Sunday, April 5, 2015

How to Save Money on Home and Auto Insurance

There are many ways to obtain cheap insurance rates for your home and auto insurance.  Firstly, consider your postal code area before making a decision to locate in a particular area.
By checking the premium rates for home and auto insurance companies offer for a particular postal code, one would know the premiums expected when residing in a particular postal code area.  
Secondly, check the rates for several vehicles before making a vehicle purchase, as safer and better equipped vehicles are usually allow for cheap insurance premiums. Further, look to combine multiple discounts in order to get the most insurance savings. Discounts are company specific, but usually encompass savings for having multiple lines of insurance with one company, group rates (employer or association), and multiple vehicles with one company.
More importantly, consider reducing your insurance risk to lower your premium and get towards cheap insurance by being a more prudent home owner and a more careful driver. For example install a monitored burglar or fire alarm in your home and take more care to avoid getting traffic tickets or being involved in car accidents to lower your home and auto insurance, respectively.
In terms of property insurance usually the greater the cost of replacement the higher the insurance premiums, all else being equal. Additionally, newer properties are more likely to bolster cheap insurance than older properties as aging properties hold more risk of wear and tear which can lead to an increased likely hood of having a claim when safe guards built into properties fail. Also, reviewing your coverage for unnecessary features or sections, then lowering or removing those sections can lead to cheap insurance rates.  
For example, collision coverage with a deductible of $500 may not be worthwhile for an older vehicle with a market value of $1000 or less, as compared to having that coverage on a brand new vehicle. As well, having a rider to cover insurance to a non-owned vehicle may not be necessary if you do not rent vehicles.
Shopping different insurance companies to see what rates they offer can also provide you with a means to obtain cheap insurance, as companies rating calculations and discounts offered are usually different with each company, although similarities may be evident. By shopping different companies and knowing the differences in coverage and premium rates you would be a more informed consumer and be better positioned to get cheap insurance.  
Having all of these items in mind can aid you towards your path to cheap insurance. However, getting cheap insurance should not be your only aim, rather look to get value from your insurance by carefully understanding your coverage and what it means in terms of your level of protection, for example claim forgiveness can save you money in the long run by keeping it rather than removing it if you are ever involved in an at-fault accident. So do not forget that coverage that costs money may end up saving you much more in the long run than what it ends up costing you upfront.
Lastly, look to be insured by a knowledgeable insurance advisor, their ability to explain your options and effects on coverage as well as premium can help you to save while maintaining your optimal level of coverage.

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