Smart homeowners know to shop their homeowner’s insurance policy around annually. Insurers constantly compete with one another for business and better deals become available. But if you’re like most, you set it and forget it. It seems like a lot of hassle to change your homeowner’s insurance anyway.
You might want to do this, however, because if your homeowner’s insurance cost went up more than 10%, you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere. This could easily amount to saving hundreds of dollars annually. Plus, your insurance needs may have changed since the previous year. You certainly wouldn’t want to find yourself caught in a situation where you don’t have the coverage you need and end up having to pay out of pocket. If you’ve never shopped your homeowner’s insurance around before, check out this quick list of what to do:
- Work with a Broker or Independent Agent
Finding the best deals yourself can really be a chore. And it may not be possible to fit in along with all the other responsibilities you have in life. An independent brokerage, who deals with home insurance all the time, knows who can get you the best policy.
- Concern Yourself with More than Lower Rates
You may reduce the cost of your homeowner’s insurance when you find a new policy. But, don’t get distraught if that doesn’t happen. Profit margins are actually falling in the industry, which means insurers won’t take on as much risk as they did in the past. So, for example, in California many insurers won’t cover damage from wildfires. The same goes for wind and hail damage in coastal areas.
In that case, it’s more important to get coverage for wildfire damage than it is to lower your annual premium. So, make sure you have the coverage for what you need first. And then worry about lowering your rates next.
