5 Ways to Lower Your Home Insurance Premiums
Let’s be honest – no one likes paying insurance premiums. We all recognise that they are necessary and not having insurance would be incredibly detrimental; but when the bills start piling up at the end of the month, our inner-dread tends to grow.
Recently, a lot of homeowners have seen a rise in their home insurance premiums. If you didn’t like paying your premiums in the first place, learning that you’d have to pay more is certainly a hard pill to swallow.
In general, there are 3 main variables that effect premiums – the age and condition of the house is one of them, but geographic location and claims history are important as well.
As discussed in a previous blog, if your house is at an increased risk for flooding or you’ve amassed a number of claims in a relatively short period of time, there will be a rise in your premiums. The fact of the matter is that premiums seem to be rising across the board and sometimes through no fault of the homeowner who’s affected.
However, that isn’t to say there’s no hope. There are still many ways to make sure your premiums not only stop rising, but start going back down. One of the best ways to make sure of that is through home improvements lower the risk associated with the house.
Here are 5 ways you can improve your home so that your premiums will decrease.
Modernize the Heat Source
Older houses often have oil furnaces or wood/pellet stoves. The problem here is that these are the three riskiest heat sources currently available – and if your heat source is deemed high-risk, that can spell disaster for your premiums.
Switching up the heat source to something more modern like electric or gas has a twofold positive effect: your insurance premiums will go down and your house will be less likely to burn to a crisp. Isn’t that nice?
Switch Your Electrical System
Consistent with having risky, outdated heat sources, older homes tend to have archaic electrical systems as well. If your home currently has a knob-and-tube, aluminum, or 60-amp electrical system, you’re in trouble. These systems not only cause your premium to rise, but they put your house at severe danger of electrical fires.
Upgrading to an electrical system that uses up-to-date wiring and operates on at least a 100 amps will make sure that your home is less prone to electrical fires and will, in turn, help with decreasing your home insurance premium.
Improve your Plumbing
This tip is especially important if you want to make sure that your house isn’t going to suffer from flood and water damage – something we have covered in the past. If your pipes are made of lead or have become galvanized, they are going to negatively affect your premium as well as put you at risk for costly future repairs.
It may be an investment, but upgrading your plumbing with copper or plastic pipes will bring down the water-damage risk of your home and that change will reflect in your lower premium.
Prevent Sewage Back-Up
If you don’t already have a sump-pump or a backwater valve, it’s definitely time to invest in them. Canadian summers get wilder every year with weekly showers and heightened flood risks seemingly becoming the norm – and this means that the foundation of your house needs to be protected from all this excess water.
A sump-pump will make sure that water does not get into and damage your home’s foundations whereas a backwater valve will make sure that sewage doesn’t flow into the house during a back-up. If you already have these components installed, make sure your broker knows about them so they can help bring your premium down.
Safeguard Your Roof
As we’ve mentioned before, climate change is real and it is causing a lot of destruction. Insurance companies use all kinds of statistics and data to make relevant premium calculations – if you’re in an area prone to extreme weather, your premium will rise. Moreover, if it is deemed that your roof doesn’t have the stability or sturdiness to safeguard against the increasingly extreme weather, that will surely show in your rising premium.
As your roof grows older, make sure it is being looked after and mended. If possible, use roofing materials that qualify you for insurance discounts such as concrete and slate tile. If you’re unsure how you can qualify for a discount, don’t hesitate to ask a broker.
Home insurance premiums all come down to one thing – safety. If your premium has risen, it’s because your house is deemed riskier than before. Any and all renovations or improvements that can be made in helping make the house safer will help lower your premium.
To find out more about how you can lower your premium, contact one of our licensed brokers today at
Source: Economical.