How do I lower my homeowners insurance?

Asked by: Dr. Dolly Goldner  |  Last update: April 13, 2025
Score: 4.1/5 (57 votes)

9 Tips for Lowering Your Homeowners Insurance
  1. Shop around for the best home insurance rates.
  2. Bundle your home and auto policies.
  3. Increase your home insurance deductible.
  4. Improve home security.
  5. Make home improvements.
  6. Review your coverage every year.
  7. Ask about savings.
  8. Consider actual cash value vs. replacement cost.

What is one way to reduce the cost of a homeowners insurance policy?

Ask about discounts

Ask your insurance company if it offers discounts for: Having a monitored burglar or fire alarm system. Having other policies with the same company (like auto, home, life, etc.). Not filing any claims for three straight years.

How can I get my home insurance lower?

Homeowners + Renters Insurance
  1. Don't skimp—but do shop around.
  2. Raise your deductible.
  3. Buy your home and auto policies from the same insurer.
  4. Make your home more disaster resistant.
  5. Do not confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs.
  6. Ask about discounts for home security devices.
  7. Seek out other discounts.

What is the 80% rule in homeowners insurance?

The 80% rule means that an insurance company will pay the replacement cost of damage to a home as long as the owner has purchased coverage equal to at least 80% of the home's total replacement value.

What if my home insurance is too high?

If your home insurance seems too high, you might be able to lower your rates by reducing your coverage. However, before you adjust your coverage, ensure that you have enough financial security to pay for any out-of-pocket expenses you might face if your policy doesn't cover a loss.

How To Lower Homeowners Insurance In 5 Simple Ways

36 related questions found

Why did my homeowners insurance go up so much in 2024?

Climate change, inflation and industry woes have caused premiums to soar nationwide. Homeowners insurance rates rose dramatically between 2023 and 2024, according to a Bankrate analysis of rate data from Quadrant Information Services.

What should you not say to homeowners insurance?

Avoid any admissions of fault or liability when talking to your adjuster. Such statements can be used to shift blame, potentially decreasing the amount you might be compensated. Instead, focus on describing the damage and the events as they happened, without inserting personal opinions about who might be at fault.

What is the 50% rule in insurance?

In California's personal injury cases, the concept of 50/50 liability applies when both parties are equally responsible for an accident or incident. This shared responsibility is also referred to as equal fault or shared fault, and it falls under the broader category of comparative fault.

What is normal for homeowners insurance?

The national average cost of home insurance is $2,181 per year for a policy with a $300,000 dwelling limit. This comes out to about $182 per month. But these are just average figures — what you pay for your policy will likely be different. Just as coverage needs vary across individual homeowners, so will costs.

How to negotiate with homeowners insurance?

Here are some things to keep in mind as you negotiate:
  1. Understand the Policy You Bought (Or Was Bought For You) ...
  2. Understanding the Role of Insurance Adjusters and Pubic Adjusters. ...
  3. Understand What's In Your Claim and Settlement Offer. ...
  4. Preparing for Negotiations. ...
  5. Appeal Your Offer. ...
  6. Consult a Property Damage Lawyer.

What is the cheapest homeowners insurance for seniors?

To help get you started, here are some of the cheapest home insurance companies available, potential discounts, and other ways to save as a senior homeowner. Allstate, State Farm, and Travelers are some of the cheapest home insurance companies for seniors.

How do I get my insurance lower?

7 ways to lower your car insurance premium
  1. Qualify for insurance discounts. Getting more discounts that lower your car insurance premium might be easier than you think. ...
  2. Increase your deductible. ...
  3. Reduce your coverage. ...
  4. Compare rates. ...
  5. Try usage-based insurance. ...
  6. Take a defensive driving course. ...
  7. Get a car that's cheaper to insure.

Does home insurance ever go down?

Some insurers will reduce their premiums by 5 percent if you stay with them for three to five years and by 10 percent if you remain a policyholder for six years or more.

What is the most common deductible for homeowners insurance?

What is the standard homeowners insurance deductible? Typically, homeowners choose a $1,000 deductible (for flat deductibles), with $500 and $2,000 also being common amounts. Though those are the most standard deductible amounts selected, you can opt for even higher deductibles to save more on your premium.

What 4 key factors influence the cost of your property insurance?

The cost of homeowners and tenants insurance depends on a number of factors including:
  • location, age and type of building.
  • use of building (residence and/or commercial)
  • proximity of fire protection services.
  • choice of deductibles.
  • availability of any premium discounts.
  • scope and amount of insurance coverage.

Why is homeowners insurance so high?

Several factors are behind the rising rates. Severe weather events continue to cause serious damage and costly insurance claims. The rising cost of building materials, supply chain issues and unfilled jobs are driving up the costs of home repairs.

What state has the highest home insurance rates?

The average cost of homeowners insurance in the U.S. is $2,601 a year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage. Oklahoma is the most expensive state for home insurance, while Hawaii is the cheapest. Home insurance rates vary by state based on things like severe weather and what's included in a standard policy.

What is the 80% rule with insurance?

Some insurers offer tools or worksheets to help homeowners assess their property's value. In fact, these are a requirement in California. Once you have your total replacement cost, you multiply this value by 0.8 to find out what 80% of the replacement cost is.

What is the insurance 5% rule?

In each insurance year you can withdraw up to 5% of the premium paid into your policy without a gain happening in that year. An insurance year begins on the anniversary of the date of your policy was taken out and ends on the day before the anniversary in the next year, except in the final insurance year.

What does the FEMA 50% rule mean?

The 50% Rule is a regulation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that prohibits improvements to a structure exceeding 50% of its market value unless the entire structure is brought into full compliance with current flood regulations.

What voids homeowners insurance?

Common exclusions in even the most comprehensive homeowners policies include: earth movement, such as earthquakes; sinkholes or landslides that damage your home; water damage, such as floods or sewer back-ups that leak through a pipe or seep through the foundation causing damage to your home; damage resulting from ...

How to scare a home insurance adjuster?

How To Scare An Insurance Adjuster
  1. Step One: Understand the Roles and Goals of an Insurance Adjuster. ...
  2. Step Two: Know How Insurance Adjusters May Try to Minimize Compensation. ...
  3. Step Three: Take Your Time to Review a Settlement Offer. ...
  4. Step Four: Reject a Lowball Offer in Writing.

What should I not tell my insurance company?

The insurance adjuster doesn't need to hear your entire life story. Sharing personal anecdotes or irrelevant experiences might even hurt your claim. Stick to the facts and avoid extra details about your family, job history, prior injuries, or unrelated accidents.