Insurance World

With all the rising costs in the world consumers are looking for ways to cut costs and save money. Americans spend billions of dollars every year on their home insurance policies. It does not take a genius to figure out that every homeowner needs insurance, most people consider their home to be their greatest asset.

Thousands of homeowners are reaping the rewards that comes from filling out a FREE home insurance quote. Many are receiving 25-30% discounts on their policies while becoming more educated about the home insurance that is right for them. Here are a few tips that might help you when you are shopping for that “Perfect” insurance policy.

Increase Your Deductible

Just like auto insurance, policies have deductibles, and the same rule of thumb applies–carry the highest deductible you can afford. The higher your deductible, the more premium credit you can expect to receive from your insurance company. Your savings could reach 25% by increasing the deductible from $100 to $1000.

Improve Your Home Security

Most insurance companies offer discounts for smoke detectors, burglar alarms, dead bolts, fire extinguishers, and Neighborhood Watch Areas. Homes with a fire and burglar alarm system hooked up to a third-party monitoring company receive higher discounts than homes with local bell alarms.

Consolidate Policies

Insuring two or more vehicles with the same insurance company can save you 10 - 15% on your premiums. If you cover your homeowners insurance and auto insurance together, you can reduce your premiums by another 10 - 15%.

Construction Type

Before buying a home, consider its construction type, such as frame or concrete block and steel (CBS). A wood frame house typically costs more to insure than one built mostly of concrete.

Verify Distance To Fire Stations And Windstorm Areas

If you live in the country, you’ll probably pay higher rates for your insurance than if you lived in town. Why? It’s because of the longer distance to your local fire station. If you live more than 5 miles from the nearest fire station, and more than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant, you will most likely pay a higher premium.

Before purchasing your home, you may want to get a quote for both and flood insurance. Insurance companies may not offer you windstorm or flood coverage, depending upon the area in which you live. If your home is in a hurricane prone area and your insurance company offers windstorm coverage, then installing approved hurricane shutters should result in a premium discount.

Claims Free Record And Renewal Discounts

If you have not had a claim under your policy during the past 3 - 5 consecutive years, you could receive up to a 15% discount, depending on the insurance company. Plus, most companies will discount your premium if your policy has been in force for 3 straight years.

Mortgage Free Discounts

Some insurance companies target who have paid off their mortgage and offer them premium discounts of up to 5%.

New And Renovated Home Discounts

A majority of insurance companies offer a discount for new homes, and you may qualify if your home was built in the last 10 - 15 years. Also, a recently renovated home costs less to insure, so find out when the last major electrical, heating and plumbing update was completed on the home.

Live-In House Keeper

Some insurers offer up to a 2% premium credit if you have a live-in employee as they feel it could reduce the likelihood of burglary.

Conclusion

After reviewing the foregoing savings tips, you may think that if you added up all your credits you could receive a 70 – 90% reduction in your premiums. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Certain safety or other measures you take may qualify you for being placed with the “preferred” company of a particular insurance group. This “preferred” company will be able to give you more premium credits than a standard company is able to.

Many dual income couples, include their children on each group health insurance plan to maximize benfits. However, without some sort of system in place to help the health insurance companies coordinate benefits, it’s possible that either you or your doctor would be reimbursed for more than 100 percent of the actual cost of your claim.

To prevent this, health insurance companies typically designate one parent’s health insurance plan as the primary plan and the other as the secondary plan. (That’s why the patient questionnaire at your doctor’s office asks for information on primary and secondary coverage.) The primary plan is responsible for paying covered expenses up to the limits of the policy. If any unpaid costs are left over, the secondary coverage kicks in.

THE DATE OF BIRTH DETERMINES WHICH HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDES COVERAGE

The birthday rule is often used to determine which plan is primary and which is secondary. Under this rule, the plan of the parent whose birthday occurs first in the calendar year is designated as primary. The date of birth is the determining factor not the year so it doesn’t matter which spouse is older.

Like most rules, the birthday rule has exceptions:

- If both parents share the same birthday, the parent who has been covered by his or her plan longest provides the primary coverage for the children.

- If one spouse is currently employed and has health insurance through a current employer, and the other spouse has coverage through a former employer, the plan belonging to the curently employed spouse would be primary.

- In the event of divorce or seperation, the plan of the parent with custody generally provides primary coverage. If the custodial parent remarries, the new new spouse’s coverage becomes secondary. And finally, the non custodial parent’s health insurance plan would provide a third layer of insurance protection. This order of payment can be altered by a court issued divorce decree or by agreement, but the health insurance companies must be notified.

THESE ARE JUST HEALTH INSURANCE RULES NOT THE LAW

Keep in mind that these practices are common among health insurance companies, but they are not governed by law. Practices may vary from one insurer to another. Read your policy carefully to make sure you understand how your insurance company handles dual coverage. If the policy coverage is unclear, ask for help from your employers benefit specialist or your insurer’s customer service department.