Can you lower your Homeowners Insurance premium?

In the recent times, it has been noticed that the premiums for homeowners insurance are on the rise. Your premium may even rise if there has been a national disaster in your area. Even increase in crimes in your area can lead to a rise in your insurance premiums even though you haven't made a claim. However, the best part is that, there are various ways to offset this rise and lower your premiums for homeowners insurance. Just have a look at some of those ways:

• Improve your credit score: Most of the insurance companies are using the information from your credit report to price your insurance policy. If you did not have a good credit score while applying for a homeowners insurance, make sure you take some steps to improve your credit score. You can negotiate your premiums with the insurance company as your credit score improves.

• Raise your deductibles for homeowners insurance: So, what are your homeowners deductibles like? Just note that most of the companies offer deductibles that range from $250 to $30,000. If you can raise your deductibles by $500 to $1,000, you may save up to 25% on your premiums. You can check out with your insurance agent about the different types of deductibles offered and accordingly chose one.

• Merge homeowners insurance with other insurance policies: It's a good option to consolidate your homeowners insurance policy with your other insurances. This will help you in getting the benefits of the multi-policy holder discounts. There are some companies which offer discounts of 5% to 15% if you buy homeowners insurance and auto insurance coverage together from them.

• Upgrade your home: You must be surprised to know that insurance companies offer discounts for upgrades on your home. Some of those upgrades include placing a new roof, installing a new home alarm system or deadbolts on your doors.

• Keep your insurance coverage up to date: Before your homeowners policy is due, make sure that you go through your insurance policy and read through the details. You can also call up your insurance agent and check out if any changes have taken place meanwhile which may have raised your payments.

• Shopping for homeowners insurance: Shopping for your homeowners insurance is a good option as it would help you know what the insurance companies are charging these days. However, just remember that you can receive better discounts if you've been with your current insurer for several years. Some companies may offer you discount of 10% if you've been with them for 6 years or more and 5% discount if you've been with them for 3-5 years.