4 Same-day Hacks That Can Trim Your Homeowners Premium

Owning a house comes with its own set of responsibilities, and making the mortgage payment is only one of them. Over time, you’ll need to replace aging appliances, seal the driveway and repaint the exterior. You’ll also need to protect yourself from some surprise expenses, like a broken window after a storm or kitchen fire after the spouse thought you could enjoy some breakfast in bed. To protect yourself and your home, we here at CoverHound will help you find the homeowners insurance package of your dreams.

Getting a Deal: Homeowners Insurance Discounts

One of the biggest complaints people make about insurance is how expensive the monthly premiums are. For some, it’s hard to justify paying $70 or more a month to protect themselves from “what-if” situations. Americans pay an average of $952 a year in homeowners insurance premiums, that’s close to $80 a month. If we’re just looking at the numbers, that does seem to be a little steep. A lot of people would argue that they don’t have a lot of things to protect in their homes anyway. Even if you only have a couple pieces of furniture and are spare on the furnishings and kitchen gadgets, those “few” things can equal a great deal of money. And though the national average for homeowners insurance is nearly $80 a month, that doesn’t mean that’s what you would be paying, especially if you took advantage of some of the discounts insurance companies offer their clients.

The Insurance Bundle

Insurance companies that sell homeowners insurance and auto insurance usually offer a bundle plan. This combines your homeowners and auto insurance into one premium payment with (as the Insurance Information Institute (III) points out) a 5 to 15 percent mark down of the original premium payment.

Raising the Deductible

As an insurance policy holder, you already know that the deductible is the amount of money you will have to pay out of pocket before your insurance agency will make the claim payment. The higher the deductible you are willing to pay, the lower your monthly premium rate will be. Most insurance companies recommend that their clients have at least a $500 deductible. III recommends that if you can afford a $1,000 deductible, you should do it, as your premium cost could decrease by as much as 25 percent.

Shopping Around

Everywhere you go, insurance companies are telling you that they can provide you the best premium deal. The only way to know that is by comparison shopping. At CoverHound we take some of your basic information and find you the actual best deals on the market. When you comparison shop, you know that you’re doing everything you can to get an affordable, fair and good deal on excellent coverage.

Safety Proofing Your Home

In 2013, over 3,000 people perished in house fires, with close to another 16,000 sustaining injuries, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Since 2009, 430 people have died every year due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Some of these deaths may have been prevented if fire and carbon monoxide alarms had been installed in the home. If your house is equipped with safety features such as a fire alarm, carbon monoxide alarm, working locks and a home security system, your insurance company will discount your home insurance premium. Why will they give you a discount? Because you have proven that you are responsible homeowner, and responsible homeowners get discounts.

Getting a homeowners insurance discount is easy when you comparison shop with CoverHound. Click here today to learn what you can save.