subject: Might You Be Paying Too Much For Your Home Insurance? [print this page] Getting the right level of house insurance is often a juggling act between peace of mind and pocket. Whilst it may be a condition of your mortgage that you have adequate buildings insurance, whether or not you insure your house contents is a matter for your own judgement and your willingness to take risks. Some people may consider reducing their level of insurance, or even ditching it altogether when the budget is tight and they are looking for ways of making savings or cutting costs.
Rather than taking the risk of going without house insurance, take a glance over these money-saving tips and see if you can reduce the cost of your cover.
1. Give yourself plenty of time and shop around for quotes before your policy is due for renewal. When you can go to your original insurer armed with lower quotes for similar cover you may be able to negotiate a better rate.
2. Find out about paying in monthly instalments. Be aware that many insurers will charge for this facility, but many others offer a 0% instalment rate. Likewise, if you have an interest-free credit card you could pay the premium that way to spread the cost without incurring additional charges.
3. Comparison websites offer an easy way to get quotes from multiple home insurance providers, with the added bonus that you usually only have to enter your details once. However, you do need to look further than the quoted price and take into consideration the level of cover offered and what policy excess you are expected to pay in the event of a claim. Check with several comparison sites as they don't automatically give the same results.
4. Remember that insurance brokers sometimes have access to deals on home insurance that is not offered on comparison websites. It's always worth checking with a local broker to see what they can offer you. For the price of a phone call you could make big savings over against going it alone.
5. Another avenue worth pursuing is your bank. Most banks have their own home insurance policies and they may offer a discount to existing customers who already hold accounts with them.
6. Savings can often be made when both contents and buildings insurance is bought at the same time. If all of your house insurance falls due at the same time it would be worthwhile investigating whether savings can be made by pooling your insurance.
7. Updating your house security could result in a reduction on the home insurance premium you pay. Small improvements such as fitting up-to-date, approved window locks, fire alarms or intruder alarms can pay for themselves over time through smaller insurance payments. You can ask your insurer whether these would make a difference to your premium well before your renewal date. They can also advise on further ways to improve security.
Home insurance is often seen as a necessary evil. Heaven forbid disaster should ever strike, but if it does your policy will be worth its weight in gold.
by: James JR Robinson
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