Are You Paying Too Much for Your Homeowners Insurance?

Are You Paying Too Much for Your Homeowners Insurance?

Homeowners insurance is one of those policies which everyone needs but may be paying for blindly, without considering each and every facet of it. Read on to discover what you need from your homeowners insurance and what to do if you are paying too much.

What is Homeowners Insurance?

Homeowner’s insurance is a set of insurance policies which offer you financial support in the event of damage occurring to your property. It is not a legal requirement in many states to have homeowners insurance, but you should still consider having it if you can afford it. Repairs to your home can be very costly, and you would have to front the cost of them all by yourself if you have no insurance.

What is Covered by Homeowners Insurance?

One of the primary policies in homeowners insurance is dwelling coverage. This makes sure that the actual structure of your home is protected in the event of damage, and any outlying buildings like a garage or a workshop will also be protected.

You can also bolster on a number of additional policies like disaster coverage, which ensures that recovering your property after disastrous weather effects like hurricanes, tornadoes, or wildfires (to name but a few) will be much easier.

There are also options for various forms of liability insurance. If an accident occurs on your property, the injured party may demand that you pay their medical bills for them and such costs can repeatedly run over if you do not watch them carefully.

How to Tell if You are Paying Too Much

There are several ways you can tell whether or not you are paying too much for your home insurance, and one of the first things you can do is look up how much the average homeowners insurance is in your state. If you live in a state like Florida where there is a raised risk of hurricanes, you are naturally going to pay more for your homeowners insurance than someone who lives in landlocked Idaho.

You might also be paying too much if you have chosen to take out a policy with low deductibles. The deductible is the part of the insurance claim which you have to pay yourself before you can start using the money the insurance company gives you. The more you are willing to pay for your deductible, the lower your overall premiums may be.

Yes, this means that you might be paying an extra $500 in the event of a claim, but would you rather pay that $500 every single year as part of a premium or as a one-off just in case you do want to make a claim? We know which one we would rather choose.

Shop Around

One of the easiest ways to tell if you are paying too much on your homeowners insurance is to simply shop around and see what is on offer to you elsewhere. When it comes to insurance, you cannot always afford to be loyal to one company. If there is a better deal offered elsewhere then you should definitely think about moving.

Some companies out there even allow you to transfer your discounts if they offer schemes similar to your current company. There is no reason why you should tie yourself to one insurance policy simply because you don’t want to lose a repeat customer discount, so take a good look at your insurance policy today and determine if you could be saving money by making some changes.