Risk & Business Magazine Condotta, Merrett & Company Fall 2015 | Page 25

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How to Reduce Your Home Insurance Premiums
BY: AMEDEO CONDOTTA, CONDOTTA, MERRETT & CO.

I am sure that many of you have seen your home-owners
insurance polices increase over the past several years and have
wondered what you can do to bring it down. The saying today
is that water claims is the new fire losses. In the past most
policies were geared to fire and smoke claims. Today, water
claims is the new terror. For those who have not taken steps to
prevent water claims, rates will be going upwards yet there are
a number of things that you can do to help bring rates down
and I will list them for you.

1) Look at increasing your deductible. Increasing your
deductible from $300 to $500 or $1,000 can bring
significant reductions to your premiums.
2) Combine your auto policy with your homeowner’s
policy or place both products with the same Insurance
carrier within the same office. It doesn’t help if they’re
with the same company but with different brokers
3) If possible pay annually or on a 3 pay rather than
monthly which carries a 3% monthly charge.
4) Give your broker all of the updates on your house
such as how old is the water tank; the electrical box;
the furnace; the roof; if a backwater valve has been
installed or a sump pump and if there is a battery back
up for it. Some companies are giving better rates for
these updates.
5) Install a monitored burglar and fire alarm. The
reduction will sometimes pay for the cost but you have
peace of mind.
6) Do you need a comprehensive package or will a broad
form policy be enough? Check with your broker and
see how much this can save you and understand the
difference.
7) Non-Smokers get a better rate than smokers.
8) Do a realistic calculation on the replacement cost if
your basement is finished. A lot of companies give full
coverage at high premiums. And, if your basement
is not finished, do you really need that amount of
coverage?
9) If you have an oil tank, check on the age of it. If it’s past
its prime then get a new one and tell your broker.
10) Ask for a soft credit score. This allows you a substantial
discount and in some cases several hundred dollars can
be saved and it doesn’t reflect on your credit rating.
11) Are you over insured or worse yet under insured?
Insurance companies target certain limits of insurance
and offer preferred rates at these limits. You may be
actually able to increase coverage for the same money.
However if you are over insured its best to sit down
with your Broker and determine the best coverage for
you.
12) Are you age 65? Seniors get better rates than first time
buyers.

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM FALL 2015

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