When you own a property, one of the things you need is home insurance. This can become a pretty big expense, but it’s one of those necessary evils that most of us simply accept. But you should take a slightly different attitude if you ask me.
There are plenty of things that you can do to bring down the cost of your home insurance. So, you don’t need to accept the huge prices that you are currently have to pay. Here are some practical methods that you can take advantage of.
Combine Building and Contents
Every insurance company out there wants you to be their customer. That means that they want to provide your contents insurance as well as your building insurance. As a result, they will always be willing to offer you a discount if you combine your building and contents with the same company. It’s a very simple way to save money, so that’s where everyone should start when looking to achieve a better deal.
Take Steps to Make the Home More Secure
The more secure your home is, the better deal you will get from your insurance company. So, this is the next thing you should do. Everything that makes your home more secure is worth doing. It might mean buying a new alarm, adding motion sensors or changing the locks on the doors and windows. Modern locking systems are much more secure than old ones, and newer doors are harder to break through too. You also need to think about how your home could be damaged by the elements. If your home has any wood elements that are exposed to the elements, you should use a good home stain. You could view online for Weatherall products.
Pay Annually
It might not save you much money, but paying annually can lead to you getting a small discount. This is largely because when you pay your insurance bill monthly, there is an admin fee. So, that means you will be paying twelve admin fees over the course of the year. Whereas, if you pay your insurance premium in one annual payment, there will only be one admin fee. And some insurers even offer another discount on top of this. Many people pay monthly because it spreads the cost and it’s more convenient, but it might not be the most efficient way to do things.
Build Your No Claims Discount
One of the reasons why prevention is so important is that it helps you to build up your no claims discount. When you don’t make a claim on your insurance policy, you will be rewarded by the insurance company. That’s because they love clients who don’t file claims all the time. It saves them money, and by not claiming for a long time, you will save money too. If you manage to go for years without claiming on your insurance policy, you could even halve the amount that you have to pay. So, that should spur you on to make sure that nothing bad happens to your home. And for those small problems, you should think about whether or not it’s worth making a claim.
Join the Local Neighbourhood Watch Group
Is there are a local neighbourhood watch group in your community? If there is, you might be able to save some money on your home insurance by joining it. I know it might not sound like the most appealing prospect for many people. But having a membership for one of these groups proves to the insurance company that you take security seriously. It shows them that you are willing to play an active role in making sure that nothing bad does happen to your property. And they will be sure to view this in a positive light. It’s believed that being part of a neighbourhood watch group can reduce your premiums by roughly 5%, so it’s not something to ignore.
Insulate Your Pipes
You might be surprised to realise that one of the most common types of problem that cause insurance claims are burst pipes. And the main cause of burst pipes is frozen pipes during winter. This could all be avoided if everyone simply made the effort to make sure that their pipes are properly insulated all year round. If you think that your pipes might be frozen, you should turn off the water supply instantly and then find the frozen pipe. Then you can use a simple hairdryer to turn the ice back to liquid. But that's a short-term fix, and the problem will probably return. So, look into full pipe insulation before next winter hits.
Pay a Larger Excess
The size of your excess is one of the most decisive factors when it comes to deciding how large your premiums will be. Of course, it’s not a simple decision. You will have to pay more towards any future damage that the house sustains. But you will also have to pay less to the insurance company each month. It’s all about weighing up the risks and benefits of doing that. Whether this is right for you will depend on your own financial situation and how large an excess you could stretch to. If you do decide to pay a larger excess, it will be classed as a voluntary excess that is simply added onto your compulsory excess.
Prepare for Floods
If your insurance company can see that you are doing everything you can to protect your home from natural threats, your premiums will be lower. So, if you live in a part of the world that is threatened by flooding, you need to make sure that you are prepared for what might be thrown your way. There is no excuse for not having a flood prevention plan in place. You need to stock up on sandbags, and also bricks that you can place furniture on to raise them up above the flood water. These simple steps can massively reduce the amount of money that the insurance company would have to pay out in the event of a flood.
