Whether you have a mortgage or not, homeowners 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 refurnish your home, re-clothe yourself and your children, and replace valuable electronics and 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 policy is the amount that you must pay out of your own pocket when you have a claim. For example, if you have a $5,000 deductible and the amount of damage after an insurable incident is $15,000, then you will pay for $5,000 worth of the damage out of your own funds and the insurance company will pay the remaining $10,000. 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 it and, if you have a mortgage, check with your mortgage company to make sure they permit that high a deductible.
Install a monitored anti-theft alarm system: If you have a monitored alarm system—the kind that has a live crew of representatives available 24/7 to alert the police if something happens in your home that trips the alarm—then your homeowners insurance company may offer additional discounts to you.
Lower your limits: As rebuilding expenses decline and housing prices go down, you may be able to reduce the limits on your homeowners 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 additional service charge to your premiums. Instead, change your premium payment method to annual payments and you will avoid any extra service or billing charges.
So get your own quote on Oklahoma City Home Insurance right now!