From: Betty
It is time for the renewal on our house
insurance,and my husband says to leave it alone
but, I think we can get more for our money with a
better price but, I don’t no how to do this can
you please help me.
All I do is just call 4-5 different insurance companies and ask for rates. Then I compare and choose the one that is the least expensive. You will need to find out from your insurance company first what your rate is, the deductible and how much coverage you have. Then you can get an accurate comparison. Tawra
The bank which pays our house insurance (it is billed directly) refused to pay the bill without contacting us. The insurance company had changed the policy on their own and raised the premium by about $500. After they mailed it to the bank they did send us a copy to look over and we were given the option of keeping it at that rate or going back to the original policy (which had risen by about $150) without the bank watching out for us we would have ended up with a hefty increase!
Be sure to check with the insurance commissioner’s office in your state before you take the cheapest insurance on anything. You don’t want the company or agent/company that has numerous complaints in your state for not paying or for fraud or ???.
If you have an agent who handles your car policies as well, let him/her know you are considering changing. They will tend to find a better rate in order to keep your business. Make sure you are making your deductible reasonable as well - obviously you want coverage but not to the point that it’s costing you more than the replacement value of the damaged/stolen items.
Some clubs and organizations have discounts on insurance. So if you are a grange member, or belong to a military organization (like the VFW or Marine Corps assn) check with them to see if any companies offer discounts to members.
Also, ask your insurnace provider if there is anything you can do to get a discount. We saved $200/year on our new house by imediately installing dead-bolt locks and placing fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in the house when we moved in.
Last year we checked on our insurance cost when it was up for renewal and found out that we had an old policy (only 5 years since we had bought our house) and we saved $800 dollars a year because we changed it. It is worth checking in to every year.
Be careful just calling around for quotes almost all places determine a quote by your credit score. Just calling around for quotes will “ding” your credit. Be sure and tell them you want estimate quote, you don’t want your credit report touched. Unless you know your credit score then they could give you a better picture of price range.