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Homeowners Insurance
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (www.naic.org) has information to help you choose an insurer in your state. States often make information available on typical rates charged by major insurers, and many states provide the frequency of consumer complaints by company.
Also check consumer guides, insurance agents, companies, and online insurance quote services. This will give you an idea of price ranges and tell you which companies have the lowest prices. But don't consider price alone. The insurer you select should offer a fair price and deliver the quality service you would expect if you needed assistance in filing a claim. When assessing service quality, use the complaint information cited previously and talk to a number of insurers to get a feeling for the type of service they give. Ask them what they would do to lower your costs.
2 . Raise Your Deductible .
A deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim, according to the terms of your policy. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiums. Nowadays, most insurance companies recommend a deductible of at least $500. If you can afford to raise your deductible to $1,000, you may save as much as 25%. Remember, if you live in a disaster-prone area, your insurance policy may have a separate deductible for certain kinds of damage. If you live near the East coast, you may have a separate windstorm deductible; if you live in a state vulnerable to hail storms, you may have a deductible for hail; and if you live in an earthquake-prone area, your earthquake policy may have a separate deductible.
3 . Don’t confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs .
The land under your house isn’t at risk from theft, windstorm, fire, and the other perils covered in your homeowner’s policy. So don’t include