If you’re a homeowner I know you would appreciate any opportunity to pay less on atleast one thing related to the home. After working hard to save up for the deposit, a good enough credit score, and salary bracket to qualify for the bond you need, you find that there are still bond registration and transfer fees, moving costs, getting the utilities in, rates and levies, maintenance and repairs and so on and so on. So truly, when it comes to buying a house, you will often find that after conquering a great mountain, there are still many more hills to climb.
In this context then, getting an opportunity to save is always a welcome relief. Home insurance, as an essential service for all homeowners is fortunately one of those areas where people can save by implementing certain tactics. Before we can discuss smart ways that you can implement to lower your home insurance, let us unpack exactly what it is that impacts the price of your home insurance premium.
When determining your home insurance, service providers take into account factors like your location, how secure your home is, the condition of the house, and again your credit record. From these alone, we can already tell that, things like properly maintaining your home, installing a reliable security system, and living in a good neighbourhood are clearly some of the ways that you can lower your home insurance policy. Here are some surefire ways to ensure you never pay more than you have to on your home insurance.
Maintain a good credit record
If you didn’t already know this, you will soon find out, a good credit record is paramount to any adult-life transaction. Basically, without it, most of your personal finance transactions, including renting or owning property or a car, getting a job (especially in finance), and getting a good deal on your insurance amongst others are virtually impossible. So, for this reason, having a good credit record is one of the simplest ways to pay less on your home insurance.
Stick to the same insurer
More often than not, insurance service providers will often offer more than one product. They also offer incentives and discounts for clients if they take up more than one product with them. So, if you already have an insurer for your car or home contents, look into their offering for home insurance too. Chances are, with their added benefits and discounts, it will be much more than that of other companies which you will be new to.
Beef up security
The general rule for any insurance product is that the higher the risk, the high the premium. This is why we mentioned earlier that factors like your location and the likeliness of getting burgled also impact the price that an insurer will charge you for their service. Therefore, in order to get the lowest possible premium for your home, ensure that you your home security is in good condition. Install, burglar bars all around the house, upgrade your alarm system, or put up an electric fence, whatever home security improvements you make can go a long way towards helping you save on your home insurance.
Shop around
This one may seem obvious, but the fact is there are thousands of options out there, some will make promises they can’t keep, while others will try and charge you more than is necessary. So, before you settle on any one insurer, sift through the various options and compare benefits and prices to make sure you get great value for your money. While this is an essential part of purchasing any insurance product, it can also be very daunting and time consuming, especially if don’t know what you are looking for. At FWC, we can do all the work for you. Our team of highly skilled professionals will go out there and compare products from some of the best service providers in South Africa to bring you the most suitable for your particular needs. Contact FWC today.
