Most people who own a home in Florida see it as their biggest investment and most valuable and prized possession. So it makes sense that they would do everything they could to protect their investment. Getting homeowner's insurance is one way to protect your home and its things.
Even though everyone wants to protect their home in case of a disaster, everyone still wants to get the best rates they can on homeowner's insurance in Florida.
The good news is that you can take a few simple steps to lower the cost of your homeowner's insurance.
First, let's talk about how much insurance you need. You need enough insurance to rebuild your home from the ground up and replace everything in it. In other words, you need enough money to get things back to how they were after a disaster.
You don't want to pay for homeowner's insurance that covers the value of the land under your house. You don't need to get insurance for your land.
Keep in mind that most homeowner's policies in Florida don't cover damage from wind, and no standard policy will cover your home if it floods. You should talk to your agent about how to get wind and flood insurance.
If your home is more than 10 years old, ask your agent how much you could save each month by upgrading the plumbing and electrical systems. Often, the money saved can really add up over a year.
Make sure that any building on your property is at least 10 feet away from any brush or weeds. This lowers the chance of a fire and could save you money each month.
Make sure that every outside door has a deadbolt that works and that every window, no matter what floor it is on, has a lock that works. Tell your agent about any changes or upgrades you make to your property or home. Even adding new landscaping, fixing cracked or broken walkways, or replacing loose floorboards or handrails on porches or decks can lower your monthly homeowner's insurance premium.
Adding motion-sensitive outdoor floodlights and trimming back bushes away from windows can also lower your monthly premium (making it more difficult for burglars to ply their trade).
Make sure you have the right number of smoke and fire detectors in your home for its size and layout, and replace the batteries in all of them at least twice a year. People often change the batteries in their smoke and fire alarms every time they move their clocks ahead or back an hour.
Buy a fire extinguisher that can be used in a kitchen and put it in a good spot.
Don't mess up your credit score. Even if you don't believe it, your credit score does affect how much you pay for homeowner's insurance. The less you pay each month for homeowner's insurance, the higher your credit score.
If you have more than one policy with the same insurance company, such as for your car and your health, you may be eligible for a Multi-Policy Discount.
Talk to your insurance agent about a Long-Term Policy Discount for your homeowner's insurance if you've been with the same company for at least 5 years.
If you can afford to install a home security system that checks for fires and break-ins 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you could save a lot on your insurance premium each month. Talk to your agent before buying one of these systems, though, because some qualify for much bigger discounts than others.
If anyone in your household is 55 or older and retired, you could get another discount on your premium.
When was the last time you looked at your deductible? If you can afford it, you can save a lot on your premiums each year by raising your deductible.
Okay, you should now have enough information to put together a homeowner's insurance policy that saves you money every month and every year. Now, all you have to do is go online and find at least 3 sites that let you compare the prices of your super-policy from different insurance companies. Then, you'll be all set.
Take the time to compare prices on at least three different websites so you can be sure you're looking at the prices of all the Florida insurance companies. Once you've done that, you can sleep well at night knowing that you got the best price on homeowner's insurance in Florida.
