If you feel you're paying too much for your home insurance, there could be easy ways to lower your monthly premiums without settling for less comprehensive cover. Making sure you understand exactly what you're paying for is an important starting point, as if there are any optional extras included in your policy that you feel you don't need, you could be paying more than you have to.
Some factors that affect home insurance can be difficult to change, such as the location of your property. However, if you're already considering moving house, looking into areas with lower insurance costs could be one aspect to consider, especially as this could indicate lower incidences of break-ins and other crimes. The size and age of your home also play their parts in determining the cost of insurance and the risk of claims being made, so these aspects could also be factored into your decision over which type of property to buy.
You don't have to pack up and move to benefit from lower insurance prices though. Raising your deductible can be one of the simplest ways to cut your insurance costs, sometimes by up to 25 per cent. This will mean that you are entitled to receive less financial aid from your insurer and need to pay more yourself if your home is subject to damage, theft and other eventualities, so involves a trade-off of risk against savings.
Combining your house insurance with other insurance products could also save you money overall, often between five and 15 per cent compared to the cost of arranging these policies separately. Checking whether your home insurance provider offers other insurance that you need, from car insurance to travel insurance, could help the savings add up month by month.
As is the case for your mortgage or other home loan, improving your credit score could also help to lower the cost of your premiums, as you will be able to demonstrate to your insurer that you are at less risk of missing payments. Insurance companies often check whether a customer has had any other insurance policies in the past, and for how long, when setting a price.
Getting around to making those home improvements you've been putting off could also reduce your insurance, as a new roof that's less likely to be damaged or new safety and security features such as sophisticated alarm systems or security doors could all help to reduce the risk of break-ins and subsequent claims.
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