What affects the cost of my home insurance?
One of our goals as an insurance agency is to help you understand the variables that affect the cost of their homeowners insurance and the simple decisions they can make to help lower their cost for coverage.
As always, we cannot stress enough the importance of purchasing the right amount of coverage to realistically cover your home and all your assets rather than simply buying the cheapest policy available.
Here are five factors that affect the cost of home insurance:
1. Size:
Usually, the bigger your home, the more expensive it will be to insure. The types of materials you use to build your home will determine the cost of insurance; the more expensive materials you use, the most costly your insurance.
2. Age of home:
The age of your home can affect the cost of your home insurance because a new home is more likely to be in better shape than an older home. One thing all homeowners can do to keep their insurance cost down is keep your home up-to-date with current electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems. Homes that are built with fire-resistant materials like brick and stone are also less costly to insure than homes made out of flammable material like wood because of liability.
3. Credit score:
The higher a homeowner’s credit score, the the less likely they are to file an insurance claim. Because of this, homeowners with good credit have cheaper insurance rates.
4. Home Updates:
Updating your home can either do one of two things–boost the value of your home and leave you with insufficient coverage or trigger lower premiums as a reward for reducing risk in your home. When updating your home always check with your insurance agent to make sure your insurance coverage can remain the same.
5. Multi-policy discount:
Bundling your policies can save up to 25% on your homeowners insurance premium. What is bundling? Bundling simply means working with one insurance provider on all your insurance needs for your home, car and life insurance.
Homeowners, don’t be afraid to ask questions
Talk to your insurance agent to be sure that you are getting the best deal and the best coverage for your unique needs. Together you can work to figure out what home insurance package is best for you and whether or not they are able to find you any savings. Your agent may also have additional simple tips or tricks you can do as a homeowner to save money on your home insurance.