Stick With Your Insurer
If you’ve kept an insurance policy with the same insurer for several years, you may be offered a reduced premium. You can receive a 5% discount after three to five years, and up to 10% after six years.

Raise Your Deductible
Keep this rule of thumb in mind when shopping for home insurance: as the deductible increases, the premium decreases. Raising your deductible means insurance companies take less of a risk insuring you, thereby making you cheaper to insure.

Senior Discounts
Insurance companies have found that older folks have more free time to maintain their homes, and are home more often to spot fires and burglaries. As a result, retired persons over 55 may qualify for a home insurance discount.

Understand Flood Insurance
Despite the fact that 11 million homes lay within flood zones, over 65% of homeowners do not have flood insurance. Flood damage is not covered by a standard home insurance policy, and must be purchased separately. If a hurricane or other natural disaster causes a flood, the resulting damage to your home will not be covered by a standard home insurance policy.

Take a Home Inventory
If you had to file a home insurance claim, would you be able to prove the value of your lost, stolen or destroyed items? According to the Insurance Resource Council, less than half of homeowners keep a proper home inventory. Keeping a list of your home’s valuable items can help you recall the value of your items when filing a claim. Collecting original sales receipts, serial numbers of big ticket purchases and photographs/video of the items is recommended when taking a home inventory.

By: rlewis01