Six Easy Steps to Save and Be Safe with Your Homeowners’ Insurance

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By Julie Patel

RISMEDIA, July 8, 2008-(MCT)-Cash-strapped consumers coping with rising prices for food, gas and electricity may want to explore ways to save on homeowner insurance. Ask your insurance agent to provide you with a written estimate for each home improvement and make sure some of the discounts don’t offset each other. In some cases, insurers can’t provide all of the discounts when taken together because there would be little to no premium left to collect. Here are some easy ways to save money-and make your home safer:

1. Remove structures. Remove or reduce additional structures coverage from your homeowner policy. It’s typically automatically included in your policy, even if you don’t have a stand-alone shed, garage or cottage, said Mike Gold, president of People’s Trust Insurance in Boca Raton. This could save you about 5% on your annual premium.

2. Get alarms and locks. Install smoke detectors, burglar alarms and dead-bolt locks that could save you at least 5%, according to a report from the insurance institute. Consider purchasing higher-end security and sprinkler systems, since some insurers offer premium discounts of up to 20% for them.

3. Reduce damage risks. Modernize your heating, plumbing and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage, two of the most costly types of storm claims. For instance, replace rubber hoses behind your washing machine with stainless-steel ones. They’re a bit more expensive but are unlikely to crack or burst.

It’s “the single biggest item a homeowner can do to prevent major loss outside of a catastrophic event,” said Gold, whose company gives a 10% discount for the proper hoses. Most insurers don’t provide such a discount, said Insurance Information Institute spokeswoman Lynne McChristian, but you should ask your agent anyway.

4. Buy less coverage. Consider reducing your home contents coverage, especially if you own items that are worth less now and you would be willing to buy second-hand to replace them. (That said, it makes sense to buy replacement coverage for your home. You want enough to rebuild it if a hurricane strikes, which may be more than the value of the home.)

5. Space nails properly. Use the proper nails and space them correctly. “The percentage of the discounts may vary, but … simply ensuring that the correct nails are used on the roof and that they are spaced appropriately can bring a discount of approximately 11 percent off the wind portion of your premium,” McChristian said. Typically, discounts are provided when you use a 2- or 2.5-inch nail spaced 6 inches from the edge of the plywood and about 6 or 12 inches on the surface of the plywood.

6. Use mulch. Replace gravel or rocks on your lawn with safer materials such as shredded bark, said Tami Torres, program administrator for My Safe Florida Home. There typically aren’t discounts for this, McChristian said, but it would help prevent the rocks from flying and damaging your home or car.

For additional ways to save money on homeowner insurance — and to make your home safer — read the House Keys blog at Sun-Sentinel.com/business/insurance

Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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