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3 Ways To Lower Home Insurance Premiums

Performance Property Real Estate Question

Q: Our homeowner insurance keeps going up. We can barely make our mortgage payment as it is. Is there anything we can do to lower the cost? Bill, Bradley Beach

A: Here are 3 ways to lower your home insurance premiums:

  1. Raise your deductible. Based on the terms of your homeowner insurance policy, a deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a claim (a loss) before your insurance company begins paying the claim. The higher your deductible is, the lower your insurance premium will be.
  2. Shop around. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (www.naic.org) has information to help you choose an insurer and many places provide the frequency of consumer complaints against an insurance company as well as the typical rates charged by major insurers. Consider more than just the price. Quality of service is just as important if not more important than price, especially in the event you have a loss and have to file a claim. You can also ask the insurer themselves steps you can take to lower your insurance premium.
  3. Consider buying both your home and auto insurance policies from the same insurer. Some companies that sell both homeowners and automobile insurance will reduce your premium by as much as 15 percent if you buy two or more policies from them. Make certain the combined price of both insurance policies is lower than buying separate coverage for auto and home from different companies.

Thanks for your question, Bill.

For more real estate tips and information visit my blog at geraldlucas.com.