Tips on keeping home insurance costs affordable
Choosing a home insurance plan can be a tricky proposition whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or the picturesque Irish outdoors. It often involves a lot of legwork and research. To help make things easier for you, here are a few tips on what to do to help keep your home insurance costs manageable.
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Improve your home
If you have a home considered to be a high insurance risk then you’re most likely going to have to pay through the nose on insurance premiums. Improving your house with new plumbing and electrical systems or changes that reduce the risk of storm damage not only helps lower your insurance premiums; you also get a home that’s a lot safer to live in. Remember to always follow local building regulations from government offices like the Department of the Environment, Community, and Local Government whenever you make major improvements to your home. Listen to Bob Vila and comply with the code.
Know what your house is worth
It’s important to know exactly how much your home and the valuables you keep inside it are worth. You don’t want to find out that you’ve been under insured all along when an unexpected accident occurs. aviva recommends basing the amount of cover you should use on the cost of rebuilding your house. In Ireland, this can be done by checking the Society of Chartered Surveyors website. As for your valuables, keep notes, receipts, and even photos of them so that you have documentation when the time comes to make a claim.
Consider combining policies
If you find an insurance company that offers both homeowner’s and auto insurance, you may get a discount if you get both types of coverage. You still need to shop around, though. While combining policies may seem like the easier and more hassle-free option, it doesn’t always make things cheaper in the long run. Carefully check the price variances on standalone policies as well.