Low cost home insurance

Low cost home insurance is something of a myth. Where you live, what you own, and how you live are all factors in determining how much your home insurance costs. Therefore, to truly achieve low cost home owners insurance you would need to live in a place where there are never any natural disasters, you would need to not own much of anything of value, and you would need to take incredible precautions to ensure that nothing bad happens to your home or your valuables.

You can account for some of these factors, but not all. To truly find low cost home insurance you will have to put in some legwork to lower your premium. Note that the average cost of home owners insurance varies by state, but you can expect to see a number somewhere between 300 dollars a year, to more than 1,100 dollars a year. In 2009 the average was around 700 dollars, and in 2012 the average home insurance cost was closer to 850 dollars. Most people will fall somewhere in the middle.

To lower your home owners insurance cost you can start by asking for discounts. Like anything in life, these discounts will not be handed to you. You must ask for them. Here are several discounts that you may be able to get.

1. Senior Discount

Yes, seniors have it made. If you are retired, or more than 55 years old, you may qualify for a significant discount on your home insurance! Some lenders will take 20 percent off the premium, just because you have been around for a long time, so ask about this discount.

2. Alarm System Discount

Protecting your home could protect your wallet, so ask about discounts for having either a local or a monitored alarm system. Your insurance carrier would be thrilled to know if you are taking precautions to keep your valuables safe.

3. Fire Alarm Discount

Do you have smoke detectors in your house? What about a fire extinguisher? I hope so. Only you can prevent house fires. If you are working to prevent house fires then you can probably be rewarded with a discount, so ask your lender.

4. Lower Risk Discount

If you have never needed to file a claim, or if it has been more than ten years since you have filed a claim, you could get a discount for that. The insurance carrier would consider you a low risk client, and since that makes them happy, the reward of a discount should make you happy, too.

Claiming discounts is easier than making investments into your home, and easier still than finding a new insurance carrier, but know that there are other ways to lower your premium if you are determined. These discounts naturally vary by state and by carrier, but they are worth investigating if you want low cost home insurance.