People opt for various insurance policies to safeguard their health, property and life. A homeowner’s insurance is coverage for your abode from several natural disasters and accidents. If the buyer fails to provide evidence of property coverage most mortgage entities will not clear a loan or residential real estate deals cannot be made. You need to know the methods to extract the most out of your homeowner’s insurance policy.
Security System at Home
A security and surveillance setup installed at your home can help lower your policy premiums by as much as 5 percent. To avail this discount, the homeowner is required to provide the insurance company evidence of centralized monitoring and surveillance setup at home.
Extra Smoke Detection systems
Another smart way to lower your homeowner’s insurance premium is installing additional smoke alarm systems. While new homes have such setups installed by default, owners of older homes can install more than one smoke alarm systems. These can save you nearly 10 percent of yearly policy premium.
Hike the Deductible
Similar in tune to your vehicle or health insurance, your annual premium will go down if you opt for higher deductibles.
Avail Multiple Policy Discounts
A lot of insurance entities offer 10 percent or more discount to their customers if they buy other policies from the same company. This can be automobile or health insurance. If you want to buy a homeowners insurance policy from a company ask for quotes for other types of insurance from the same entity. It may so happen you will get discounts on both the policies.
Plan for Construction Carefully
At times, you may need to extend the house or setup a new floor above. When such construction work needs to be done, you need to be careful about choosing the material. If lots of wooden materials are used the coverage cost will go up. On the contrary, cement and metal based structures will be lighter on your wallet. They also get damaged less by mishaps and weather ravages as it is.
Refrain from Recreation Options
Installing swimming pools and similar recreation options at home can hike your insurance policy premium by a large margin. If you can afford that, go ahead with construction but refrain from installing such amenities otherwise.
Clear your Mortgage properly
It may not be possible with all but homeowners who clear their mortgage debts can get discounts on premiums. It is quite simple as an insurance company feels when you own the home, you will ensure it is taken care of better.
Make Policy Reviews sometimes
While you may be happy with the coverage given by your existing policy, a review and comparison can be necessary sometimes. From time to time, compare the cost and coverage of your policy with those given by other contenders to get facts clearer. You also need to be mindful about any change made to the house that can reduce premiums.
Opt for Guaranteed Replacement Value policy
Not all homeowner’s insurance are the same. In any case, you should opt for a policy that offers guaranteed replacement value. It basically means the insurance company will pay the money to build home if it is totally ravaged by disasters like fire or quakes. Since the cost of a home is likely to hike with time, a guaranteed replacement value policy will ensure the added costs are absorbed in the event of a calamity.
Ensure you know the Extent of Coverage
A homeowner’s insurance policy may not cover your home and property from every natural disaster. This will also depend on factors like regional laws and location of your home etc.
Evans is a passionate blogger and he currently writes on different finance related topics. He is currently associated with Pittsburgh Independent Insurance Agency.