Top Tips To Reduce Your Insurance Costs
Every insurance need is different. After all, every homeowner is different and their circumstances and needs can vary wildly. This can have an effect on home insurance costs.
According to Money Super Market’s price index, the cost of home insurance policies has increased by over a quarter (26 per cent) on average over the last four years.
So, how to reduce home insurance? There are ways to keep your premiums down, from common sense home insurance advice to more unusual tricks to help reduce liabilities.
Here are some top tips to keep your insurance costs low.
Buy A Combined Policy
Home insurance is a collection of different types of policies and requirements, but the two main components you need are buildings insurance and contents insurance, which cover the actual physical building and your valuables inside it, respectively.
Whilst you can buy both of these separately, even from different providers, many insurers offer a discount if you buy both from them which can work out cheaper.
According to the insurance price index, buying a combined policy could save you over £30 compared to buying the two policies separately.
Don’t Overinsure
There is a complex balancing act when it comes to home insurance, where you want to ensure your home and everything in it could be replaced in the case of a catastrophe. As a result, many people are paying more than they need to just in case.
The place where people get stuck the most is that they calculate the market value of their home when factoring in the cover they need, not the cost to rebuild it. As land is often more valuable than what is built on it, this could be reduced.
Don’t Be Fooled By Excess
Several insurance companies will reduce the premium on your home if you increase the excess you will pay out when you claim, which can work out better right up until the moment you actually need to make a claim.
Make sure you can afford any excess you choose and keep in mind any compulsory excess charges such as for subsidence.
Keep Your Home Secure
The more protected your home and contents are, the cheaper your home insurance will be. Simple steps such as more secure specified locks, installing a safe or even joining a Neighbourhood Watch scheme could reduce your costs in three ways.
The first is that you are less likely to make a claim and so won’t need to pay any excesses. The second is that your premiums will be lower because your provider will know you are less likely to claim.
Finally, you can also build up a no-claims bonus, which means that every year you will be paying less for your insurance.
Think About Additional Cover
When you apply for insurance policies, especially combined ones, you will often be offered extra policy options for free or a small fee, such as cover if you need emergency repairs to your home, cover for legal expenses or accidental damage.
If these are free that is fine. However, if you need to pay to add them, be aware that these can add up over time.
