Insurance is a necessary evil in everyone’s budget. On the one hand, you hope that you never need your insurance. Who wants to think about your home being damaged in a storm, or you or your spouse being out of work due to illness? On the other hand, however, you certainly don’t want to be caught in those types of situations without insurance. So, you grudgingly shell out a portion of your income each month to protect your family from unforeseen disasters.
Since you have to have insurance, it’s important to get the coverage you need at the absolutely best price you can find. Of course, the details of your family will affect your premiums to an extent. These four tips, though, will help you keep your insurance costs from taking control of your finances:
Keep your deductibles as high as possible.
It’s important that your deductible be an amount you can afford. You do want to be careful, though, to not have your deductible be too low. Raising your deductible from $250 to $500 can make a big difference in your premium. Talk to your agent to see if a change will help your premiums.
Shop around.
You may find that there is some benefit to be had by price-checking your premiums on a regular basis. You may even find that your old company will match the competitor’s offer. You’ll get the lower price without leaving your old provider. We regularly check rates for auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance when our policies are about to expire.
Ask for discounts.
Insurance companies offer discounts for lots of different reasons. I received a discount on my auto insurance because I owned a home. However, my insurance company didn’t offer me this discount. I had to call them up and ask if there were any new discounts I was eligible for. As the representative went through the list, we realized that I could get this one. The lesson I learned here was that no one else was going to try to lower my premiums; I have to do it myself.
Avoid frivolous claims.
Insurance is there to help you when you encounter catastrophes. However, you don’t want to file a whole bunch of tiny claims that didn’t constitute a catastrophe. If you find your prized Camry has gotten a new door ding while you were in the grocery store, consider carefully before you call your agent and open a claim. You might be able to buff that scuff right out. Likewise, a broken window in your living room can probably be repaired for a fee that’s much less than the deductible on your home owner’s insurance policy. Make sure that you need to open a claim before you call your agent.
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