Monday, 26 December 2011

8 Ways To Get Cheaper Home Insurance

By Harold Spencer


The fact is, home insurance is a necessary evil for most of us even though no one really likes to pay for it. But since you can try these 8 easy tips for cheaper home insurance and see how much you could reduce your premiums by, this doesn't mean that you have to pay through the nose for it.

Shopping Around

If you compare prices from several insurance companies, then it is possible for you to be able to reduce your premiums by a substantial amount. It may seem obvious but a surprisingly large proportion of people either just renewed their current policy, or they get only one or two quotes and this was shown by research. There are a lot of insurance websites that will automatically compare dozens which is why this is one of the cheapest ways to reduce your insurance bill.

Buying online

Because there are less administration costs involved and the savings can be passed on to you, you can often get a discount of up to 20% on normal prices if ever you buy your policy online.

When you combine your buildings and contents policies

You will be given a discount by many insurers if you take out both types of home insurance with them, and this usually works out cheaper than getting the two kinds of policies from different companies.

When paying upfront

A lot of insurers let you pay your premium in monthly installments but even so, many will charge interest for this. In case you can afford to pay a full year's premium in advance, then in the long run this will work out cheaper.

Avoid claiming for small amounts

Making many small claims can increase your insurance costs, as your insurer may see you as a greater risk and increase your premiums. Not to mention that you will lose any no claims discount your policy has. Of course, you're entitled to claim for anything your policy covers, but ask yourself if making a small claim is really worth the hassle and possible future costs.

When it comes to voluntary excess

This is related to the last point. Insurance policies feature something known as 'excess', which basically means that the policy won't pay out on claims below a certain value. On some policies, your premiums will be lower if you should choose to raise your excess to a higher level.

Try to increase your home security

If you want lower premiums, then you should beef up your home security with better door locks, window locks, outdoor lighting, and alarm systems. In order to get extra discounts, ask your insurer what you could do.

Reduce your cover

Benefits that you might not need are featured in many policies such as cover for personal possessions while traveling, or 'free' legal advice. Look through your policy and see what parts of it you really need - by cutting your cover down to size you may be able to reduce your premium.




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