10 Ways to Save Money on your Home Insurance

If you are a homeowner, home insurance is an expense that will never go away and unfortunately, always seems to increase. I want to share some tips on how to save money on your home insurance:

1) Ask about multi policy discounts. Most insurance companies, including Safeco, Progressive, Travelers, Chubb etc. will give you a 15% discount for insuring both home and auto insurance with the same company. Safeco also gives 5% off home and auto policies if you also have umbrella insurance policy with them.

2) Ask about occupational discounts for certain jobs and educational achievements. Safeco and Progressive Insurance offers up to 10% off home insurance for occupations such as teachers, firefighter, police, engineers, scientists, realtors, doctors, CPA’s and many more. 

3) Burglar alarm/Fire alarm Discount – most insurance carriers will discount premiums by 5%-10% for having a burglar alarm system installed with active monitoring such as ADT or Brinks.

4) Pay in full discount – most carriers will charge you a fee for paying your insurance premiums monthly. Safeco Insurance www.Safeco.com is one of the few carriers that will allow you to pay monthly credit card with no fees (very rare though).

5) Home safety discount – Insurance carriers offers up to a 10% discount for having a gas shutoff valve at your home or an Energy Star/EPA Certified home for energy efficiency. 

6) Have you re-piped your home? Make sure to inform your insurance company as discounts can be up to 10%.

7) Ensure proper replacement cost. Many insurance carriers will try to over-insure your home, which increases annual premium costs. Make sure to ask for a home insurance replacement cost estimator if it seems your home is not properly insured.

8) Opt for a higher deductible. We have found that the average home insurance customer makes 1 claim every 10 years. You can save hundreds of dollars a year by choosing a higher deductible such as a $2,000, $2,500 or $5,000.

9) Smoke-free discount – let your insurance carrier know you are not a smoker and they will often offer discounts.

10) Are you claims-free? Most insurers will discount your home insurance premiums by 15-20% annually if you have no claims in the past 3 years. 

Ask for a home insurance review! Call your personal agent or insurance company every few years and have them review your policy to make sure you are getting a good value.

If you have any questions about Home Insurance, please call me at 949-550-2502