For almost all people who live in Maryland, their home is the biggest investment they will ever make. So, it's not surprising that most people who own their own homes in Maryland buy homeowner's insurance.
Homeowner's insurance is meant to protect the value of your home and its belongings if something bad happens. When looking for the best prices on homeowner's insurance, the total value of your policy is the one thing you don't want to skimp on. In case of a disaster, your policy needs to cover the full replacement value in today's dollars of what it would cost to rebuild your home from the ground up.
The only way to know for sure how much insurance you need is to talk to a real estate agent or a building contractor in your area and find out how much it would cost to rebuild your house exactly as it is now. To get a good number, you also need to carefully figure out how much it would cost to replace everything in your home.
Include the actual cost to rebuild your home and the value of its contents in the total value of your policy. Do not include the value of the land on which your home is built.
Most homeowner claims are about burglary (when someone breaks in and steals your stuff) or fire damage. Because of this, the best way to save money on your homeowner's insurance is to keep your home safe from fire and theft.
Start by getting all the brush, weeds, and trash away from your buildings. Clear at least 10 feet of bushes and weeds away from all structures.
Burglars are less likely to break into your home if you have lights that turn on when they move. Cutting back the bushes near windows and doors is another way to keep burglars away. Make sure that all exterior doors have both a deadbolt lock that works and a regular lock that you can open with a key. All windows, whether they are on the ground floor or in the upper floors, need to have a lock that works.
Make sure that you have the right number and type of fire and smoke detectors in your home and that they are all working. At least twice a year, smoke and fire alarms need new batteries. Get a fire extinguisher and keep it in the kitchen.
Once you've made your home as safe from fire and thieves as you can, it's time to go online and see how all your hard work paid off. Find a few websites that let you compare the prices and policies of different insurance companies for homeowners.
Take the time to fill out the form on two or even three different comparison websites so you can compare all of the insurance companies in Maryland that sell homeowner's policies. This way, you'll be sure to get the best prices on Maryland homeowner's insurance.
