Home insurance is one of those necessities in life, especially if you’re a homeowner. Few people will have an asset that is more valuable than their home, so it makes sense to make sure it is protected against the possibility of fire, flood or other damage. And for anyone with a mortgage, buildings cover is more or less essential – you wouldn’t get the mortgage without it.
Even if you don’t own your own home and are just renting, you should probably have some level of contents cover in place, as in the case of any damage or theft of your contents, your landlord’s insurance won’t cover the costs.
When you’re looking for a new home insurance quote, it’s a good idea to run through a checklist to make sure you keep the premiums as low as possible.
- If you need buildings and contents insurance, then get a combined quote for both policies as this will usually mean you get a discount.
- Make sure the contents cover is sufficient for the value of the goods that you might need to claim for, but not much higher than that. Otherwise you’re paying higher premiums for a level of cover that you won’t ever be putting in a claim for.
- Offer to increase the voluntary excess you will pay before making a claim. This informs the insurers that you are unlikely to be putting in small claims and they should reward you with lower premiums.
- Ensure that you have all the security measures in place in your home. This includes smoke alarms in every room and window locks fitted. You should also have a security alarm fitted as this will help reduce your home insurance premiums.
If you’re getting a number of different quotes for comparison – which is always a good idea – make sure that you ask for the same level of cover from each insurer to make sure that the quotes are really comparable.