Search and Find

Austin's Home Ownership Guide

Finding Home Owner’s Insurance

• Shop around.  As with anything else, it pays to have options to compare.
• Raise your deductible.  Raising you deductible from $500 to $1000 can save you as much as 25%.
• Insure for the right amount.  You don’t need to insure for the price you paid for your house.  Your land isn’t susceptible to fire, storm or theft damages.  Insure for the cost of replacement or rebuilding.
• Make your home safer.  Modernizing your electrical, plumbing and heating, reduce risk of fires and water damage.  Stronger roofing materials and storm shutters will make your house safer in harsh weather conditions.  All of these things can not only make you and your possessions safer, but amount to savings in your home owner policy as well.
• Think ahead when buying.  Insurance may be cheaper if the electrical, heating and plumbing systems are newer.  Check crime rates in the area.  Even having a professional, rather than volunteer, fire department in the area and the nearness of a fire hydrant to your property can reduce the cost of your premiums.
• Think about home security.  You can usually save around 5% for having a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt installed.
• Buy home and auto insurance from the same company.  You can usually save 5 to 15% by using one company, as insurers tend to reward customers for multiple policies.
• Maintain good credit.  Insurance companies are now using credit information to determine the dependability, and thereby the cost of premiums, of customers.
• Record your possessions.  Make sure you are not paying too much.  Also make sure especially valuable items such as art and heirlooms are covered; you may want extra insurance (floater policies) to cover these items.
• Be loyal.  Some insurance companies offer discounts to customers for maintaining policies over time; you may save as much as 5 to 10%.
• Evaluate all your insurance policies annually to make sure they cover (an do not over-cover) your home, car and other possessions.

Other Resources:

State Insurance Departments
http://www.consumeraction.gov/insurance.shtml

National Association of Insurance Comissioners
http://www.naic.org

Consumer Reports
http://www.consumerreports.org