How to Reduce Your Home and Auto Insurance Premium

Insurers offer a variety of discounts for both homeowners insurance and car insurance so this is a fantastic way to lower your premium on these coverages.

Car and home insurance can be expensive, but it is an absolute necessity to protect your assets. Regardless of whether you are insuring your home or car, finding the best coverage at an affordable price is everyone’s goal.

There are a number of strategies you can employ to save money on both your homeowners and car insurance in order to bring your premiums down. We thought it would be fun to look at the best ways to lower your costs on these two very important coverages.

Here are a few tips for lowering the cost of you homeowners and auto insurance:

Shop Your Coverage: This is a solid strategy to reduce both your auto and homeowners insurance premium. Insurers rate risk differently so premium quotes can vary dramatically between insurance companies. Experts recommend shopping your coverage once a year and gathering quotes from at least five different insurance companies.

Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples when it comes to coverage levels and deductibles and always check reviews and the financial health of any new insurer you are considering.

Dump Coverages: This mainly applies to car insurance. If you are driving an older vehicle that you would replace instead of repair if it were severely damaged in an accident it may be time to dump collision and comprehensive. These coverages pay to repair your vehicle and are unnecessary on an older vehicle that you have no intention of repairing.

While collision and comprehensive can be dropped, never drive a vehicle that is not covered by liability. Almost every state in the country requires drivers to carry liability coverage and if you are at fault in an accident that causes serious damage to the other driver you could be on the hook for major expenses if you are not carrying liability.

Raise Your Deductible: This tip can apply to both homeowners and auto insurance. Raising your deductible can dramatically lower your premium but always make sure you can easily afford the deductible you choose in the event you have to make a claim on your policy.

Review your deductibles to determine if you can affordably raise them. Doubling your deductible can help drive down your premium but remember you will have to cover that amount if you have to make a claim so keep it affordable.

Ask For Discounts: Insurers offer a variety of discounts for both homeowners insurance and car insurance so this is a fantastic way to lower your premium on these coverages. Ask your agent to do a discount review on your policies to make sure you are getting all of the discounts you are entitled to receive. Here are just a few of the more common discounts available:

• Bundling: Carrying all of your coverages with one insurance company will usually result in a significant discount. While the discount will vary, it can range up to 25 percent so it is nothing to sneeze at.
• Good Driver: If you have been claim free for a number of years ask for a good driver discount. Most insurers offer this discount but you have to be ticket and accident free for at least three years in most cases.
• Safety: This can apply to both your home and auto insurance. If you are driving a vehicle loaded with safety features you should get a discount on your auto insurance. Making safety improvements at your home will also result in a discount, putting storm shutters on your windows or replacing your roof with wind resistant materials should lower your premium.
• Paperless Policy: Getting your policy documents via email will result in a small discount on both your homeowners and car insurance. Ask your insurer to dump the paper and then reap the savings. While this is not a huge discount, they all add up.

These are just a few of the more common discounts, ask your agent for a full listing of discounts that you may be qualified to receive.

Improve Your Credit Score: Your credit score has a major impact on both your homeowners insurance and your car insurance. If you credit score is less than stellar, making an effort to improve it can definitely lower your premium.

Defensive Driving Course: This one only applies to your auto insurance but it can help lower your overall insurance costs. Most insurers offer a small discount for taking a defensive driving course. Check with your insurer to see if they offer this discount and which courses meet their requirements.

Boost Your Security: Insurers love security and if you up the security levels at your home or in your car, your premium should decrease. Adding a monitored security system to your home should result in a significant discount as should putting Lo-Jack in your vehicle. Check with your insurer regarding discount for security upgrades.