Home Insurance Guide

The real reason why most people visit this site is so that they can figure out how to reduce their homeowners insurance premiums, there isn’t much more to insurance than understanding your policy and figuring out how to get it for as cheap as possible. So, when the latest Problogger contest appeared, I figured I’d enter with a nice quick hit of five things to help you reduce your premium.

1. Shop around - Free market capitalism is your friend and it can lead to your discovery of a lower premium for the exact same coverage. Now, I recommend this with the caveat that you really should read reviews of insurers because not all companies are created equal.
2. Increase your deductible - Your premium is directly related to how much risk your insurer is taking, the higher the risk the higher the premium. By increasing your deductible, you offset some of that risk and so your premium will be a little bit less. Do what makes sense and is affordable.
3. Install a security system - Again, your premium is related to risk, by installing a security system you are offsetting that risk by protecting your valuables; in fact, you may even find that the security system pays for itself (or more).
4. Quit smoking - One of the common causes of home fires is a lit cigarette, either falling from someone’s lips as they fell asleep or improperly disposed of in a garbage can full of papers, your insurer may give you a discount for being a non-smoker. If you recently quit, make sure your insurer knows it!
5. Improve Your Credit Score - Your credit score plays a role in determining your insurance premiums so do the things that improve your score and you may see your premiums fall. This applies for other types of insurance too like automobile.