults, late credit card payments, and high levels of debt.

An aerated concrete or steel structure are nearly impenetrable by fire compared to the tinder boxes in which most people reside. Early 20th-Century structures are more prone to electrical issues where original wiring is in place and upgrades were inconsistent, or not up to code. Construct a picture of what works in your favor.

Balance costs of safety upgrades to achieve insurance savings with out-of-pocket outlay. If you are eyeing your dream home, a 1920’s bungalow, then hire a qualified and licensed electrician and general contractor to explore for any issues before you buy.

Same for plumbing, mold, and water damage. Ideally, you want to minimize risk of fire, water damage, mold, and safety issues.

In short, if your house is more likely to be totally destroyed, then you will pay higher insurance rates.

Invest in building materials that can resist destruction if you have the luxury of remodeling.

Gather lowest-hanging fruit for juicy savings first.

1. Achieve multi-line discounts by buying your homeowners policy from the same company you purchase vehicle or other insurance products.
2. Install an alarm, or better yet, security and fire monitoring systems for early intrusion and fire detection.
3. Have the latest and best hurricane shutters if you live in the path of such high-wind storms.
4. Maintain your house. Annually, inspect roofing, siding, and window for signs of failure. Roof and siding barricade outside elements and protect your home from insidious water leaks that breed mold and expensive damages.
5. Hire an arborist to inspect and trim back or cut down dead trees. Water-logged or ice-covered dead limbs are like a time bomb that eventually tear through your house, putting family members’ lives at risk.

Every state has a department of insurance or revenue that gives great tips on buying insurance for the specific threats in your area.

For instance, many people do not realize that the natural disasters they may face are not covered under homeowners policies. Or, you may need to specify that you want coverage via a rider or addendum.

Insurance Coverage Caveats

Do you need separate policies or are you covered?

1. Buy earthquake policies separately. Homeowners policies cover damages from fire occurring from an earthquake, however.
2. Flood insurance is sold through the US Government and only available if you live in a flood zone.
3. Hail damage is covered under homeowners insurance, but only if it is listed as a named peril on your policy. Read the proposed policy before signing to ensure coverage against hail.
4. Hurricanes are normally covered under insurance policies, though limits may not be high enough for areas with serious hurricane action, such as Miami. Review your state’s guidance to learn about your insurance options.
5. Tornadoes are covered under windstorm on your homeowners policy. Associated flooding is only covered if you qualify for and buy separate flood insurance.

Planning Policies in Four Parts

1. Dwelling
2. Other Property Structures, such as sheds
3. Personal Property covers all of your belongings that reside in your home.
4. Loss of Use pays for you and your family to live elsewhere, while your home is fixed or rebuilt. Terms of the policy dictate how much you will receive and for how long.

An important rule of thumb is to buy coverage that automatically keeps pace with inflation. What may happen if there is a huge hurricane and everyone in your region needs a new house is a run-up in building materials and labor. It is considered supply and demand and the insurance carrier will paid out to you as agreed in your policy.

Generally, hiring a contractor and an appraiser to establish a replacement cost for building your home is good practice. Keep several copies of such reports and paperwork in separate locations in case you need them. Buy inflation guard so the carriers will pay out whatever it costs to replace your home.

In addition, buy coverage limits according to the estimates you receive from the appraiser and contractor.

If you buy too little insurance, you will be responsible for covering the out-of-pocket costs.

Insurance companies penalize homeowners who buy less than 80 percent coverage compared to the cost of rebuilding their home.

Coverage for your personal belongings maxes out at 50 percent of your dwelling coverage. If you have fine jewelry or antiques and other high-ticket items in your home, consider buying additional insurance.

If you have actual value replacement on your belongings, then the depreciated value of your used belongings is what the insurer pays you. Replacement value considers the cost of replacing your possession today.

Compare Policies and Save

Now you are ready to shop for insurance. Many people believe they get the best deal from their long-time insurance company.

Sometimes insurers give better discounts to new customers and let their old time customers pay higher rates. That’s why the first rule to cheap insurance is shopping around every time your policy comes up for renewal.

1. make sure you input accurate information into your quotes.
2. Double check all of your information to account for any changes to your home that may influence your insurance.
3. Double check the coverage limits for accuracy.
4. Make sure the resulting estimates take into account the coverage maximums you want.
5. Check credit of the carriers to ensure they can pay out on any claims. Look at Weiss Ratings or Moody’s for more information.
6. Finally, compare prices for the same policy across carriers. Now you can choose the least expensive and know you are covered.

Shopping for homeowners insurance is a big responsibility. It might be your most valuable tangible asset and invokes the imagination to think of the worst case scenario.

Instead of fearing the process, embrace it to make sure you and your loved ones are protected in case of whatever life throws your way.

Use the FREE search tool below to start comparing rates!