How to Save Money on Home Insurance
Is your home insurance coming up for renewal? If you’re anything like me, the renewal notice will have an increase well above the rate of inflation. With the cost of living going up a lot faster than wages, especially with COVID hopefully winding down, most Canadians are looking for ways to save money.
In this article, we’ll look at simple ways to save money on your home insurance.
Pay Annually Instead of Monthly
Do you pay your home insurance premiums every month? Did you know you could save money by paying your home insurance premiums annually? That’s right; some home insurance companies offer you a discount just for paying your home insurance premiums once a year as once lump sum instead of in equal monthly instalments. If your money is sitting in a savings account and earning peanuts, why not earn a lot better of a return and pay for your home insurance premiums for the entire year? You might receive a five or 10 percent discount on your total premiums for the year.
Increase Your Deductible
Have you ever claimed on your home insurance? If you’re like most Canadians, the answer is no. The deductible is the amount you have to pay out of pocket if you make a claim. By default, home insurance companies like to put the deductible at a low amount, such as $500, but did you know that you can increase that? Many home insurance companies let you increase the deductible to $1,000, $2,000 or even $5,000.
How high should you raise the deductible? It would be best if you raised it to an amount you’re comfortable paying out of pocket in a worst-case scenario. If $2,000 or $5,000 isn’t going to break the bank, you might consider raising your deductible to either of those amounts. When you do that, your premiums should be lower since you’re receiving less coverage.
Just make sure you self-insure, though. That means having enough money in emergency savings to cover the deductible if something bad were to happen. Raising the deductible and hoping nothing bad happens without having the savings to back it up is never a good strategy.
Bundle and Save
If you have a vehicle like most Canadians, you’ll need car insurance. Car insurance is a lot more costly than home insurance in almost all cases, making sense. You’re a lot more likely to claim car insurance than you are for home insurance. What if I told you there was a way to save on both home and car insurance?
By taking out your home and car insurance with the same insurance company, you can often save big bucks. You could receive a discount of 10 percent or more on both. Not bad!
The Bottom Line
These are just three of the many simplest ways to save money on your home insurance. If you’re looking for more ways to save, reach out to our experts today, and we’d be happy to help you.