7 Tips for Saving Money on Your Florida Homeowners Insurance
Living here in the Sunshine State can have its advantages. As Floridians, we have become accustomed to our tropical climate, relaxed way of life and nearly all year summer wardrobe.
Nevertheless, the many things we love our about our state have also taken a toll on our property owners insurance coverage rates.
Our tropical climate breeds everything from hurricanes to tropical storms to significant hail storms & tornados just to name a few and you can not forget about our lightning.
While homeowner's coverage can be costly in our state, there are ways you can spend less with these 7 ideas for saving money on your Florida homeowner's insurance.
Know your property value
What you paid for your home has no impact on what you need to insure your home for. The sales price of your home includes land and land can not be insured for fire, wind, theft, etc.
Furthermore, the market value can be based upon location, age and how strong or weak the market is. That is why it is very important that you insure your home for the replacement cost value of your home or what it would cost to rebuild your home brand-new with current building codes and materials. Insuring your house for more than replacement cost will increase your premium.
Reinforce your home and to make it catastrophe resistant
Investments such as adding storm shutters, reinforcing the roofing and updating your utilities can decrease insurance costs. These type of improvements can help decrease the risk for fire and water damage.
In addition, given that Florida is a hurricane prone state, Florida requires companies to offer discounts through wind-mitigation improvements. Discounts are available for the following safety features:
The initial costs for adding a few of these features can be high, but the long-term financial investment can decrease your Florida homeowner's insurance coverage costs and make your home safer.
If your house presently has any of these features you may need to have a home wind-mitigation examination completed to submit to your insurance agent or company to add the additional discounts.
Improve the security of your home
Some companies will offer discounts for having a smoke alarm, alarm system or dead-bolt locks, however a number of companies provide additional discounts if you install an advanced sprinkler system and/ or a fire and burglar alarm that rings at a monitoring station. These systems can be costly and not every system qualifies for a discount rate. Before you decide to buy such a system, discover what kind your insurer suggests, how much the device will cost and how much you will save on your premiums.
Seek out other available discounts
Insurance Companies might offer additional internal discounts. Not every company offers the exact same discounts and these type of discounts will vary by company if available.
These discounts might include:
Your local agent will usually review these with you, but it is also a good idea to evaluate your quote and ask if any extra discounts might be available.
Maintain excellent credit
Establishing a solid credit history can cut your insurance coverage costs. Many customers do not recognize that credit is a factor in how insurance providers evaluate you. Many people do not understand the impact credit plays in insurance coverage, but Insurers have found that policyholders with poor credit tend to make more claims.
Due to this finding, most insurance companies reward a favorable credit history with extra discounts, once again lowering your homeowner's insurance premium.
Choose carefully about making claims
Claims can increase your premium. Your homeowners insurance coverage is not designed to work like a home warranty plan.
Your homeowner's policy is there for when the big claims take place and if you start to place a lot of small claims, your company might consider your home high risk and may raise your rate or even cancel your policy.
The best bet is to think prior to putting in claim. If it is a small claim that you can pay out of pocket, the savings in the long run might pay for the repair work itself. Furthermore, if you decide to put in a claim, consult your insurance company prior to signing any contracts with any third party vendors that might increase your claims cost overall.
Increase Deductibles
Most providers in Florida offer deductible beginning at $1000, however some still offer lower deductibles. Increasing your deductibles will help lower your premium. Homeowner's insurance coverage premiums may be on the rise in Florida, however there are still ways you can help reduce your premium.
Understanding your options is the first step to saving money on your homeowners insurance coverage.
American Traditions has insured homes in the state of Florida since 2006, give us a try to see if we can lower your rates.
