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5 tips for cheaper home insurance
The key to lowering your house insurance premium is by improving the security measures in and around your property. All insurance prices are based on risk assessment and by improving security you are lowering the risk to your property, which in turn lowers the price. Five top ways to reduce your premium are listed below.
Get an alarm
A good house alarm can cut the cost of a premium by 7.5%, with specific brands being favoured by some insurers. NACOSS intruder alarms are highly regarded by many insurers and therefore lead to the biggest premium reductions but are quite costly and do require annual maintenance.
Change the locks
Mortise locks are by far the most secure and these should be fitted to all external doors. Windows should be double glazed (this has the triple effect of reducing heating bills, cutting out noise and improving security) and fitted with two bolt locks. Once these have been installed it is important that they are used – doors and windows that are left open (particularly overnight) leave the house more susceptible to burglary and can invalidate the terms of a policy, which may affect your ability to make a claim.
Prevent fire
The most obvious thing you can do to help prevent fire is install a smoke alarm and this will be directly reflected in the price of your premium. Other practical steps you can take include not smoking in the house (most insurers now ask if you are a smoker) and being especially careful in the kitchen. Electrical sockets should not be overloaded and traditional log fires could be replaced with gas or electric fires, which are generally safer.
No claims bonus
One of the major factors that insurers take into consideration when building a policy is the previous claims record. If you have several years of ‘no claims’ then you could save yourself up to 20% on the price of your premium. To preserve this, if you need to make a claim that is relatively minor then it may be worth paying for it yourself to avoid the loss of the no claims bonus.
Type of cover
It is important to think about the type of cover you’ll need before taking out a policy. Some policies include options such as ‘household items lost or damaged outside of the home’, which can be very useful but you should think carefully about which add-ons are essential, as they all add to the cost of a policy. Also, be careful not to over or under estimate the value of your property.
For competitive deals on home insurance for the over 50’s, check out RIAS.
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