You can do a lot of things to cut your house insurance cost on your second home without sacrificing your amount of coverage. By doing some of the recommended strategies, you will not only reduce your house insurance premiums, you will also improve your second home.
The location of your second home drives your house insurance premiums up or down. If it is in a gated neighborhood, your premiums will be reduced typically by ten percent. If your vacation home is in a rural area, some insurance firms would not insure your property, but if your house is near a lake or any other large source of water and the rural community has an efficient fire department, you will receive a discounted price.
Installing a centralized fire and burglary alarm system will cut about 20 percent of your house insurance premiums, according to insurance agents. Based on alarm supplier ADT’s prices, a combined security system costs about $300 including installation fees. About $70 is charged for the annual servicing of the system.
Buy your second house insurance policy from the insurance firm where you bought your first house insurance coverage. As a prospective long-time insurance client, the firm can give you a 5 to 10 percent discount on your second policy. You can get additional reductions if you take advantage of the growing trend of bundled policies in the insurance market, such as bundling together home, car and equipment insurance policies into one policy.
Another version of the bundled policy is called umbrella liability policy. This policy covers your two homes, cars, boat and liabilities for accidents on your properties. Insurance agents usually set at least $1 million as the minimum amount of your umbrella policy if your own two homes. A $1 million house insurance policy will cost you about $300, but it will cover your liability in case a visitor has an accident within your property.
Whether your second home is rented out or not also affects your house insurance costs. Many homeowners insurance companies add about 20 percent to your premium if your property is rented out. They contend that renters do not take care of the property and that they even damage the property.
Chubb Insurance however reduces your home insurance premiums if you let renters occupy your second home. The firm believes that second homes are maintained well if they are occupied.
Leave a Reply