How to Improve Your Home Insurance Quote

Nobody wants to pay more than they have to for home insurance. Your home is probably your most expensive asset, so you want to ensure that you are adequately covered. If you understand what factors affect your insurance rates, you might be able to take some measures to lower them.

Your Home's Location

If you live in a bad neighborhood, your home insurance rates will probably be higher, because your home is more likely to suffer from burglary or vandalism. Similarly, if you live in a neighborhood where hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, or other problems happen, that might affect your rates.

Building Materials in Your Home

The building materials that are used in constructing your home can affect your insurance rates. If your house is made wholly or partially out of brick or stone, your house will probably be able to stand up against the high winds that might occur during a hurricane or a tornado. If your home is made out of these materials, your insurance rate will probably be lower.

Your Credit Score

Like it or not, your credit score can affect your home insurance rates. Statistically, people with lower credit scores also have a higher rate of making home insurance claims. Check each of your credit reports annually, and send a letter of dispute to the credit reporting agency if there is an error. You can also improve your credit score by paying off any delinquent debts and making on-time payments. A low credit score not only improves your homeowner's insurance rates, but it also affects the interest rates you pay for loans and other types of insurance, so it is well worth paying attention to.

Do You Smoke?

If you smoke, quitting might improve your homeowner's insurance rates. There are more than 23,000 fires started every year as a result of smoking. When you quit smoking, you might be able to get your homeowner's insurance to reduce your rates.

Your Deductible

Deductibles are the amount of money that you have to pay before the insurance will start paying on a claim. When you raise your deductible, the insurance company will have to pay less on certain claims. Just like increasing your health insurance deductible or your auto insurance deductible will lower your payments, increasing your home insurance deductible will lower your rate as well.

Additional Risk Factors

If you have a pool, trampoline, or dangerous dog, your home insurance rates might increase accordingly. Keep this in mind before you move into a new home. Building a lockable fence around your pool, or installing a safety net and a tall fence around a trampoline, may help mitigate the additional costs that these risks add.