Insurance

Alabama Homeowners Insurance Quotes: How to Get the Best Deal

Lenders almost universally necessitate that borrowers carry homeowner’s insurance when financing a house purchase. Did you know that even after paying off their mortgages, most homeowners keep their homeowner’s insurance policies active?

Homeowners, appropriately so, are concerned about safeguarding the substantial investment they have made in their residences. The good news is that nearly every homeowner can take a few easy steps to cut their homeowner’s insurance premium immediately. If you have done any of the following, please inform your agent:

Let’s get down to first principles. Insuring your home for the amount needed to rebuild it from the ground up and replace all of your belongings is a good idea, but you shouldn’t make the standard error of insuring the worth of the property on which your house is built. There will be no destruction of the land.

Contrary to popular belief, water damage claims are more common than fire claims regarding homeowners insurance. The most standard homeowner’s insurance claim involves water damage caused by a burst water pipe or faulty appliance connection at night or while the homeowner is at work.

Ask your insurance agent about the potential monthly savings associated with making a single investment in plumbing and electrical upgrades if your home is ten or older. Check to see if that sum makes logical. If that’s the case, by all means, improve your dwelling.

The risk of fire remains high, but there are measures you may take to minimize your insurance premiums. Remove any weeds and brush from a ten-foot radius around your home. Invest in a sufficient quantity of smoke and fire alarms for your home, and replace the batteries at least twice a year. Invest in a fire extinguisher with a kitchen rating and store it conveniently. In a fire or other tragedy, rope ladders should be installed in any building with more than one floor.

The threat of burglary is very significant. Put in floodlights that turn on when there’s motion in the area. Don’t give robbers a hiding place by failing to trim bushes away from windows. Lock all outside doors and windows with deadbolts and check for broken locks.

Check with your insurance agent before installing a system, as not all systems are eligible for the same discount on your insurance premiums. Still, a home security system that watches your house around the clock for fire and burglary can save you 20% or more on your monthly homeowner’s premiums.

In addition to fixing any cracked concrete paths or potholes on your property, you should replace any worn or loose boards on your decks and porches and secure any railings that may have come loose.

A deductible applies to your house insurance coverage. The smaller your monthly premium, the higher your deductible must be. It would be best to be careful about increasing your deductible unless you have saved up enough money to cover the cost of your deductible out of pocket in case of a claim.

[As a side note, it’s worth noting that ordinary homeowner’s insurance in Alabama typically includes a cap on payments for wind damage; discuss this with your agent to learn about your options. In addition, flood insurance is not included in a standard homeowner’s policy, so be sure to discuss this with your agent.

Use what you’ve learned here to further your research online. Try to track down at least three websites that will let you compare homeowner’s insurance quotes from multiple providers. To find the best deal, it’s recommended to fill out the same form on at least three different websites and then choose the provider that gives the lowest rate, provided you trust that provider to remain in business for 30 years.

Finally, you may rest easy. You’ve researched to get the most affordable Alabama homeowner’s insurance policy that provides adequate protection.