“You’re Paying Too Much for Homeowner Insurance – How to Get the Best Insurance Quote for Your Budget
It’s a great thing that you found out that you’re paying too much for homeowner insurance premiums, because now you can do something about it!
There are ways to go about getting yourself a much cheaper insurance quote without compromising the quality of your policy. You see, there is really no benefit to paying more than you really should. In the first place, it’s not an accruing payment, so that the more you pay, the more you’ll get in the end. It all reverts to zero after a year and you have to “”re-set the counter””.
Secondly, paying more does not mean that if you lose your home or need to be compensated for some damage that you would be paid more. Make sure that your insurance premiums are just enough to keep your policy going.
The best insurance premiums are those which the premiums and the benefits will compare favourably. If there are high premiums and low benefits, it’s not a very good one. Ideally they should add up so that you can at least get a bit of what you pay annually back in terms of benefits or discounts.
How do you go about getting the best quote?
1. Nothing beats shopping. The more you shop, the more you get to see in terms of what’s out there and how much its selling for. Shop online and shop real block and mortar insurance companies. Advice from long-term property owners, like parents and elderly relatives, can be invaluable. They have been paying for longer than you and may know good insurance companies that are interested in giving you value for your money.
Online shopping can be so extensive that its confusing; narrow down to those that are close to you (as an aside, its important to have a homeowners policy with someone whose office you can visit and have more than an online relationship). Once you narrow down to those that are close, get quotes from each of them and see what they are generally offering.
Another person to talk to about prices would be an insurance agent, especially if they are a free agent. They will usually know a lot about where to get the best deals since they are in the industry and are always chasing good deals in order to strengthen their client portfolios.
2. The next thing to do is to work on fixing up your home. If there is anything that’s broken, get it fixed before the assessors get there; for one it will get a better value. Secondly, the assessors will see that the home is in good condition and feel more confident to offer you lower premiums. The other thing to do is install an alarm system as proof that your home is not easy to get burgled. This will similarly get you lower premiums. After that, make sure that your electrical wiring and fittings are done professionally. It reduces the risk of fire. Your plumbing should be the same too, and if you show all this to the insurance company and ask for smaller premiums, they will find it hard to turn you down.
3. If you have done the above 2 things, the only stumbling block left may be your credit report. It is a statement of how well you have done financially in the past, and if you have had problems, whether you moved to fix them. Get your credit report and if it’s not very good, start to work on fixing it. You should show this report to the insurance company for every step of progress that you make.
And there you are. Those 3 steps have set you up on your way to getting yourself the best homeowners’ insurance quote. There are many other ways, but if you get started on these 3, you will already see some progress.”
