Your home is probably the most valuable thing you own and the biggest investment you've made, so it makes sense that you'd want to protect that investment by getting homeowner's insurance.
But at the same time, you don't want to pay more for your insurance than you have to. It makes sense, then, that you would want to compare low cost homeowner's insurance in Florida so you can be sure you got the best deal.
Once upon a time, it took a lot of time and was almost impossible to compare homeowner's insurance policies from different companies. Today, though, there are so many websites that it's almost as easy to compare policies as it is to click a button.
Before you go online and start comparing prices for homeowner's insurance, you should really put together a policy that is designed to save you money. Then, you can compare the prices of that policy to find the best price for homeowner's insurance.
First, let's talk about a few facts about homeowner's insurance. For example, if you live in Florida, you can be sure that your policy doesn't cover wind damage or floods. You will need to talk to your agent about getting wind and flood insurance separately from your standard homeowner's policy.
How much insurance do you need for your home? You need enough money to cover the cost of rebuilding your home from the ground up and replacing everything in it if something terrible happens.
Don't pay to insure the value of the land your house is on, though. The land isn't going anywhere.
Keep your credit in good condition. A lot of people don't know that your credit score affects how much you pay for homeowner's insurance. If your credit score is good, you will pay less each month for your homeowner's insurance premiums. If your credit score is low, you will pay more for the same insurance.
Have you bought insurance from the same company more than once? If so, you should be able to get a discount on your homeowner's insurance called a Multi-Policy Discount.
Has the same insurance company covered you for at least 5 years? If so, you should be able to get a discount for having a policy for a long time.
Cut back all weeds and brush at least 10 feet away from any building to reduce the risk of fire and lower your monthly premium.
If you can afford a service that watches your home 24/7 and reports fires and break-ins to the police, you could save up to 30% on your homeowner's insurance each month. But talk to your agent before you buy a system, because not all systems qualify for the same monthly discount.
If someone in your household is 55 or older and retired, you can get a discount on your homeowner's insurance because that person will be home a lot of the time to report fires or burglaries.
Make sure you have the right number of fire and smoke detectors for the size and layout of your home. Make sure that all of the detectors work and have new batteries. Every year, batteries need to be changed out twice. People often remember to change their batteries when they change the time on their clocks by an hour.
Put motion-detecting floodlights around your house and cut back any bushes that are close to windows to keep burglars away.
Make sure that every door that leads outside has a working deadbolt lock. Make sure that every window, even the ones that are hard to reach, has a lock that works.
Even if you're only going to be gone for a minute, lock your house every time you leave.
Fix any sidewalks that are broken or cracked, and replace any boards or railings that are loose on porches or decks. Landscape holes should be filled.
If your home is more than 10 years old, upgrading the plumbing and electrical systems can make a big difference in how much you pay each month for homeowner's insurance.
Invest in a fire extinguisher that is made for your kitchen.
Have rope ladders or other ways to get out of rooms on upper floors.
Make sure your agent knows everything you've done to make your home safer and less likely to be broken into or burned down.
Now that you've made the cheapest homeowner's insurance policy you can, it's time to go online and find a few websites that let you quickly compare policies and prices for homeowner's insurance here in Florida.
Take the time to compare prices on at least three different comparison sites, since no one site can compare all of the Florida insurance companies.
Once you've compared prices on at least three different websites, you can choose the best rate with confidence. You can also be sure that you've compared low cost homeowner's insurance in Florida and bought the best and least expensive policy you could.
