Reducing Your Property Insurance Premium
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Simple tips can help you save
Most people would like to get the best deal they can, and today many insurers offer different types of discounts or other incentives. But there are also other simple steps you can take that may help to lower your premium.
Here are a few ideas that could help you save on insurance, along with a look at various discounts you may be eligible for.
Reassess your situation
- If you haven’t already done so, take inventory and make a record of all your possessions. If you already have an inventory, make sure to update it.
- Compare your insurance coverage with the value of your possessions today.
- Have you made any major purchases recently?
- Has your property decreased in value?
- Have you done some downsizing?
All of these things are good reasons to consider increasing or decreasing your coverage.
- Find out if your insurer automatically increases your policy limit annually to reflect inflation. The increased limit may not be necessary, if you determine that your coverage requirements have decreased.
- Don’t include the market price of the land in the total insured value of your home. Your insured property does not include the underlying land. Your home should be insured for the replacement cost (what it would cost to rebuild). Otherwise, you could be paying higher premiums for nothing.
Consider increasing your deductible
- A simple way to reduce your insurance premiums is to increase your deductible, based on what you’re sure you can afford to pay if something happens suddenly and you have to make a claim.
- Ask yourself how much you can realistically afford to spend unexpectedly.
- Based on that figure, you can decide on the maximum deductible you would be prepared to pay if you need to make a claim.
Always compare
- When it’s time to renew your coverage, it always pays to compare.
- Just remember that all policies are not equal: look carefully at the price, coverage, dollar limitations and service.
Discounts and incentives
Make sure to look into discounts, whether you’re buying a new policy or renewing an existing one. These are some things to ask about:
- Property and automobile insurance: some insurers offer a discount if you buy both home and auto insurance from them. Some may also waive one of the deductibles for added savings.
- Senior rates: providers may also offer different discounts for people over a certain age. With the aging population, some have introduced discounts for people over 50, for example.
- Affinity-related discounts: some insurers, including TD Insurance Meloche Monnex, negotiate special rates with employers, or with professional associations, alumni associations and others, providing their members with “affinity” discounts.
- Security features: most insurers will offer a lower rate if you install specific security features, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, sprinkler systems, monitored burglar alarms and dead-bolt locks.
- Before adding new security devices, ask about which measures qualify for a discount.
- See the article on Burglar-proofing Your Home in the “Protecting Your Home” section for more information
- Claim-free incentives: insurers sometimes offer discounts or incentives for people who go a specific number of years without a claim.
- Loyalty incentives: some insurers will offer a discount to long-term policyholders.