Whether you have a mortgage or not, home insurance is an important necessity. After all, bearing the replacement or rebuilding costs of your home without insurance may be a fiscal impossibility—and being homeless is certainly not an option. And you may not think your contents are valuable enough to merit coverage, but think about how much you would have to spend in order to replace valuable electronics, refurnish your home, re-clothe yourself and your family, and replace any family antiques.
But not every budget allows for insurance coverage that suits all your needs based on the risks you are exposed to daily. If your budget is tight, then consider some of these money saving ideas rather than going without insurance.
Choose a higher deductible: The deductible of your insurance policy is the amount that you must pay out of your own pocket when you have a claim. For example, if you have a $2,500 deductible and the amount of damage after an insurable incident is $10,000, then you will pay for $2,500 worth of the damage out of your own funds and the insurance company will pay the remaining $7,500. Because this amount reduces the overall amount of money that the insurance company must pay, it also reduces your premium. Before you pick a higher deductible, make sure that you can actually afford to pay this deductible and, if you have a mortgage, check with your mortgage company to make sure they permit that high a deductible.
Lower your limits: As rebuilding expenses decline and housing prices go down, you may be able to reduce the limits on your Houston home insurance policy. Limits are the maximum amounts the insurance company will pay if you were to suffer a total loss of your property. If you have a mortgage, you will need to keep limits that guarantee the mortgage lender full repayment, so be sure to give your lender a call before you make any decisions.
Pay your premium annually: If you pay your premium monthly, your insurance company may be adding an extra service charge to your premiums. Instead, change your premium payment method to annual payments and you will avoid any additional billing or service charges.
Install a monitored anti-theft alarm system: If you have a monitored alarm system—the kind that has representatives available 24/7 to alert the police if something happens in your home that trips the alarm—then your Houston home insurance company may offer extra discounts to you.
To learn more about Houston home insurance contact us at 713-349-0400 or get a free home insurance quote.