Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Home Insurance Rate -- Tips To Qualify For Cheap

By Chimezirim Odimba

We all will be pleased to get a very affordable rate provided it comes with adequate coverage. But how can this be achieved? Let's explore a number of sure-fire steps to getting just that...

Maintaining a government homeowner's insurance policy could be making you spend a lot more on home insurance than you would otherwise. It used to be quite tough to get insurers if you live in certain high crime areas or places that were affected by particular natural disasters. Some folks in those regions had just one choice: Government homeowner's insurance offered by a government agency. Nevertheless, at present there are a number of private insurers who also give coverage for such places.

Many may still have little or no other means of getting home insurance coverage apart from a government homeowner's insurance. But if your area is presently catered for by some private insurance providers you could make considerable savings by switching to them.

Always check on your plumbing and upgrade once it becomes a need. Statistics show that water damage is the most common claim on a homeowner's policy. This implies that if you can show your insurer that you have taken steps to reduce or remove the risk of water damage, you will bring down your home insurance premium. Be sure to inform your agent once you upgrade you plumbing system.

Do you have a fire extinguisher or fire extinguishers in your house (depending on the number of fire sources you have in your house)? For instance, your kitchen must have a good and functioning fire extinguisher. And do ensure that it's such that is proper for the kitchen in question.

And, always remember that you must make them very easily accessible. Doing this will help you reduce your premiums.

Smoking raises the risk of a fire in your home. According to reports, about 23,000 residential fires can be traced to smoking. Do your best to make sure nobody smokes in your home and you'll pay more affordable premiums. If you stop smoking successfully for over 12 months, let your agent know it and ask for a well-deserved discount. If your insurance company refuses to reduce your rate after you have quit, switch to another insurance company.

Don't forget: You can get lower quotes on home insurance now by visiting not less than five quotes sites. Each quotes site will require about 5 minutes or less to receive quotes. (Some folks fill in details that is not quite correct about themselves. That is NOT smart since the quotes you'll get this way won't be of any use to you).

You'll have to select what represents the best home insurance quote for you from the list of quotes you've obtained. That's all there is to it. Nevertheless you could easily save hundreds of dollars.

Cheap rates, while attractive, should be considered only after checking the insurer's rating. You don't want to pay your rates faithfully just to realize later that your insurance provider can't make good its part for a number of reasons. Spend time to find out from your state's department of insurance website. You can simply find out an insurance company's rating there (and even if they even licensed to sell insurance in your state).

BBB, A.M Best Company, Phelps, Inc., Standard & Poor's Insurance Rating Services, Moody's Investor Services, Inc. are resources that you'll do well to visit before you purchase a policy from any insurer.

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