How to Save Money on Your Home Insurance

Thanks to the world of low interest rates, crazy storms and a myriad of other factors, it seems like home insurance rates have gone through the roof over the last few years. What was normally a very manageable expense has gotten a little silly, at least in this writer’s opinion.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much a person can do, aside from loading up on shares of your local home insurance provider. Hey, if they’re really ripping you off then it’s probably a good investment opportunity, right?

There are a few other ways you can save money on your home insurance. Here are four easy tips that will likely save you a few bucks each month.

Increase your deductible

This first tip is an easy one. According to Consumer Reports, you should just raise your deductible.

Most home insurance policies come with a $500 deductible. That means if you ever make a claim, the first $500 comes out of your pocket. Essentially, it’s there to encourage folks to not make claims for things not worth much money.

If the neighbor kids put a baseball through your window and the total bill comes to $300, the insurance provider doesn’t want to deal with it. The deductible ensures they don’t have to.

By increasing your deductible to $1,000, you’ll very easily save a few bucks per month. Yes, you’re taking a slightly higher risk, but not much.

Get an alarm system

Folks who have an alarm system can qualify for discounts of up to 20% on their home insurance policies.

Alarm systems don’t just protect your home from the bad guys either. They can alert the fire department if there’s a fire, or offer alerts straight to your Smartphone if there’s a flood or if someone has entered your place. You can even hook up your thermostat to the advanced systems they have these days.

Strategic upgrades

A few years ago, I was talking to a friend about his home insurance, and I found out it doubled over the course of a year. Obviously, he was pretty upset.

The whole story was quite interesting. It turns out my friend had old wiring and a small panel box in his house. His insurer took a look at his policy and singled out any out houses with outdated electrical as a much higher risk, and updating their pricing model accordingly.

Fortunately for him, the solution was relatively simple. He wanted to upgrade the panel box anyway, so he’d have the electrical capacity to install a dishwasher. Getting the unexpected huge home insurance bill was enough to give him the motivation to finally get the project going. His insurance went almost back down to normal the next year.

Adjust your rebuilding costs

Your insurer is automatically going to set your rebuilding costs at what an equivalent dwelling is worth. But I’m not sure if that’s an entirely accurate picture.

Firstly, when you rebuild you don’t have to worry about purchasing the land again. So instead of insuring the price of the house and the land, just worry about rebuilding the house. And secondly, consider the size of home you would rebuild. If you’re an empty nester, you’d probably just take the payout and run. Consider things like this when setting your policy and you’ll save a few bucks.

Bonus: Shop around

Finally, there’s a really easy way to save money on your home insurance. If you compare quotes from several home insurers at once, you’re bound to save money.

There are a couple ways to do that. You can either visit your local insurance broker, or head on over to the Lowest Rates home insurance page. There you can get a quote from up to ten different providers, one of which is bound to be lower than what you’re paying now.