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5 Tips For Cheaper Home Insurance
ome insurance is a basic of the most effective tactics...
term for two different
types of insurance policy. • Contact your home insurance
Buildings insurance to cover the company or local neighbourhood
construction of your property and watch scheme and they will send
home contents insurance to you a list of steps to make your
protect your valuables and other house more secure and less likely
household objects. to be targeted by thieves.
The problem is that not all home • Fit locks to all windows and
insurance policies are created level 5 (BS3621) mortise
equal making it difficult to deadlocks locks to the doors.
compare like with like. The areas Most insurance companies will
and level of cover provided vary give you up to 10% off your home
from policy to policy along with contents insurance if you have
the premiums. So having a these kind of locks fitted around
definite idea of what you need to your house.
insure and for how much will help
minimise the overall time and • Having a good alarm fitted by
money spent buying it. a recognised alarm fitter, which
your insurance company can
TIP 1: Cut the risk, cut the cost recommend, can give you up to 10%
off your policy. Bear in mind
that these are expensive alarms
All insurance policies protect which require an annual check up.
against the risk of financial
loss. So to cut the cost, cut the
risk to the insurer and you'll • Higher policy excess. You
get a lower premium. To give you will usually have to pay the
an idea, here's a quick summary first "£50 of any insurance
claim, but if you're willing to made for your valuables such as a
pay more then, your premium will home safe.
fall now.
• Your lifestyle. If you have a
• Neighbourhood watch schemes. dog, are teetotal and don't
Some home insurers offer smoke, be sure to declare this as
discounts if you live in a such factors are used by some
neighbourhood watch area; however insurers to reduce premiums.
this is less common.
• Occasionally applying to your
• No claims bonus. As with your existing insurer as a new
car insurance; a record of no customer can reduce your
previous claims will reduce your premiums. Many insurers offer
premium. If you need to make a discounts to new customers which
claim, consider whether it may be won't be repeated when you come
cheaper to pay for the loss to renew.
yourself and avoid an increase in
premiums. • If you can apply online you
will normally get a discount of
• Your age. Statistically, the around 5%.
older you are, the less likely
you are to make a house insurance Before you carry out any security
claim. So if you're a lower risk improvements to your home, always
this will be reflected in your check with your home insurance
premiums. Some companies offer company first. They will confirm
extra benefits to those over 50 which improvements will have the
such as Saga. biggest cost cutting impact.
• Extra security. Declare any TIP 2: Know what home insurance
special safety precautions you've you need
high standard buildings sum
Working out an accurate figure insured so you don't have to
for the buildings and contents worry about insuring the right
insurance value can be awkward, amount.
which is why a lot of homeowners
are either under insured or Then there is the home contents
paying for levels of cover they insurance which covers almost
don't really need. everything else you would take
with you if you moved house. Make
Buildings insurance covers the a list of the rooms in your house
re-build cost of your property and write down all the items
not its market value. The contained in each with there
re-build value of your home is value. Then, total the individual
the cost of re-building it in the amounts to see what contents
event that it is destroyed by insurance protection you need.
fire or subsidence for example. Remember to value items such as
The re-build value of your home music CD's, videos and clothing
can usually be found on your as their total cost is often
mortgage agreement, or property missed or under insured. Whether
deeds. The Building Cost your wardrobe is full of jeans or
Information Service (BCIS) of the designer labels, make sure you
Royal Institution of Chartered include the cost of replacing
Surveyors (RICS) produces a range them.
of detailed information on the
cost of rebuilding houses and TIP 3: Look at separate buildings
flats together with a re-building & contents insurance
cost calculator.
If you need both buildings and
Alternatively, you can opt for a contents insurance, get quotes
policy that has an unlimited or for separate policies for maximum
potential savings. Most insurers the time and commitment you can
do provide them as separate do all three, but the fastest and
policies and just because one is most effective route is to log on
cheap for buildings cover doesn't and use the reach of the
mean they are equally competitive internet.
to insure the contents. Find the
cheapest providers for each The best insurance websites
component and consider buying compare dozens of brokers and
each from different insurers. home insurance companies in
minutes. You only have to fill in
TIP 4: Shop around for home one form to get a list of
insurance premiums displayed on your screen
from major insurers and brokers.
Shopping around will yield the However, if you have unusual or
biggest savings on home very specific requirements the
insurance. final premium may increase when
confirmed direct with your chosen
Firstly, don't simply opt for the insurer.
home insurance supplied by your
mortgage lender. They can be TIP 5: Ask for a bargain
convenient when your busy sorting
your mortgage but they're often Home insurance has a margin of
over priced and chances are they profit built into it which can be
won't have been compared against negotiated down if you're armed
other policies on the market. with the right information. Not
all insurers will buckle and
When shopping for insurance you concede an additional discount
basically have three options; go but if you don't ask you won't
direct to the insurer, browse the know.
web or use a broker. If you have
• First, find the cheapest the same.
quote after using internet
comparison sites and phoning a • If after your best efforts,
few brokers. the insurer won't budge, ask them
to throw in some extra cover to
• Select the cheapest quote and sweeten the deal or move on to
contact your existing insurer the next home insurance company
first asking them to beat it. If and repeat the same steps.
they won't budge contact the
second cheapest insurer and do
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