A careful examination of your risks and liabilities will show exactly how you need to improve your coverage and cut your costs for homeowner’s insurance.

When you bought your home, your lender required proof of insurance. You may not have looked at or updated your homeowner’s insurance policy since then. Consequently, you may not have all the coverage you need, and you may be paying way too much for the coverage you have. Make an appointment with a full-service insurance broker, and examine how much you may save if you…
• Shop and compare. You constantly see car insurance commercials boasting how much you will save when you switch from Brand X to Brand Y, and industry analysts report the ads have influenced consumers’ shopping habits to the point where most compare at least five quotes before they finally purchase auto insurance. Naturally, the principles apply to shopping for homeowner’s insurance. Although you probably will receive substantial discounts when you insure your home with your car insurance carrier, the savings do not come automatically. Shop aggressively and spend frugally.
• Bundle. The more you combine coverage with a single insurance company, the more you ought to save on premiums, and the easier it may be to file claims. In addition to “bundling” car and homeowner’s insurance, look at adding life insurance, accident or disability insurance, and investment products to your one-company package. You may save more than 40% on each policy or product. Keep in mind that standard homeowner’s coverage does not extend to floods and earthquakes. Therefore, if you live in a flood zone or earthquake prone region, add coverage as needed.
• Raise your deductible. Here, too, principles of prudent buying apply. In the same way you save on car insurance by raising your deductibles, you save on homeowner’s insurance; but the same cautions apply, too. Do not raise your deductibles so high that you cannot afford emergency home repairs when you need them. Many financial planners strongly recommend you divert your insurance savings to a savings account, gradually accumulating $1000 in an accessible “emergency fund” and the equivalent of five paychecks in a long-term Certificate of Deposit.
• Upgrade your security. Start with simple items—fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, deadbolts, and outdoor lighting. An electronic alarm system, then, will almost pay for itself in reduced insurance premiums, and discuss other worthwhile security upgrades with your broker.
• Protect against natural disasters. No, you cannot stop a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake, but you can mitigate the damage. Plant a row of strong trees on the windward side of your house, the side from which storms always approach. Install a sump pump in your basement, and have your roof inspected to make sure it can hold the weight of extra heavy snowfall. Earthquake-proof shelves and appliances, and put escape ladders in all the upstairs bedrooms.
Accurately assess your property’s value.
As you shop for home owner’s insurance, make sure you correctly state the values of your house and property. Insurance experts report that more than three-fourths of policy holders pay too much because they include the value of the land beneath their houses in their home values. “Even in the worst natural disaster, you are not going to replace your land,” State Farm agent Kristie Powell points out. “As you buy home owner’s insurance, look at your property tax assessment to determine the value of your house alone, and then add 30% for reconstruction cost.” Powell notes, in California, the cost of the lot is usually three-times the cost of the house, so that inattentive homeowners add hundreds of dollars to their premiums with incorrect valuations.
Kristie Powell stresses the importance of securing proper coverage for your furniture, consumer electronics, and personal property. “Kind of a contradiction,” Powell says. “People over-insure their houses and grossly under-insure their possessions.” Powell very strong recommends, “Insure your personal possessions for their full replacement cost, because they quickly depreciate, and the ‘fair market value’ of each item will be far less than what you will pay to replace it.”
When you adjust and balance your coverage, you will discover you pay lower premiums for better protection.
Photo credit: IMG_9128 by Alan Light/flickr
Gina Hamilton is an insurance consultant and content contributor Kanetix.ca, where you can find the cheapest insurance quotes for driving in Toronto, Ontario or anywhere across North America.