Compare Home Insurance Quotes

Buying a home and getting a piece of the American dream is something nearly everyone aspires to do it. However, home ownership comes with a lot of financial responsibilities and commitment. From making regular payments to cutting the grass, owning a home can be challenging.

One of the multiple serious obligations you have is to protect your home from an unforeseen disaster. Protect your home means to get it insured and fully protecting the investment you’ve made. If you compare home insurance quotes online, you can get both excellent coverage and great rates, in a matter of a few minutes. Take a look at these essential suggestions that will get you better coverage at very low rates.

Get the Right Homeowners Coverage

Before you judge the amount of coverage you need for your home, you will need to assess the value of it. The amount of coverage you choose is a major step because if a disaster occurs; your coverage will dictate how much your home can be repaired or replaced for a new one. Once you have a conditional estimate of your home’s real value, you can then proceed to buy coverage.

The policy that insures your home preferably should cover at least 100% of the replacement cost of it. Many advisors recommend purchasing more coverage than your home is worth because costs are always going up. Two years from now your house may cost a lot more to replace than it does currently. Everyone has different needs and budgets, so get the coverage you feel for your particular situation.

Fair Market Value is different from Replacement Cost

The market value of your home is what it would get on the market today if you were to sell it like it is. The replacement cost is the total amount for a repair or complete rebuild of your home. So for example, your four-bedroom house might be appraised at $500,000 by a real estate professional. If your home was burned down for some reason, it might cost more or less than $500,000 to replace it. So the replacement cost of your home is not:

• The current market value of your house
• What you paid for your home
• The balance owed on your mortgage

Before you compare homeowners insurance quotes, you will need to get a professional replacement cost estimate. Once you hold this appraisal, you can then select the dollar amount of coverage you need and additional items like flood and earthquake protection. A reputable construction contractor can often provide accurate replacement cost estimates for a nominal fee. Make sure that you note any special and unique features your home may have, such as custom windows or upgraded flooring.

Did you Recently Upgrade Your Home?

If you have remodeled and updated your home recently, you probably have increased the value of it. If you have added a second story or remodeled a basement, then you will need to adjust your home insurance coverage to reflect these changes.
If you currently have a policy, you can notify your homeowners insurance company and get your system modified. Another option is to compare rates from new insurers and get a new policy that reflects your coverage needs, at possibly cheaper rates. Get free homeowners insurance quote now and start comparing the best rates in just 5 minutes.

Helpful Tips

1. Don’t go by price alone

Price is important, but the insurer you do business with us even more important. Think about it for a minute, you are trusting a company to insure one of your most valuable investments. You should only do business with insurers who are financially healthy and have a long track report of paying rights in full and on time. Check out free rating sites like A.M. Best, which grade each and every licensed insurer throughout the US. Make sure your company is considering getting a policy with has at least an “A” rating.

2. Don’t be loyal to any insurer

Don’t be afraid to switch your homeowners policy if you find a better deal. Remember that you are nothing more than a statistic to these huge companies and are looked at as a set of risks. When you do switch to a competitor, often your old insurer will come back to you with an even lower rate. Check prices every year to see if you can get a better price and never worry about switching.

3. Review your policy carefully

Ready your policy in its entirety before you sign it and send the initial payment. Make sure you are getting the exact coverage you expect, so there are no surprises if you make a claim one day.

4. Take inventory of your home contents

When you get a policy, take a few minutes to video record your home and all of the possessions inside it. Recording everything, it will help expedite the claim processing and prove that you owned the items you are making a request for it.

5. Get as many Discounts as you can

Nearly every major home insurer offers discounts, so you need to get as many as possible. Some of the most common are
home security monitoring systems, smoke alarms, gated community and fire resistant roofing discounts.

6. Set your deductible higher to save on your premiums

Beginning your deductible as higher as you can lower your rates by as much as 25%. Just remember to set aside your deductible amount in the event you need to file a claim.

7. Bundle and Save

Just by insuring both your home and automobile with the same company can save you around 15%.

Shop Online for Homeowners Coverage and Save

Buying standard homeowners insurance is easier than ever before thanks to the internet and online comparison sites. You can compare home insurance quotes from all the major insurers in just a matter of minutes. Find discounted online specials from the top home insurers and save even more. Get your easy homeowners rate quote now.