Homeowner’s insurance. You know you need it, but you really don’t like paying an arm and a leg for it.

Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. But saving on home insurance isn’t time consuming or impossible. With a few simple tips, you can shrink your home insurance premium and keep your house adequately protected for years to come!

Saving Tip #1: Buy Car and Home Insurance from the Same Insurer

Buying both your car and home insurance from the same insurer will grant you a multiple policy discount, which can save you anywhere from five to 15 percent on your policy. Just make sure the combined price of home and auto insurance is lower than what you’d pay with a different company.

Saving Tip #2: Inquire about Discounts

On top of a multiple policy discount for auto and homeowner’s insurance, remember to ask your agent about discounts for:

• Home security devices
• Additional smoke detectors
• Home sprinkler systems
• Dead bolts on doors or windows
• Modernized home plumbing
• Being over 55 years of age and retired

These discounts can add up to some pretty hefty savings, so be sure to do your homework and ask about any and all discounts for which you think you may apply.

Saving Tip #3: Increase Your Deductible

Increasing your deductiblethe amount you pay out-of-pocket when filing a claimwill have a substantial impact on your premium. That’s because any money you pay toward a claim means less money for your insurer to pay out. Just make sure you choose a deductible you can afford if you have to file a claim!

Saving Tip #4: Review Your Policy Annually

While you’ll want to have protection on any new additions or purchases to your home, you don’t want to pay for coverage you don’t need. Reviewing your policy every year will help you to make sure you’re not paying for extra coverage. So if you sold Aunt Betty’s antique china in the last year, be sure to let your agent know so he or she can adjust your premium accordinglyand put money back in your pocket.

Additional Tip: “Home inventory” checklists are made available by many insurers and consumer groups. You can visit the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) online to print a copy and take an inventory of your belongings.

Saving Tip #5: Shop Around

While insurance companies are regulated by your state, most companies can offer similar policies for very different prices. Therefore, comparing multiple homeowner’s insurance quotes is by far the best way to find the most affordable home insurance. The advent of the Internet has made this task even easierallowing you to compare multiple quotes without flipping through the phone book in search of an insurer.

Start Saving Today!

Say goodbye to expensive homeowner’s insurance premiums and find the cheap home insurance you need to protect your treasured abode. Use these tips to enjoy savings success for years to come!

About InsureMe
Megan L. Mahan is a copywriter and insurance information expert with InsureMe in Englewood, Colorado. InsureMe links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, health, life, long-term care and home insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit InsureMe.com.

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As we’ve recently witnessed, natural disasters like hurricanes can strike at any time and decimate treasured home and possessions, leaving homeowners with nothing. But with a little planning and the proper homeowner’s insurance, you can protect yourself, your family and your property.

Disaster Planning

In times of disaster, safeguarding loved ones is top priority. That’s why it’s essential to prepare an escape plan ahead of time and make sure your family knows what to do in the event of an emergency. Emergency phone numbers should also be reviewed with family members and posted somewhere (perhaps on the refrigerator) for easy access.

When it comes to protecting your valuable and hard-to-replace items, you can also plan ahead and protect them. Items like birth certificates, insurance policies, home inventories and other valuables should be placed in a safe deposit box during high risk seasons. That way, if your home suffers significant damage, your valuable items are out of the house.

Prevent and Circumvent

While most natural disasters can’t be prevented, you can circumvent damages from disasters like wildfire, floods and mudslides by carrying out certain safety measures. Often times, damage can be minimized simply with smart landscaping.

If you live in a forested area, you can minimize your risk of wildfire damage by clearing all brush, shrubs, sticks and other debris from your property that could fuel a fire toward your home. “Fuelbreaks” like cement and gravel walk and driveways can also slow a fire’s pathway toward your home.

If you live in an area prone to floods or mudslides from heavy rains or hurricanes, you can plan certain diversions for water through landscaping; sump pumps can also drive water away from your home. Furthermore, planting extra grass can “anchor” the soil after a flood or fire, which helps prevent ground erosion around your house.

Finding the Right Insurance

Of course, insuring your home from these perils is also an essential part of safeguarding your property. If you already have home insurance, you should talk to your agent and go over what’s covered and what’s not covered under your policy. Many homeowners are surprised to learn that flood and earthquake damages are not covered under standard policies. And with the large scope of damages these natural disasters can cause, you’ll want to make sure you’re adequately protected.

So how can you get extra coverage?

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a federal program through which you can purchase flood insurance. Most private insurers also sell additional flood and earthquake coverage.

If there are certain valuables that aren’t covered under your standard policy, you can get coverage for those items by purchasing a rider. A rider is an extension to your home insurance policy which covers selected items.

When it comes to homeowner’s insurance, knowing what you need to protect your property is the best way to save moneyresulting in the cheap homeowner’s insurance you want and the insurance coverage you need.

Take Action against Disasters

We can’t control natural disasters, but we can plan, circumvent and insure against them. Develop a safety plan, prepare your home to withstand disasters and talk to your agent about finding the coverage you need. You’ll rest easier knowing you’re protected!

About InsureMe

Megan L. Mahan is a copywriter and insurance information expert with InsureMe in Englewood, Colorado. InsureMe links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, health, life, long-term care and home insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit InsureMe.com

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Most Homeowners insurance companies will simply send out a reminder for a renewal of your home insurance policy when the end of the year is up for your insurance coverage. Many will also automatically renew your policy unless you call and let them know that you want to change or cancel that policy. This makes it easy for many homeowners to simply begin sending in the next set of payments for another year without reviewing the policy to make sure it adequately reflects their needs for the year.

Whether you have upgraded or remodeled the home, added a deck onto the back, turned the home into a rental property or realized that you may have problems with flooding in your area, there are several reasons to review your home insurance policy every year to assess whether the coverage still meets your needs.

Even if you have just begun a new home insurance coverage policy, it is important to review the policy as soon as you receive it to make sure the policy has the correct coverage amounts and coverage needs you have asked for. Remember that this policy will be in place for an entire year and will most likely cost between $300-$2000 so be sure that you are getting what you want.

If you asked for personal liability of others in the amount of $100,000 and the policy only shows $50,000 don’t be afraid to call the insurance agent back to have this problem corrected. The problem can simply be solved by issuing a new policy or a policy change.

Once the year time period has expired on your current policy and you are getting ready to renew again, it is always a safe bet to call the insurance agent and ask if the replacement cost value has gone up on your home or on anything in your home.

Remember that the financial market continues to increase and with this rates of building and replacement tools will go up, so there is no shame in calling to ask if the figures on your policy need to be changed.

If you have done any renovation of the home in the last year, such as replacing countertops or flooring, or even adding on a deck, it is important to inform the insurance company of these changes. This protects you from being underinsured in case of damage or loss.

If you have acquired any major purchases of personal property, it is also important to contact the insurance company about changing the coverage amount on your interior belongings. This could include major electronics equipment like an LCD television, a personal computer or laptop, an expensive piece of jewelry or fur coat, or even new furniture or a new piece of artwork.

It is also important to review your insurance coverage policy every year to determine if you have adequate peril coverage and liability insurance. Although some basic plans cover certain types of natural disaster and others cover personal liability, you may want to consider adding on specific insurance clauses for flooding, hurricanes, or tornados if you live in a high risk area.

If you started a plan out with little or no hurricane insurance but realized that the previous year brought major hurricanes to your area, then you may want to reconsider the amount of coverage. As well, some policies do not require homeowners to have personal liability insurance but this is a good idea if you are planning on having others in your home quite often.

This could include construction workers who are remodeling a kitchen or bathroom or even a babysitter or housekeeper. You will also want to change your policy if your children are starting to get older and invite over friends to play in the yard or to spend the night. Personal liability insurance will cover any accidents that happen while others are in your home.

One final reason to review your insurance policy each year is to assess discounts or possible price quote deductions that you may be able to receive. When you purchased the home it may not have had a security system installed, fire sprinklers or been equipped with up to date smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

But if you have installed this equipment over the past year, it is a good idea to call and inform the insurance company to see if you this makes you eligible for a discount. You may also be able to receive a discount if you started receiving car insurance from the same company, turned a certain age, or began a membership to a certain club or organization that the insurance company recognizes and gives discounts to on a regular basis.

Credit: Ian W Anderson of homeownersinsurance.cc, the homeowners insurance information site. For more homeowners insurance information and articles like this one visit: Homeowners Insurance

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