9 ways to lower your homeowners insurance bill

Again, came across an interesting website when i was looking into homeowners insurance online. This website explains 9 ways to get discounts on your homeowners insurance. So i thought i would list them out for you. Some of them i knew about, but some were a surprise to me.

1. Shop around: Obvious, yes! Do it, its worth it. Ask your friends how much they pay and google prices online. Youll be surprised what is out there if you ask.

2. Raise your deductible: "Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim, according to the terms of your policy. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiums." Ive always known, make your deductible as high as possible. If you can afford a $1000 deductible you should pay it to save you on your monthly costs. Just raising it from $500 to $1000 you can save about 25% a month.

3. Dont confuse the worth of your home with rebuilding costs: Simply put, you dont need to insure your lott or the land you payed for under your house. If you payed $250,000 for you home. Land was $90,000 of that. Make sure you only insure $160,000.

4. Buy your home and auto insurance from the same insurer: This can save you 5-15% if you buy more than one premium

5. Improve your home security: You can usually get a discount of at least 5% just for a "monitored" smoke detector if its monitored by an alarm company. Some companies offer a savings off of your premium from 5-15% by adding a professional burglar alarm system that is monitored and connected to the police department.

6. Seek out discounts: Not all companies offer the same discount for certain things. Find out that your friend is saving 15% on their alarm and explain to your company that you want 15% discounted for your alarm! Bargain bargain bargain! They want your business, and will compete for it.

7. Maintaining a good credit score: Insurance companies increasingly are using your credit score to determine your premium amount.

8. Stay with the same insurer: If youve kept your policy for several years, 5-10 years, you should qualify for special customer discounts. Make sure to always compare the cost of your insurance to others. You can always bargain as a trusted customer.

9. When you buy a home consider the cost of home insurance: When buying a home you can consider things that would affect the cost of your insurance. Like buying a home near a fire hydrant. Make sure your community has professional fire response not voluntary. Dont buy in a flood zone or earthquake zone. These all can save you hundreds a year.

check out http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov for more details on this article if you are interested.