What Can You Do to Reduce Homeowners Insurance Costs?

 

Saving money on expenses has universal appeal, especially when you can save on something you're required to purchase.  Statistics show that approximately 95% of all homeowners in North Carolina maintain homeowners insurance coverage, so ways to reduce homeowners insurance costs should be widely welcomed.  We'll present you with a comprehensive list of tips for reducing your home insurance costs starting today.  Choose your Greensboro homeowners insurance policy with the goal of getting the best for the least.  Try these tips:

Seven Ways to Save on Your Greensboro Homeowners Insurance Coverage

1.  Most experts agree that the first and most important tip for saving on any insurance policy is to shop around.  It's recommended that you obtain no less than three quotes from companies rated highly for service and financial stability.  Consult A. M. Best and/or Standard & Poor's for this information.  Consider using an insurance broker who has access and insight into multiple providers.  Price is important but other factors such as service and stability should also figure in.  Shop around when buying a new Greensboro homeowners insurance policy or when renewing your existing coverage. 

2.  An immediate reduction in your homeowners insurance rate can be obtained by simply raising your deductible amount.  Insurance companies typically recommend a deductible of $500, which is the amount you're required to pay our of pocket when you make a valid claim.  Higher deductibles mean lower premiums and raising your deductible from $500 to $1000 could save you as much as 20% on your policy cost, depending on your insurer.

3.  When deciding how much home insurance to buy, don't include the value of the land your house sits on.  Land isn't subject to the same perils as your home and other structures on your property.  Also, calculate how much coverage you need by the cost it would take to rebuild your home rather than its current market value.

4.  Bundling a variety of policies such as homeowners, auto and umbrella all with one insurer can save you as much as 15% on these policies.

5.  Improving your home's security with smoke detectors, burglar alarms and deadbolt locks can save you 5% or more on your home policy.

6.  Most insurers offer a variety of discounts for which you may qualify.  Often, however, you won't know about these unless you ask.

7.  Review policy limits for your personal property coverage to make sure you're not paying for coverage you don't need.

 

 

What is a Personal Articles Policy?

 

If you're a homeowner, chances are very good that you already have a homeowner's insurance policy covering your home and the personal property in your home against loss from things like fire, storms, lightning strikes, vandalism, burglary and more.

Know Your Limits

It's important to understand exactly what your homeowner's policy covers and what limits are established for each of the benefits provided.  You'll have one limit for a loss claim on the structure should it be damaged or destroyed, and another limit for the personal property found in the home.  This second limit is typically set at a certain percentage of the first limit.

There will also be a limit on the liability coverage your policy provides and a special limit on certain valuables such as jewelry, furs, artwork, guns, collectibles, etc.  This special limit on valuables is separate from the limit on your personal property and should be considered if you have any high-dollar valuables in your home because these special limits are typically relatively low.  A limit of $1,500-$2,500 is not uncommon, which obviously won't go far in compensating you for lost, stolen or damaged jewelry, artwork, furs, etc.

Personal Articles Policy Floater

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), there are two ways to boost your insurance coverage for high-dollar valuables:

1. Raise the limit placed on the liability of these items found in your standard coverage.  Doing this, however, will only give you a relatively modest amount of added coverage that will still not cover the full amount of most losses.
2. Buy a floater policy, also called a personal articles policy, to more fully cover losses of high-dollar valuables.  This policy will cover all types of losses, including some not covered by a standard homeowner's policy, such as accidental losses.

Personal Articles Policy Defined

A personal articles policy is advised to cover any of your expensive personal property whose loss would be far above the limit of your standard policy's personal property protection.  While jewelry and guns are the items most typically found covered by this type of policy, you may also want to include:

• Fine Art
• Furs
• Silver/Gold
• Collections such as coins, stamps, baseball cards
• Camera equipment
• Musical instruments

These items are typically covered world-wide and claims usually require no deductible.  Items may be individually listed (or scheduled) or a blanket policy may be taken out to cover all your valuables without individually listing them.

What Is an Insurance Clue Report?

Buying a home involves lots of steps, starting with looking for and finding the place you want and going on through getting financing and insurance and finally moving in. This is a process where you don't want to have to deal with surprises, but there's always the question of a home's true history. Knowing what's happened to your proposed future home in the past can be a big help when deciding whether or not this is an investment you want to make. It's also useful to the insurer who'll be writing a policy for the home when it comes to their underwriting process.

Insurance CLUE Report

While it's definitely to your advantage to have a property inspection conducted before making the final decision to buy a particular property, you'll also want to take a look at the most recent CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) Report. You can bet your insurer will be looking at this report when underwriting your policy and determining the amount of premium you'll be charged. It just makes sense to know about the home you're considering before you give the final approval.

What is an Insurance CLUE Report?

An Insurance CLUE Report, also known as a loss history report, is a free tool you can use to find out if there have been any insurance losses filed on a particular property. Most home insurance companies are contributors to a claims history database known as CLUE, the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, monitored by LexisNexis, a research company. Insurers also often use these reports when underwriting a new homeowner's policy to help in setting premium rates. Accessing CLUE Report information will enable you to learn what insurance claims were filed for a particular home during the past five years. This can tell you if losses were suffered from a fire, a storm, vandalism, or any of the other perils for which homeowner's insurance provides coverage.

Who Can Get a CLUE Report

Homeowners are eligible to receive one CLUE Report per year. If you're buying a home and want to see the report, you'll have to request that the homeowner get one and show it to you. Reports contain:

• Name of insurer
• Date and type of any losses within five years
• Status of claim and, if approved, amount of payout
• Policy and claim numbers

A blank report means no losses were claimed or the insurer isn't a CLUE participant.