Insurance Tips for Homeowners
For the uninitiated, the world of insurance can be a minefield of mystery. How do you know that an insurance policy is right for you? Are you paying for more than you need? These are just a couple of the worries you may have when looking for home insurance. In this month’s article, we’ll be trying to allay any fears you may have about home insurance; here you’ll find our top insurance tips for homeowners!
Home Insurance: A Necessity?
Home insurance is not compulsory, but it is more than worthwhile to have it. The reasons for this are myriad, but above all include the fact that is one of the best ways to protect your home and belongings against theft and damage; should the worst come to pass, you’ll have a safety net waiting. The best tip we can give you regarding home insurance, therefore, is to take out a policy!
It’s also worth noting that some letting agents now make contents insurance a compulsory component of a contract, so this is something to beware of if you’re looking to rent a new property.
Know How Home Insurance Costs Are Calculated
There are a number of factors that can influence the cost of your premium, and knowing what these are is a helpful way to approach taking out your own policy, allowing you to get exactly what you need and at the best price. The key areas, however, include:
- Your location, with areas with higher crime rates seeing higher premiums
- Voluntary excess; the more you’re willing to pay in excess when you make a claim, the lower your premium will be
- Your insured sum; the more you insure and the more valuable your items are can also push your premium up
Save Money on Home Insurance
As with any type of insurance policy, there are a variety of options open to you, some of which can provide you with the opportunity to lower your insurance costs significantly. Chief among these is to increase your voluntary excess amount, albeit this could prove costlier if you have to make a claim at some point in the future. The issue here, then, is balance.
Other areas where you could make savings include only paying for what you need. When you take out a policy you’ll need to accurately note the value of the home and its contents. The rebuild cost of your home, for instance, is an integral part of the insurance process. The rebuild cost is the cost it would take to rebuild your home entirely if catastrophe were to strike. Over insuring your property then – namely by misjudging the cost it would take to rebuild it, for example – could send your premium skyrocketing unnecessarily. Be sure to accurately assess the value of your home and all of its contents to get a policy that’s right for you.
Consider Everything: Key Areas
Home insurance is a complicated business; there are many different facets to it that you need to consider, but some of the main things to be mindful of include:
- Finding out what type of locks you have and if they are up to BS3621 standards
- Knowing what type of alarm system your property has
- Knowing which items are high-risk, so either expensive or likely items for thieves to target, so you can notify your insurer of these items specifically
For the most comprehensive advice on how to get the most out of your home insurance policy, though, you’ll need to talk to an expert. Luckily, the Insurance Store are here to help.
The Insurance Store offer unbeatable home insurance policies from our base in the St Albans and Harpenden area. Whatever your insurance needs are, we’re sure to find a policy to suit you. We pride ourselves on our ability to beat quotes given by price comparison websites and our professional team are excellent at seeking out the perfect package for our clients’ requirements. So for friendly advice or a no obligation quote, contact our team today.