Don’t over pay for your home insurance

Finding the best home insurance deal can be a stressful process with so many companies all fighting for your money and offering so many different options in the cover they offer. If you are in a hurry it can be tempting just to settle for the first reasonable deal you find, but this can often be a mistake as many people then end up over paying for their insurance.

Here are five common mistakes you should be sure to avoid. Making these mistakes can sometimes lead to families paying hundreds more than they need to in insurance premiums.

When you’re busy it can be very tempting to just renew your insurance policies; however it really is worth reviewing them every year.

Many families add named valuable items to their contents insurance policies and then never remove them. Hi tech gadgets are something that quickly reduces in price or sometimes we get new ones and stop using the old ones. As this happens it becomes less important to keep them insured as named items and taking them off the insurance policy can save you a lot of money.

Many insurers will reduce insurance premiums for households that are members of community groups like Neighbourhood Watch.

Although for many people these groups can feel like a big time commitment they can really reduce your expenditure and also help to make you feel safer. Many people also really enjoy the opportunity to get to know members of their community.

Make sure you are not insuring your items multiple times, when you buy many valuable items such as mobile phones the sales staff will push additional insurance policies at you. Often these items would already be covered by your home insurance, or can be added as a named item for little or no extra cost.

If you already have a home insurance policy check to see what it covers before buying any extra insurance.

At the same time, depending on your policy, some high value items may not be covered, or may not be covered when you take them outside of the house. These items might be worth insuring separately, however in any circumstance shop around for better value policies as ones offered with an item are frequently not very good value. It is also worth looking for policies that cover multiple things, for example many home insurance policies offer both building and contents insurance which can be lot better value than having a separate policy for each.

Depending on your policy it may not always be worth claiming for smaller items, particularly if you have big excess or a good no claims bonus to protect. Before making a claim always work out the overall value of the claim.  

If your annual home insurance costs £400 with an excess of £100 and you have a claim worth £150, after deducting your excess you will only be due £50;  if by making this claim you lose 10% no claims bonus (i.e. £40 per annum) is it actually worth making a claim at all?

There are a number of investments you can make into your property that many insurers will consider when giving you a quote.

Installing security alarms, shutters and double glazing can all help bring your insurance costs down. Although the initial costs can be off putting if viewed as a long term investment you will often find that these security measures pay for themselves with the savings you make in other areas, (not just insurance costs but the insulating effect of these measures can also reduce your fuel bill): this also helps to make you feel safer.

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