Ways to Save Money on Homeowners Insurance

STAY WITH AN INSURER... If you've kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive special consideration. Several insurers will reduce their premiums by 5 percent if you stay with them for 3 to 5 years; by 10 percent if you remain a policyholder for 6 years or more.

You may also get a discount by having your auto and homeowners' insurance with the same company.

Many insurance companies have also begun to base your premiums off of your credit rating. Making responsible financial decisions and paying your bills on time will help you keep your premiums down as well.

Review your coverage with your insurance agent from time to time. While it is important to have sufficient coverage on your home, over-insurance is wasteful. As a measure to curb insurance fraud, regardless how much insurance coverage is purchased, insurance companies usually do not pay out more than the replacement cost of the insured property.

Many insurance companies have multi-line discounts if you carry several policies with the same agent. Sometimes, adding a life insurance policy can be done at almost no cost when discounts are applied from other products such as a home owner's policy or automobile policy. Also, if you use renter's insurance and have decided to buy a home be sure to ask your agent if you have earned any credits from your renter's policy that can be used to reduce the premium on your home owner's policy.

Saving money on homeowner's insurance during a refinance by staying with the same insurance company is a great first step to saving money on your refinance closing costs, but for even greater savings, you may qualify for a discount from your title insurer as well. Discuss the option of not only using the same hazard insurance company for your refinance, but also electing to stay with your current title insurance company, with your refinance advisor during the early stages of the application process.

Installing a security system in your home can reduce your homeowners insurance by as much as 20%. Consult with your insurance agent for more details.

Combine all accounts that you can with the same insurance company. You can normally buy insurance policies for life, disability, auto and home owners from the same insurance company. the benefit to this is you may save money on the other policies ass well. By also keeping claims to a minimum your policy premium should normally decrease over time or increase very little compared to someone who makes numerous claims.

» DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article on 'Ways to Save Money on Homeowners Insurance' is a collection of contributions by licensed mortgage professionals and is not the opinion of Broker Outpost LLC. Always consult a licensed professional before applying for a mortgage.